AIRLINE NEWS
Friday, June 20, 2008
British Airways Subsidiary Begins Paris-U.S. Flights
British Airways Plc began flights from France to the U.S. with a new airline division, taking advantage of an international treaty to add services across the north Atlantic, the world's most profitable aviation market.
The first plane operated by the U.K. carrier's OpenSkies subsidiary took off at 10:49 a.m. in Paris and is due to arrive at New York's John F. Kennedy airport at 1:25 p.m. eastern time.
British Airways is adding flights even as a slowing economy and surging oil prices cause the collapse of other carriers. Chief Executive Officer Willie Walsh said yesterday that the new airline's costs will be kept low through joint purchasing with its London based parent, Europe's third-largest airline.
"While the economic climate has worsened in recent months, we believe that OpenSkies can compete effectively," Walsh said in a statement. "It has a low cost base and support from British Airways in key areas such as sales and marketing. This differentiates it from some new airlines that have failed recently which were operating in isolation."
British Airways rose 0.25 pence, or 0.1 percent, to 226 pence, paring the stock's declines this year to 27 percent and valuing the company at 2.61 billion pounds ($5.15 billion).
Business Focus
OpenSkies will initially operate from Paris Orly airport using a single Boeing Co. 757s carrying as many as 82 passengers. The aircraft have 24 business-class berths that convert to beds, with 28 seats in premium economy and only 30 in economy. Upscale seating accounts for about half of British Airways' revenue.
OpenSkies is the only airline created specifically to take advantage of the U.S-European Union treaty of the same name, which allows carriers to fly between the U.S. and any of the bloc's nations instead of just their home countries.
At least 24 carriers have failed or entered bankruptcy this year, according to the International Air Transport Association, among them business-only carriers Silverjet Plc and Eos Airlines. The industry may report annual losses of $6.1 billion, the worst since 2003, hurt by slowing economies and a 50 percent jump in oil prices in six months, the trade body estimates.
"The timing's unfortunate but BA probably have one of the better brands in the U.S.," said Stephen Furlong, an analyst at Davy Stockbrokers in Dublin who has the U.K. airline on his focus list. "But ultimately they'll still have to generate a return."
Dale Moss, managing director of the new airline, said in a statement today that it aims to provide value, service and comfort that will "delight" customers.
Expansion Plans
OpenSkies plans to have six planes by the end of 2009, all from its parent's 757 fleet, and is considering flying to the U.S. from Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt and Milan. British Airways has spent 17 million pounds on the unit, it disclosed in accounts for the year ended March 31. The new carrier got takeoff slots at Orly through an agreement with L'Avion, which also operates from the Parisian airport to New York and is the only remaining independent business-class carrier across the Atlantic.
Establishing a subsidiary in Paris is also a response to competition at British Airways' London Heathrow hub after the introduction of the Open Skies treaty in March ended a lock that it and three other carriers had on U.S-Heathrow services.
American carriers Delta Air Lines Inc., Continental Airlines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Inc. have begun Heathrow flights. The influx means capacity between the U.S. and Europe's busiest airport is up 21 percent this summer compared with a year earlier, according to London-based consultant Aviation Economics.
Defensive Move
"OpenSkies is a defensive move by British Airways," said Davy's Furlong. "It seems to be a case of "you came into my market, so I'll come into yours.""
British Airways is Heathrow's biggest carrier, with 41 percent of slots at an airport that's already operating at 99 percent of government-permitted flight capacity.
Air France-KLM Group, Europe's biggest airline, has begun flights from Heathrow to Los Angeles under the new treaty as part of a revenue-sharing partnership with Delta. Deutsche Lufthansa AG, the region's No. 2, bought a stake in JetBlue Airways Corp. in January, giving an additional partner to help steer U.S. customers to its trans-Atlantic flights. The German carrier also says it may exercise an option to buy BMI, the second biggest holder of slots at Heathrow, by the middle of next year.
Source: bloomberg.com
The first plane operated by the U.K. carrier's OpenSkies subsidiary took off at 10:49 a.m. in Paris and is due to arrive at New York's John F. Kennedy airport at 1:25 p.m. eastern time.
