OpenSkies

For the air transport agreement, see Open skies.

OpenSkies

IATA EC ICAO BOS Callsign MISTRAL
Founded	2008
Hubs	Orly Airport
Frequent-flyer program	Executive Club
Airport lounge	Terraces Lounge
Fleet size	4
Destinations	2
Company slogan	The Unique All Business Class Airline
Parent company	British Airways International Airlines Group
Headquarters	Paray Vieille Poste, France
Key people	Dale Moss (Chief Executive Officer)
Website	www.flyopenskies.com

A Boeing 757 landing at Frankfurt Airport.

OpenSkies (a trading name of Elysair^[1]) is a fully owned subsidiary airline of British Airways that began operations in June 2008. Originally OpenSkies was operated by BA European Limited but in April 2009 the name was transferred to Elysair (which had operated as L'Avion). It is a full-service carrier and offers business class only cabins on board its aircraft.^[2] It is headquartered in Building 519 in Paray Vieille Poste, France, near Wissous.^[3]

The airline currently flies to Paris-Orly Airport in France and Newark Liberty International Airport in the United States.^{[2][4][5][6][7]} Future possible routes for the airline include Dublin, Frankfurt, Madrid, Brussels, Rome, and Milan.^[5] The Amsterdam-JFK route was dropped in August 2009 due to weak customer demand.^[8] In December 2009, the airline announced a change of its New York operations: in January 2010, all OpenSkies flights were shifted from JFK to Newark.^[9]

History

"Project Lauren" was the code-name for OpenSkies when it was first planned by British Airways (BA).^{[10][11][12][13]} British Airways wanted to reduce the over-dependence on their Heathrow Airport hub by flying between the United States and cities in continental Europe.^[10] The bypass was only able to be done after the open skies treaty between the United States the European Union would allow any airline to fly between airports in the two continents starting in March 2008.

The first flight, from New York, was on 19 June 2008, using a single Boeing 757 transferred from the BA fleet.

In July 2008 BA bought French airline L'Avion for £54 million.^[14] The operations of BA European and L'Avion were merged on 4 April 2009, with the latter now operating as OpenSkies.

On 24 July 2009, the airline announced that the route from New York-JFK to Amsterdam Schiphol would be suspended as of 16 August, due to economic reasons.^[15] On September 30 the airline announced that the Washington to Paris service would be suspended October 29.^[16]

Service

The new airline was initially rumoured to be planning business-class-only flights, with the first flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to Orly Airport in Paris.^[11] However, the airline changed its plans to include a very small five row section of economy class seats in the rear of the aircraft in addition to premium economy and business class seats. In October 2008 the economy section was eliminated in favour of more premium economy seating.^[17] With the integration of L'Avion, the Prem+ section was changed to 'Biz Seat', making the airline a business-class-only airline.

The third destination for Openskies was Amsterdam, when flights began on 15 October 2008, and Newark became an additional destination when L'Avion was integrated into OpenSkies on 4 April 2009.

OpenSkies is not a member of any airline alliance and has no affiliation with the Oneworld alliance of which parent British Airways is a founding member. However, British Airways Executive Club members are able to claim tier points and BA miles on OpenSkies flights.

Destinations

Europe

• France
  • Paris - Paris-Orly Airport Hub

North America

• United States
  • Newark - Newark Liberty International Airport

Terminated Destinations

• Europe
  • Netherlands - Amsterdam
• North America
  • United States - New York-JFK, Washingon DC

Fleet

OpenSkies' first aircraft, G-BPEK.

OpenSkies operates a single type of aircraft, the Boeing 757.^[2][4] British Airways transferred one Boeing 757 for the start of operations, with an additional aircraft transferred in December 2008. All of OpenSkies' aircraft are fitted with blended winglets to increase range, improve fuel efficiency and decrease CO₂ emissions. The cabin on all the aircraft is divided into two sections which together provide seating for 64 or 84 passengers depending on configuration.^[2][4][18] L'Avion's fleet of two 757s was converted to OpenSkies' specifications and transferred into the fleet.

