OpenSkies

That’s the new name for British Airways’ new airline that will be based on the European mainland.

Not the most innovative of names I must admit, but it’s a stamp of authority by the UK flag carrier to assert itself as the countdown continues towards the implementation of the US-EU Open Skies agreement.

The first Boeing 757 in the new BA offshoot will have 24 business class seats, 28 premium economy seats and 30 economy seats.

No decision has yet been made whether operations to the USA will commence from either Paris (Charles De Gaulle) or from Brussels.

It is understood that if OpenSkies emerges as a pan-European favorite, the carrier will look to establish their newly ordered Boeing 787’s to eventually operate to the USA from across the mainland at various stations.

Image courtesy of OpenSkies

In announcing its plans, British Airways has stolen a march not just on its UK rivals, bmi and Virgin Atlantic, it has already beaten the main European heavyweights in Lufthansa and Air France in establishing a new product and service outside of its key London Heathrow hub.

Incidentally, Virgin recently announced that it was dropping its plans for an all business class airline in the wake of what it saw as slow progress in granting greater access to the US for European carriers.

Image courtesy of AP

Now that BA and OpenSkies have laid their cards on the table, and we already know that the likes of Continental, Northwest, Delta and US Airways are already headed en masse to Europe, the question is, what are the other European major carriers going to do?

Doing nothing is not an option.

There is also a greater opportunity for the likes of Ryanair and Easyjet to perhaps consider their own low cost, long haul ambitions - especially in the wake of the Maxjet collapse.

Added into the mix is the snubbed party from the China Eastern Airlines melee, Singapore Airlines.

The UK-Singapore Open Skies deal kicks in at the end of March 2008, and the Singaporean airline has made no secret of its desire to serve the US East Coast from Heathrow. Now, it may just have the added incentive to do so in the wake of a bloodbath on the horizon.

But is British Airways’ first cut the deepest?

Time will tell…

4 comments January 9th, 2008