"OpenSkies" Will Take Advantage Of Open Skies

On Wednesday, British Airways made good on earlier statements it planned to create a separate airline to take advantage of last year's "open-skies" agreement between authorities in the United States, and the European Union.

To be called -- appropriately enough -- OpenSkies, the new airline will start flying in June, reports The Associated Press, and start out with one Boeing 757 flying between New York and either Brussels or Paris. The airline will apparently cater to business-class fliers -- as the aircraft, normally configured for over 200 seats, will offer seating for just 82 passengers, split among business, premium economy and coach-class cabins.

If that sounds eerily like the business model behind MAXJet -- which flew predominantly business-class fliers between London, New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles, before filing for Chapter 11 last month -- well, British Airways would rather not think about that.

"This is an exciting new venture for us and we're confident that it will be a great success as we build on the strength of British Airways' brand in the US and Europe," British Airways CEO Willie Walsh said. "By naming the airline OpenSkies, we're celebrating the first major step in 60 years towards a liberalized US/EU aviation market which means we can fly between any US and EU destination."

Walsh's statement sounded a little incongruous, however, compared to his lamentation in March 2007 that open skies legislation would prove to be "a poor agreement for Britain and Europe." As ANN reported, British Airways opposed EU passage of Open Skies then, as the legislation reduces the competitive advantage -- some would say monopoly -- the airline now enjoys at London Heathrow.

Under current rules, only four carriers -- Britain's Virgin Atlantic and British Airways, and US carriers American and United -- are allowed to fly to the US from Heathrow. Open skies opens the market to increased competition.

Dale Moss, former director of worldwide sales at BA, will be named managing director of the new airline, which will be registered in Britain. The carrier plans to eventually fly six 757s by the end of 2009, all of which will come from BA's existing fleet.

Open skies legislation goes into effect March 30.

FMI: www.ba.com, www.europa.eu