The fleet retains the British Airways tailfin logo, but features a grey underbelly instead of the dark blue that features on British Airways aircraft. The engine nacelle is painted silver while the winglets are painted red further distinguishing OpenSkies from British Airways.^[2] The first Boeing 757 was named Lauren after OpenSkies' code-name prior to launch, Project Lauren.^{[citation needed]} Openskies have continued to name their aircraft with the other three aircraft being named Gloria, Penny and Violette.^{[citation needed]}

In February, 2009, British Airways announced that they would not transfer additional 757s to its OpenSkies subsidiary by the end of 2009, as originally planned, but instead would sell them to a third party. OpenSkies was originally to expand to six aircraft by the end of 2009, but BA said this plan had been canceled.^[19]

Open Skies Fleet

Aircraft	Total	Passengers
		B	S	Total
Boeing 757-200	4	24 12	40 72	64 84

Approvals

The routes that OpenSkies intends to fly are only possible because of the EU-US Open Skies Agreement, which permits any American or European airline to operate services to and from any European or American location. The availability of landing slots limits the impact of the agreement at certain airports, such as London Heathrow Airport.^[4][5]

BA European Limited, trading as Openskies, holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence. This permits the airline to carry passengers, cargo, and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.^[20] The operating licence was suspended on May 6, 2009 for three months following the transfer of the name to Elysair, at BA European's request.^[21]

References

1. ^ OpenSkies completes merger with L'Avion
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Bokaie, Jemima (2008-01-09). "BA brands new airline OpenSkies". Brand Republic. http://www.brandrepublic.com/Discipline/Advertising/News/775685/BA-brands-new-airline-OpenSkies/. Retrieved 2008-01-09. 
3. ^ "Contact Us." OpenSkies. "Administrative Offices OpenSkies Batiment 519 5 allée du commandant Mouchotte Paray Vieille Poste 91781 Wissous Cedex France" Retrieved on 8 February 2011.
4. ^ ^{a b c d} "BA to launch 'open skies' airline". BBC News Online (BBC). 2008-01-09. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7178673.stm. Retrieved 2008-01-09. 
5. ^ ^{a b c} Stone, Rod (2008-01-09). "British Airways To Start US-Continental Europe Services". DOW JONES NEWSWIRES (CNN). Archived from the original on 2008-01-13. http://web.archive.org/web/20080113080558/http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200801091028DOWJONESDJONLINE000667_FORTUNE5.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-09. 
6. ^ https://www.flyopenskies.com/docs/press/OpenSkies_DC_announcement.pdf
7. ^ Done, Kevin (2008-07-28). "BA takes OpenSkies to Amsterdam". Financial Times. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4c1e5b64-5cd6-11dd-8d38-000077b07658.html. Retrieved 2008-07-31. 
8. ^ http://finance.yahoo.com/news/BA-drops-OpenSkies-apf-336756486.html?x=0&.v=2
9. ^ https://www.flyopenskies.com/docs/press/Newark%20Announcement%2012%2016%2009.pdf
10. ^ ^{a b} Russell, Jonathan (2007-03-11). "Battle for Heathrow to NY flights". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/11/04/ccair104.xml&page=2. Retrieved 2008-07-31. 
11. ^ ^{a b} "BA 'risks pilot dispute on EU-US routes'". UK Airport News. 2007-10-29. http://www.uk-airport-news.info/heathrow-airport-news-291007d.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-31. 
12. ^ Done, Kevin (2007-10-30). "BA initiative proves unpopular". The Australian. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22667532-36375,00.html. Retrieved 2008-07-31. 
13. ^ "BA readies 'Project Lauren' for U.S. expansion". USA Today. 2007-11-06. http://rss.usatoday.mlogic3g.com/detail.jsp?key=783940. Retrieved 2008-07-31. 
14. ^ "British Airways Completes Purchase of L'Avion". PR Newswire (Fox Business). 2008-07-25. http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/retail/british-airways-completes-purchase-lavion/. Retrieved 2008-07-31. ^{[dead link]}
15. ^ OpenSkies to Refocus Business Efforts on Paris – New York Route
16. ^ Clabaugh, Jeff. OpenSkies suspends Washington flights, Washington Business Journal, September 30, 2011, Retrieved 2011-09-30
17. ^ "OpenSkies Shakes Earth With Announcement". American Chronicle. http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/69998. Retrieved 2008-07-31. 
18. ^ "British Airways Fleet" (PDF). British Airways. http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/69/69499/bafactbook/section3_2006.pdf. Retrieved 2008-01-09. 
19. ^ David Kaminski-Morrow (9 February 2009). "BA expects to sell 757s next winter, use A320s instead". Flight International. http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/02/09/322255/ba-expects-to-sell-757s-next-winter-use-a320s-instead.html. 
20. ^ Civil Aviation Authority Official Record Series 2 Number 1849 13 May 2008 - Type A Operating Licence granted from the 9 May 2008
21. ^ UK Civil Aviation Authority Official Record Series 2, Number 1900, 12 May 2009

External links

	Paris portal
	Companies portal
	Aviation portal

• OpenSkies Official Website
• OpenSkies Official Blog