With availability in the transatlantic sector starting to open up, airlines are starting to take advantage of new slots and flexibility across the pond. OpenSkies, British Airways‘ new niche airline, plans to do just that.
Named after the oft mentioned OpenSkies agreement put into place between the US and European Union earlier this year, the airline of the same moniker plans to offer a new, unique approach to intercontinental travel. With only 82 seats on a Boeing 757 aircraft (for comparison, Continental‘s 757 has over 215 seats), OpenSkies aims to offer a more comfortable, personal experience on air travel at a price barely more than a ticket on a legacy carrier.
Three classes of service will be offered, biz, premium and economy, with prices ranging from the $1,746 one way at the high range to $554 at the low end.
In addition to the space proffered by low seat count, OpenSkies boasts superior in-flight amenities, including leather seats, 50 hours of audio and video on personal entertainment systems, lie-flat seats in biz, a la carte meals and wine service and everything you need to make you fit and prepared for the new morning in the EU.
Sound nice? I thought so too. June 19th marks the first flight for the airline, traveling between New York‘s JFK airport and Orly in Paris. Planned routes include Brussels, Milan, Frankfurt and Amsterdam by the end of 2009.
What’s nice about OpenSkies is that they have strong financial backing from British Airways, a solid management and strong experience in the sector. So you can have confidence in the niche carrier being not only around for a while but also in reasonable financial shape for the near future, even if oil is more expensive than gold.
Competition in the premium transatlantic market has recently dropped off as well, so hopefully this will leave them a larger market share.
You can book tickets and check out the sweet service on flyopenskies.com.