Comments on: Go Ahead, Ask Away, part 2

By: Luke00

Luke00 — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 04:28:29 +0000

I am sorry if thi has been asked but I am short of time and cannot look at all of the posts. I realise that a recession is generally not the best time to be starting new routes but has anyone considered opening a route between NYC and Milan?
Even after AF/KLM came to the rescue, Alitalia is still having strikes and has lost the trust of the public, which has left a gaping hole on a busy route. Lufthansa has realised this and started Lufthansa Italia, which at this stage is still an European based venture. As of yet, no one has yet picked up on NYC-Milan route.
Can the 757 fly this far without any restrictions? If so, would it not be the right sized aircraft?

By: Luke

Luke — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:09:34 +0000

BA News report that their remaining B757 will be sold to an unnamed airline. Does that mean we might enjoy a shiny widebody in OpenSkies livery for futher expansion?

By: Connor

Connor — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:11:58 +0000

Dale- My friends and I are very interested in OpenSkies at our small business, and we were curious to see what the chances are of you adding Frankfurt to your route map at this point in time. If not, what new destination has the most probability of being added?

Thanks.

By: Henry

Henry — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 03:48:12 +0000

Dale,

Thanks for responding back to my earlier post in this one. I pulled the trigger back in December and booked a flight for May from NYC to Paris. So I look forward to that flight.

As I stated in the earlier post, I had not planned on a visit to NYC, but OpenSkies offer was appealing so I worked in a stop in NYC from Seattle. I’m a fan and early adopter of “brand experiences”, which is much more important than price alone. At some point something simply becomes a commodity and you’re just another people mover.

I understand the point-to-point nature of OpenSkies makes it difficult for some, but I’ve seen this in the EU with the value airlines there. It’s a trade-off that’s not for some. I booked my flight to NYC on JetBlue, another trendsetter in the industry (My first flight with them as well!).

I’ll post on my personal blog the experiences of both airlines after my trip. Until then keep flying!

By: Loric

Loric — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 22:42:51 +0000

I know you said you have the support of BA for the future but..

I need to book a trip for the summer for a study abroad program. The prices and offerings make Openskies look very attractive. However, it terrifies me to think the airline I departed on might go out of business and leave me stuck in Europe on a student budget.

Does the support of BA mean that if the unthinkable happens that BA will get me home?

By: Doron

Doron — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 18:43:25 +0000

Dale,

Tried to provide some suggestions to your crew who did encourage me to provide it on your blog.
Your concept is great, however it did fail in the past, the point to point structure did not work previously and might not work going forward.
Only few passengers will fly to JFK and will arrange their connection flights seperatly (I am one of them), as a BA subsidiary you will do far better by offering flights to/from at least major US destinations, by offering connection flight from/to JFK using BA code sharing flights with US carriers.
Another suggestion is to cut agreements with airlines outside the EU who will fly in/out passngers to Amsterdam/Paris and you perform the continuations flights to/from JFK (TLV is one great example).

I am mentioning it as I will hate seeing you stop flying from/to Amsterdam, knowing the low occupancy up to date.

Wishing OpenSkies great success, some additional moves are needed (improvement of the food/beverage service as well) but from my prospective you can be my airline of choice (definitly if connections to/from RDU will be offered).

With Kind Regards,

Doron

By: Ann

Ann — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:22:05 +0000

I flew on OpenSkies months ago and one of the things that bothered me a bit is the lack of inseat personal entertainment. The Archos personal player is a great add-on, but its batteries barely make the seven hour flight. Have you considered installing inseat entertainment into the seats in all classes?

By: George

George — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 10:16:51 +0000

cool
itll be great to get some answers
1. will openskies become part of oneworld or another airline alliance
2.how many B757s are BA going to transfere to you (sorry about the spelling)
thats it.Im loving the airline,website and everything aout openskes your doing a great job.
George

By: Deatra

Deatra — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 18:39:19 +0000

I love that there is a value added business only airline. Although you haven’t stated possible other locations, I feel that the South Florida area (which has so many European visitors) should be one to take into consideration. Let me know your thoughts