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Subscribe to RSS FeedGo ahead, ask away part 7
Hope all of you are enjoying your summers so far. It’s been quite busy for us, and that’s a good thing. Reading your recent posts to my blog and our Facebook fan page , there are a few questions surfacing about our next possible route as well as our lounges and I’d like to address them.
I am proud to say our current routes Paris –New York, Paris – DC are performing really well. I’ve seen questions from Sean and Charles who are curious as well as Marie and Jerome who are asking for a West Coast option. The good news is we have sensible plans to expand and are giving our new route serious consideration. It’s a complicated process, a lot of work goes into making this decision; available slots, scheduling, market logistics and receptivity and ground handling to name a few. Important to note our current fleet of Boeing 757s has a flight range that limits us to only be active in Western Europe/East Coast US. Therefore, our planning always considers this factor. So while the West Coast is very interesting to us, we are very happy with our current aircraft performance and we’re not quite ready for that yet. Stay tuned. We’re hoping to make a decision on our new route before the end of the year.
Another hot topic that comes up is about our lounges. Recently Bill and John among others have been raising concerns. The Newark lounge in particular seems sub-par when compared with business class lounge expectations. I know this is a sensitive subject so let me be honest. We do our very best to put our investment where the customer will get the most value and still strive to offer this at a low cost. That said, I understand there’s room for improvement and your feedback is a matter we take quite seriously. I can tell you there’s a joint project currently underway with British Airways that will improve the EWR lounge experience. It will take some time though, perhaps a year – but will be well worth the wait. We already share the lounge at IAD with BA and it’s terrific. We know Orly needs some work too and are currently engaged with the Aeroport de Paris with to discuss a better facility.
Lastly, Christophe wanted to know whether we could consider a flight schedule that leaves Paris later in the day to allow for a more efficient working day. I am with Christophe here, although previous experience with later departure times from Paris have been less successful, I think perhaps it’s time for us to review this again.
I love to respond to your important questions, so keep them coming.
Best,
Dale
August 2nd, 2010 at 7:19 pm
I used to fly Open Skies all the time for the very short period you had service from JFK to Amsterdam. How come you stopped service and will you resume this in the near future?
August 3rd, 2010 at 2:59 am
About lounges, the IAD experience is of course great. When I use the Orly lounge, it really is just a pretty short stop-off. As per Aéroport de Paris standards, it isn’t anywhere near a BA lounge, but it’s enough for what most passengers need. Space would be my greatest concern, especially if the EC flight(s) became full. My latest flight out of Orly was (sadly) about half empty. When I flew out of EWR, I used the bar at the terminal rather than the space at the boarding gate, and that was adequate. Most important to me now would be free Wifi, wherever. Not necessarily free drinks. Also a comfortable seat.
August 4th, 2010 at 11:59 pm
Ok – Here’s the deal
Love the airline! Flew L’Avion 2x and Open Skies 2X
Food at Newark/Lounge is awful. No hot food in the lounge and the only hot food choices outside the lounge are pathetic. Have you guys even looked at the offerings at the terminal?
Silverjet used to grab your bags upon entering the lounge and checked you in at their computers in the lounge. Very COol and Classy. Is this too $$$ for you guys? Just asking.
Food from Orly to EWR has not been great since OpenSkies took over. I would have been better off getting poached salmon salad from Bon Marche. AH well. Next time.
ANd yes, I will fly you again and again so long as the price to Paris is right.
September 28th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
Dear Dale,
I flew open skies IAD-ORY-IAD in August. The crews both ways were great, the flights punctual. I like returning to Dulles beating the United bank of flights at Customs, unless I think they were off in their own area. However, the only drawback is interlining luggage. If you could interline even on a limited basis with key cities you’d have more thru traffic. From PHX I flew in the day prior, and on the return was nervous about having to go to the main tkt counter for united to re-check my bag.
Good luck on your route expansion!
Rob