When I first started out in this industry many moons ago, they’d write out your ticket by hand. A lot has changed since then—and for the better. We’ve set up our system so you can book your OpenSkies ticket online through our website or through British Airways’ (our parent company) site, or even via a travel agent.

Once you’ve booked your ticket, you can easily manage it online. Log in to your booking by typing in your confirmation number and last name and voilà! You can cancel your flight, select a meal option, input your passport information and pick the available window or aisle seat (no middle seats!) to your liking.  Joining us in BIZ class? Choose any available forward or rear facing flatbed seat you like.

It’s all online—so you can manage the entire process with your click finger.

Twenty-four hours prior to take-off, we’ll send you an email reminder. You can check-in online to speed things up or check in at the airport.  Either way, we have dedicated OpenSkies desks where you will pick up your boarding card.  At the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS-JFK flights start October 15!) it’s in Hall 3, rows 21 and 22.  In Paris Orly Airport, it’s at the Sud (South) terminal, desks 2, 3, and 4, just opposite the G gate.  And at New York JFK, it’s at terminal 7, next to the British Airways’ First Class check in.

So book a flight, experience the difference, and then let us know your thoughts.

Dale

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

I like to think that OpenSkies is full of creative problem solvers. And when circumstances are beyond our control, that’s when we truly shine. You may be asking,  how does an airline with only one aircraft handle disruption? It’s a good question, and one we knew we’d have to support. As part of the British Airways family, we have the resources and reach to handle most any situation on the spot.

For example, when those summer thunderstorms diverted our Paris-New York flight to Boston, the storms lingered over JFK long enough that the flight crew had to be relieved of duty by law. The flight was canceled, and that cancellation caused a domino effect of other cancellations. But that doesn’t mean our travelers were left stranded.

We were able to connect directly with our British Airways teams in Boston, London and Paris to provide all the assistance to our travelers to ensure they arrived at their destination safely, and as quickly as possible.

I like to think of us as a little airline with a lot of support, and that we can call on our BA colleagues when we need to. But that doesn’t happen very often. Our operational record is quite good. If a flight arrives within 15 minutes of the scheduled time it’s within the industry standard. Since launch, we’ve been hitting this mark over 92% of the time. Even better, over 80% of our flights have arrived within 3 minutes.

You’ve heard me say that we’re dedicated to a great flying experience, but we’re also dedicated a reliable one.

Dale

“All of us were blown away by the value of the Prem+ product. Seriously, it is a steal for what you get.” Says Jared Blank of the Online Travel Review.

“The seat was much wider, at least around the shoulders, which made it easy to get comfortable. I also found the leather to be non-sticky and easy to find a comfortable position in, which is a big plus… Overall I can’t find one thing to fault the seats for,” says Ben A.K.A. “Lucky” from One Mile at A Time.

We thought we were onto something with PREM+, but we didn’t anticipate this kind of reaction! From the very start, we built this airline with a spirit of creativity and passion for listening to our customers. Really listening.

Your voices have been heard. Our PREM+ cabin is expanding from 28 seats to 40 seats on both our Paris/NYC route (as of October 1) and Amsterdam/NYC route (October 15 is our first flight). That means no more than 64 passengers on the entire plane.

But really, what does that mean? I know when I’m on a 7-hour flight, I don’t like to be cramped in claustrophobic quarters. I don’t like to be shifting and fidgeting to relax. When we designed our cabins, we were striving for living-room comfort—not only in our chairs, but also throughout our entire cabin. That includes the food, service, entertainment, privacy, everything. It’s not perfect yet but—with your help—we’re getting closer.

And affordability is also an issue nowadays when many budgets don’t allow for full-price business class travel. PREM+ is the perfect alternative. It gives you a more affordable business class experience, so you arrive refreshed and ready for the day with money to spare. Check out our latest PREM+ offers for both the Amsterdam/NYC and Paris/NYC routes.

The optimum flying experience, that’s what we’re going for. We have a lot of work to do, but at least we’re flying in the right direction.

Dale

Amsterdam will be the third great city to host OpenSkies. It’s an exciting step as we grow the airline, introduce our unique service to a whole new city and connect our friends in New York with another European destination. In fact, New York and Amsterdam have a long history as the Dutch were the first to settle Manhattan and originally named it “New Amsterdam”.

