Spring’s finally arrived. And what a busy spring it’s already been. 

As you can see from the photo above, we’ve already wheeled one of the two L’Avion 757s into the hangar and made it part of the OpenSkies family by repainting it with the updated OpenSkies livery that mixes in tones of L’Avion’s signature purple. Flatbed seats are being added over the next couple months and we’re also installing the Archos inflight entertainment system. That means over 50 hours of movies, TV, music and games. 

What else are we up to?  As part of our integration with L’Avion, we’re changing a few things. BIZ is now Biz Bed and PREM+ has been renamed Biz Seat. So why the new names Biz Bed and Biz Seat? To better convey the fact that, no matter the cabin, you’ll experience business class excellence. We also want to keep things lively, so we’re introducing new dishes to our chef-inspired menu—always made from the freshest ingredients. And of course there’s the great wine selection, always poured from a real bottle. 

What isn’t changing is the exceptional comfort, attention to service, and personal touch—and unbeatable value—you’ve come to expect from us. That means loyal L’Avion flyers like Jerome Pineau have no reason to worry.  

I’ve been asked about the uniforms, and yes, updated uniforms are part of the integration. Everyone will be suited up by September, but in the meantime, you may see L’Avion and OpenSkies crew members in their current uniforms working together on a flight.  No matter the uniform, though, everyone will have an OpenSkies nametag—and everyone is committed to providing you memorable business class experience. 

We’re looking forward to expanding the family—and I’m looking forward to hearing what you think of our integration. 

Dale

Deatra and Connor posed some questions (and a couple suggestions) about adding new routes.

We’ve no plans as of right now for new routes. The economic conditions are a big reason why we’re not expanding routes in the near term. We’re keeping our focus on what we’ve got, doing the most with our current routes, and completing the integration of L’Avion. But we always have an eye toward the future and closely consider expansion opportunities when they come up.

The flight range of our Boeing 757s also plays a role when reviewing possible new routes. Ideal for connecting the US East coast to Western Europe, some longer routes just aren’t feasible with our current fleet. And as I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ll definitely share the news when new routes are decided on.

We had a couple different takes on our point-to-point (direct flight) structure from Doron and Henry.

I touched on this a bit in a post a few month backs, but it’s definitely worth going over again. One of the big benefits about being strictly a point-to-point carrier is that it frees us from the intricacies and cost of connecting flights and transferring luggage—which means savings for you. It also means Henry gets to visit NYC for the first time! We look forward to seeing you in May—and reading about your trip on your blog.

That leads us right into George’s question as to whether we’re planning on joining the OneWorld Alliance.

We’re not. Joining OneWorld would add operational complications and costs—something we strive to avoid. But we are partner airlines in British Airways Executive Club (as is L’Avion), so you can earn Executive Club miles when you fly.

As for George’s other question—how many additional B757s is British Airways going to transfer to us—the answer is none. BA has decided to sell the remainder of their fleet (sorry Luke, we aren’t the unnamed airline who bought them!). That said, the fleet we have perfectly fits needs.

We had a question regarding our in-flight entertainment system from Ann. While she thought the Archos 705 personal players is a great add-on, she commented on the battery life of the unit and wanted to know if we are considering installing standard in seat entertainment systems.

We aren’t planning on installing standard in-seat entertainment system. It’d also be a significant investment to make the change, and we’re out to provide good value—and keeping cost down is a big part of that. As for the battery life, the Archos system can always be recharged from the in-seat power supply.

The economy—and how it’s affecting us—is another question frequently asked. Loric says, “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.”

We have every intention of being around for a long time. And we’re taking every measure necessary—including keeping costs down—to ensure it. Like all airlines (all companies for that matter), this economy is a challenge. But I truly believe we are the perfect airline for these times—real value and exceptional comfort. And having the strength of the BA family definitely helps.

You’ve all posted great comments, questions, and suggestions. I really enjoy reading through them—and getting a chance to answer them directly. So keep writing. I’ll keep reading.

Dale

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I enjoy reading all your comments. I’ve decided to make answering your questions a regular feature on the blog, so if you haven’t gotten around to leaving a comment, now’s the time.

Keith and Henry start us off with a couple great questions that touch on the same topic. “How is OpenSkies coping with the global downturn in air travel?” Keith asks.  “Are you buoyant and will my bookings for the future be a safe investment?”

You’re right, Keith. Economic turbulence has slowed the industry. But let me assure you that your booking made on OpenSkies is a safe investment, and dare I say the best investment at this time. As you may know, we have the full backing and support of one of the world’s finest airlines, British Airways. With BA behind us, we are in a great position for success even in tough economic times. And I want to make a point that PREM+ is, in my opinion, the best value flying, with absolutely no compromise on comfort. Of course you’d expect me to say that.  But it’s also is the opinion of the critics. I like how Joe Brancatelli of Portfolio.com puts it.   PREM+, he says, is an “entirely new class of international airline service.” Value and business class comfort—now those are two terms not often associated with each other!

