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Subscribe to RSS FeedGo ahead, ask away.
One of the great things about the OpenSkies blog is that I get to hear from the people that really matter—you. I love reading your comments (and yes, I read them all).
If you’ve been following the blog at all, you know how much effort we’ve put into launching OpenSkies. But just because we’re up and flying, that doesn’t mean we haven’t stopped working hard. We’re always out to improve. And your thoughts and suggestions are helping us do just that. So keep them coming!
In a lot of the posts, I’ve broadly touched on some of your questions, but I thought it’d be a good idea to start addressing specific questions.
We received some great questions when we announced our new Amsterdam to New York route. Lucky asks, “Out of curiosity, why is the route only six days a week (or does it just have a different schedule the other day)?”
We don’t fly the Amsterdam route on Saturday. Generally, Saturdays aren’t a big day for business travelers, so we decided not to fly then.
Michel was interested to know if we are a part of the One World Alliance. He asks, “I have a question regarding One World Around The World Tickets and Open Skies: will it be possible to schedule a One World ATWT incorporating Open Skies flights?”
We’re not a member of the OneWorld Alliance, though Executive Club members earn BA Miles and reward points for flying with us. We decided not to join the OneWorld Alliance and instead focus strictly on direct routes, freeing us of the complexities of transferring luggage and connecting flights, and allowing us to focus on you. It’s also one of the reasons our operational record stands as it does. So while we aren’t part of the One World Around The World ticket, we can definitely be part of your world travels!
Marc wonders if we have a special offer for passengers on our Amsterdam to New York flight.
Actually, we have a great Amsterdam to New York offer available now through September 8, 2008. You can fly PREM+ from Amsterdam to New York from 1045 Euros, including all taxes and fees. Click here for the details.
And Jeroen asks, “Will you start advertising your airline and the new route from Amsterdam in any Dutch publications like newspapers or magazines?”
Yes! We’re looking at some possible print publications, as well as billboards. Starting soon, we’re putting out the word with online advertisements. So keep an eye out for them.
Moving forward, I’ll be answering individual questions left in the comments sections once a month. So start writing.
I wasn’t kidding when I said your thoughts are important to us.
Dale
September 7th, 2008 at 12:27 am
Wow, this sounds exciting! I hope to fly with you one day! How big does the vision go for other US cities to be included, namely where I’m at in Los Angeles?? Is there any hope for us here on the west coast? Either direct to Europe or from L.A. to N.Y.? I sure hope so!
Enjoying the blog – thank you! I’ll be back to read more…
September 11th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Here’s a question : Why don’t you add STANSTED as your next Openskies base. It’s not as daft as it sounds, after all EOS and MaxJet’s combined legacy passenger loads must at least equal 1 Openskies 757 a day.
People who live in Essex and Cambridgeshire and East Anglia don’t want to travel to LHR or LGW – the journey + check-in is about as long as the flight. AA pulled out recently (no comment here but… perhaps it was “job done”), either way there is demand, free slots and this couldn’t possibly hurt the existing BA ops from LHR??
September 12th, 2008 at 12:31 am
Hi there Dale,
I just can’t wait to fly with you guys, which I will be doing in december. Your product seems very appealing.
I was just wondering, are you planning to publish any inflight magazine specific to Openskies? or will just stick to BA’s one? or nothing at all?
Last question: is there any “reading material” available for passengers during the flight? e.g. newspapers, magazines?
I wish Openskies the very best success,
Cheers,
September 18th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Hello!
Are there any plans to fly to Zurich at some point in the future?
I would appreciate your response.
Thanks,
George
October 24th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
My husband and I are frequent travelers between New York and Paris, averaging 10-12 commercial translatlantic flights per year. This past weekend we had the pleasure of flying Open Skies from Orly to JFK and found it to be nearly flawless. We could be enticed to fly exclusively on your airlines if you could provide a morning departure from JFK to Orly (even one flight per week).
Please let me explain. We can’t take overnight flights. The residual jet lag and additional susceptibility to ear and lung infections is far greater (confirmed by our doctors) during overnight flights. Since we switched to day flights about 8 years ago, we have had a much easier time adapting to different time zones and rarely get sick from flights.
For a few months in 2007 Air France offered early morning departures to CDG from JFK but they never promoted the availability and inexplicably stopped the service. So now we must again fly to Heathrow, stay overnight at a nearby hotel and fly to Paris the next morning. Annoying to be sure but far better than an overnight flight.
Until this last trip we have been racking up many, many miles on Virgin Atlantic which offers decent premium economy service with morning departure from JFK. In September we took the BA premium economy morning flight JFK-LHR and flew to Paris the next morning. However, there is no comparison to the service you offer on your airline. We would be absolutely thrilled if you could offer a morning departure from JFK-Orly. I know with proper promotion you would be stunned by the demand. Plus you would be the only airline to offer this service to the European Continent.
Please give this serious consideration. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Carol
October 27th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Dale –
My wife and I flew to Paris last weekend in Biz.
The check-in and boarding process was quick,easy, and stress free. The on-demand entertainment system kept us entertained and the meals were delicious. Not to mention the outstanding service from your exceptional and professional cabin crew. I can’t imagine we’ll be flying any other airline to Paris (or Amsterdam!). Congratulations on the great product! Cheers – Ed
October 29th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
I’m curious to know what other routes might be considered in the future. Anything to the Far East?
November 23rd, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Hello,
I was just wondering how the New York – Amsterdam route is doing. I learned you are cutting back on flights frequencies. Why did you choose Amsterdam after Paris? Was it to go after rival AF-KLM for having started their own non-stop flights JFK to Heathrow and also for building a mini-hub there too!
I will be curious to know.
Good luck
January 8th, 2009 at 12:53 am
Hi, just wondering if you have any plans to fly between New York and Destinations in Ireland, all we have is ex oneworld member Aer lingus and they are’nt to great or comfy. Also, why not tell your freinds in BA to get an Asian airline going, maybe in India or China. thanks, good luck!