Why Amsterdam? Why not? It has Europe’s largest historic city center and is home to many great companies. It’s a major trading port and Schiphol is the 5th busiest passenger airport in Europe. A hub for commerce as well as a truly beautiful city with plenty to do: explore the city by bike like a local, cruise the historic canals, take in some fantastic museums and art galleries, and even do a bit of shopping.

We’ll be departing Amsterdam-Schiphol (AMS) at 1:20pm arriving in New York-JFK at 3:35pm. On the way back we’ll depart New York-JFK at 8:05pm arrive in Amsterdam-Schiphol at 9:40am the following morning. And that’ll be our schedule six days a week.

Flights will be available for booking from August 1, and we’ll kick it off with a special Amsterdam launch offer in PREM+. Check back soon!

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 can’t think of a better way to launch our new airline then by linking two of the world’s business and cultural capitals together. So no matter what type of business you’re in, we’ll get you there rested and ready for that meeting—or for that fantastic cuisine, museum exhibit, or stroll along the Seine.

We also plan to be the first airline to have 180° flatbeds in business class between Paris and New York. But no matter which of our classes you fly, a fresh approach to personalized service and premium comfort are part of the experience.

Dale

This blog is very much in line with our philosophy of trying new things, innovating, and having fun doing it. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your posts! And I only wish the demands of making this airline fly didn’t limit my ability to respond. I will answer as much as I can as often as I can, and will bring in experts for answers that require more detail.

That said, here are some quick answers to a few of the topics you raised.

Routes: Your requests for destinations in Glasgow, Boston, Torino, San Francisco, Amsterdam, Madrid, etc. have been noted. (John, I hear you about Hawaii!) Believe me, we’d love to fly to all of them. For now, Paris and Brussels to New York is what we’re aiming for to start. With success, we will explore expansion into other EU cities.

Pricing: Given the regulatory process both in Europe and the US, I’m not able disclose any details until we have been given approval to do so. Our plan is to offer superior value for the money. As soon as we can say something, we will!

OneWorld: Many of you have asked, and the answer is we will not be part of the OneWorld alliance. OneWorld is global, and our focus is city-to-city. However, OpenSkies customers will earn Executive Club miles and will receive most of the same benefits as flying any OneWorld airline.

Name: Some of you agree with Felix, “Love the idea, but the name is cheesy.” Thanks for your candor. We believe the name is a metaphor for bringing a new openness to our industry. And, much like our collective imagination, the sky has no limits. Hence, OpenSkies. Additionally, we chose to keep the BA tailfin. We’re proud of our association with this esteemed brand and plan to implement BA excellence in what we do every day.

Also… Andy wants to know if we will have “an enhanced food offering.” Steve is curious about carbon offsets. Justin wants more detail on our Premium Economy offering. Please check back with us as we tackle these topics in the weeks to come.

Keep writing. I’ll keep reading.

Dale

We intend to take our very first flight from New York to either Paris or Brussels in June of this year. We couldn’t be more elated. Witnessing this idea slowly become reality has been a thrilling journey.

As a British Airways enterprise, this truly is history in the making. Open Skies is the moniker for the new agreement between the United States and European Union liberalising aviation. We are now able to fly freely to and from the United States to virtually any destination in the EU—the skies have literally opened over the Atlantic.

Our plan is to operate six aircraft by the end of 2009, originating in the New York area and flying to a range of destinations throughout Europe. The planes will be efficient and proven 757s with a redesigned, traveller-friendly cabin configured in 3 classes: business, premium economy, and economy.

The business class cabin will have 24 seats that convert into 6’ flat beds. And when we say flat, we mean completely horizontal. This makes OpenSkies one of the only airlines in the market offering this feature. We will also offer 28 premium economy seats with a 52” seat pitch. This is also unique, redefining the premium economy class. Plus the comfortable 30 economy seats mean no more than 82 passengers will be on any given aircraft. It’s all part of our vision for a more personal flying experience.

But beyond the specs, I’d like to say that OpenSkies is dedicated to elevated customer care. We will take the lead from British Airways and try new, inventive ways to improve service at all levels. We’d also like for you to tell us your thoughts, your ideas, and—once we take off— tell us how we’re doing. You can start right here with this blog.

Cheers for now,

Dale Moss
Managing Director