In the post on our in flight entertainment systems, Lee commented on how great the Archos 705 portable media player is (I agree!). He asks, “How often is your AVOD [entertainment system] updated?”

We update half of our movies every month and rotate in new TV shows every other month. In January, we have some great films like RocknRolla and the thriller Eagle Eye.  And being international, we offer international entertainment, next month features movies like the French drama Le Premier jour du reste de ta vie and the Dutch drama Het Zusje van Katia. Whenever possible, we’ll have French and Dutch soundtracks and subtitles on the movies and TV shows.

A couple of you had questions about whether we were going to extend out routes to new cities.  Hadassah asks, “How big does the vision go for other US cities to be included, namely where I’m at in Los Angeles?” Isadora had a similar question, “When are you flying from Stockholm (Sweden)?”

We put a lot of thought into our routes by considering the business opportunity and the aircraft flying range. As of right now, neither L.A. nor Stockholm are in our plans. Future expansion opportunities are always being considered and as soon as I have any news about upcoming routes I’ll be sure to let you know right here.

Stephen also had a question about routes. He says, “Why don’t you add [London] STANSTED as your next OpenSkies base.”

Stansted may be a unique opportunity, though we have no plans to operate out of the UK.  Our parent company, British Airways, has those flights covered. I’ll definitely pass on the suggestion to them.

And we had a question from Orlan asking about in flight reading. He asks, “Are you planning any inflight magazines specific to OpenSkies?”

We’ve decided not to have an in flight magazine. But we do offer local and international newspapers and publications that you can pick up as you board the plane. Depending on your route, you’ll find Dutch titles like Telegraph or Elsevier, French titles such as Le Figaro or Paris Match, or English titles like The Wall Street Journal or Golf Digest.

That’s all for now. I check the blog a lot to read the new comments. Keep leaving them. I promise to do my best to answer them.  And let me know what you think about our airline, our routes, our blog— anything, really.

Here’s to a great 2009, Happy New Year!

Dale

As with everything we do, we’ve put a lot of thought into our inflight entertainment system. We’re using the Archos 705 portable media player, which we call AVOD (yes, another acronym! This one stands for audio/video on demand). I really think the system we’re using is the best out there. Why? Take for instance the player’s holder. On some airlines you have to prop the device on your meal tray; ours is designed to stay out of your way, which means you can enjoy a meal while watching a movie, a sitcom, a sporting event—there’s too much to list!

Something I often find irritating with state-of-the-art technology is that it gets too fancy for its own good. That’s not the case with our AVOD. We made sure it’s straightforward and easy-to-use. Grant Martin had a chance to try it out on a recent flight and wrote about it on Gadling.com. “Refreshingly responsive,” he called it.

All of this doesn’t mean much if you don’t have a big selection of programs to choose from. We do. We offer 20 newly released movies—even international titles like Bluff, or Heure d’été. He have 42 TV shows (everything from Ugly Betty to Mad Men), 66 musical artists with 777 titles, and 10 interactive games. That’s a lot—some 50 hours of audio and video. And the Seinnheiser headsets—with noise-canceling technology—ensure you hear what you’re listening to, not the sounds around you. If you’ve had the chance to experience our AVOD, let us know your thoughts on it.

Dale

“So Dale,” you might be saying, “extra space is great, but what about the seats themselves? What about the overall experience?” Glad you asked! We’ve put a lot of thought into the Prem+ cabin. Newly designed with premium features and comfort, the leather seats offer two universal power plugs for computer and personal electronics (good news to Dave C), a convenient coat hook and our AVOD personal entertainment system with over 50 hours of audio and video. As for the experience, there’s our premium wine service, specially prepared meals that are both healthy and tasty, and—with no more than 28 passengers in the cabin—highly personalized service from the crew.

Louis is right—we’ll be the only airline with a premium economy cabin flying Paris-New York. To top that, prem+ will be the only premium economy cabin with so much space and comfort flying from cities throughout continental Europe to NYC.

So no matter how you spend your flight—getting a great night’s sleep, watching a fantastic movie, working on that important presentation, or comfortably easing into your holiday—Prem+ is business-class flying that’s surprisingly easy on the wallet.

Dale

I’ve been in the airline business for 30+ years, and yet I still get excited when an in-flight experience makes me say “Finally, someone gets it!” That’s the feeling we’re out to create by providing a premium product at a great price. What’s that mean? For starters:

- A well traveled team that’s dedicated to getting the little things right for each passenger
- Business class 180 degree lie-flat seats
- All passengers get their wine poured from a proper bottle, not tiny individual bottles (less waste!)
- More of an “a la carte” meal service instead of the standard shrink-wrapped offerings
- Personal AVOD entertainment units with 50+ hours of programming

And since we’re starting small, we’re able to quickly adapt, evolve, and continually improve the customer experience. So whether you’re on a flight, at the gate, or just surfing our upcoming website, you’re going to see how we’re not like everybody else. (Thank you Mr. Davies.)

Are we going to change the world? Not quite. But we are out to change a small but important part of it. So tell us your “Finally, someone gets it!” moments—we’d love to learn from your experiences.

Dale