May 3rd marked a bit of aviation history as we connected Paris Orly (ORY) and Washington Dulles (IAD) airports for the first time. I personally was on the flight along with customers and journalists. We all had a terrific experience. Some of us had dinner that night in Washington D.C. at Michel Richard’s Central restaurant. It was a nice way to cap a special day. The next morning I hosted a press conference in Alexandria, Virginia. The journalists were all impressed with not only the uniqueness of business travel on OpenSkies but how spectacular the city of Washington D.C. was. No question about it, I think everyone had a most enjoyable journey.

Things are progressing nicely with our new Washington D.C. route. With the help of our advertising and word of mouth picking up every week, so are the loads. It takes a little while to build up our business class brand in a new city but we are encouraged as to where we are relative to our plan, which reflects bookings at +15%. Fingers crossed! I was on a flight this past week and one of our customers reached out to me to say, “I’m spoiled now, this is the only way to fly”. That sure does make me happy to hear.

Operationally we were challenged by the untimely resurrection of the ash cloud making for a few tough days. We are very grateful to our customers who were patient and understanding during this time of disruption. We recovered quickly and all has been well since. But running an airline has always had its operational challenge, it’s how we respond that customers will hold judgment.

We learned a lot and especially how important communication to our customers is. We have marked it as a lesson and have already put in place new procedures to ensure our communication is more timely and informative. So keep your comments coming!

Best,

Dale

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

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

First, we passed our proving flight with flying colors as of 5:33 UK time yesterday we received our AOC from the CAA (Air Operators Certificate and Civil Aviation Authority for those keeping up on acronyms)!

Last week, I posted about embarking on our proving flight: an exciting and tense time. We had to make sure every “i” is dotted and “t” is crossed. Inspectors combed over every detail, making sure our plane and crew are ready to fly.

The CAA Flight Operation Inspector complimented our team on their thoroughness and professionalism. We flew a route over North Scotland and over Iceland to demonstrate our oceanic flight procedures before returning to UK airspace.

Secondly, we’re re-routing to Orly!

If you remember, we announced on February 21 that we planned to be flying from John F. Kennedy (JFK) to Charles de Gaulle (CDG). Even after that announcement we were working hard to obtain slots at our preferred airport, Orly. Just this week we got them through a codeshare agreement with L’Avion and made the switch. All of which becomes official once we secure all of our regulatory approvals. We chose Orly because it is more conveniently located to the center of Paris and offers faster access to and from the city than CDG. The distance from Orly to central Paris is roughly 19km or 12m, whereas the distance from CDG to central Paris is roughly 28km or 17m.

5 miles can make all the difference—especially in rush hour.

More headlines as they happen,

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