British Airways is adding flights even as a slowing economy and surging oil prices cause the collapse of other carriers. Chief Executive Officer Willie Walsh said yesterday that the new airline's costs will be kept low through joint purchasing with its London based parent, Europe's third-largest airline.
"While the economic climate has worsened in recent months, we believe that OpenSkies can compete effectively," Walsh said in a statement. "It has a low cost base and support from British Airways in key areas such as sales and marketing. This differentiates it from some new airlines that have failed recently which were operating in isolation."
British Airways rose 0.25 pence, or 0.1 percent, to 226 pence, paring the stock's declines this year to 27 percent and valuing the company at 2.61 billion pounds ($5.15 billion).
Business Focus
OpenSkies will initially operate from Paris Orly airport using a single Boeing Co. 757s carrying as many as 82 passengers. The aircraft have 24 business-class berths that convert to beds, with 28 seats in premium economy and only 30 in economy. Upscale seating accounts for about half of British Airways' revenue.
OpenSkies is the only airline created specifically to take advantage of the U.S-European Union treaty of the same name, which allows carriers to fly between the U.S. and any of the bloc's nations instead of just their home countries.
At least 24 carriers have failed or entered bankruptcy this year, according to the International Air Transport Association, among them business-only carriers Silverjet Plc and Eos Airlines. The industry may report annual losses of $6.1 billion, the worst since 2003, hurt by slowing economies and a 50 percent jump in oil prices in six months, the trade body estimates.
"The timing's unfortunate but BA probably have one of the better brands in the U.S.," said Stephen Furlong, an analyst at Davy Stockbrokers in Dublin who has the U.K. airline on his focus list. "But ultimately they'll still have to generate a return."
Dale Moss, managing director of the new airline, said in a statement today that it aims to provide value, service and comfort that will "delight" customers.
Expansion Plans
OpenSkies plans to have six planes by the end of 2009, all from its parent's 757 fleet, and is considering flying to the U.S. from Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt and Milan. British Airways has spent 17 million pounds on the unit, it disclosed in accounts for the year ended March 31. The new carrier got takeoff slots at Orly through an agreement with L'Avion, which also operates from the Parisian airport to New York and is the only remaining independent business-class carrier across the Atlantic.
Establishing a subsidiary in Paris is also a response to competition at British Airways' London Heathrow hub after the introduction of the Open Skies treaty in March ended a lock that it and three other carriers had on U.S-Heathrow services.
American carriers Delta Air Lines Inc., Continental Airlines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Inc. have begun Heathrow flights. The influx means capacity between the U.S. and Europe's busiest airport is up 21 percent this summer compared with a year earlier, according to London-based consultant Aviation Economics.
Defensive Move
"OpenSkies is a defensive move by British Airways," said Davy's Furlong. "It seems to be a case of "you came into my market, so I'll come into yours.""
British Airways is Heathrow's biggest carrier, with 41 percent of slots at an airport that's already operating at 99 percent of government-permitted flight capacity.
Air France-KLM Group, Europe's biggest airline, has begun flights from Heathrow to Los Angeles under the new treaty as part of a revenue-sharing partnership with Delta. Deutsche Lufthansa AG, the region's No. 2, bought a stake in JetBlue Airways Corp. in January, giving an additional partner to help steer U.S. customers to its trans-Atlantic flights. The German carrier also says it may exercise an option to buy BMI, the second biggest holder of slots at Heathrow, by the middle of next year.
Source: bloomberg.com
Labels: British Airways, OpenSkies
Saturday, May 24, 2008
BA's Paris-New York service opens for business
British Airways risks further undermining its relationship with pilots today as it starts selling tickets for its transatlantic OpenSkies airline.
The Paris-to-New York service will begin flying on June 19 with the threat of crippling industrial action still hanging over its owner.
BA pilots voted overwhelmingly to strike over the new carrier, which they claim is a stalking horse for imposing worse terms and conditions. The British Airline Pilots' Association (Balpa) had appealed to the high court to rule on whether any industrial action was legal - but today dropped the claim. A lawyer for Balpa said it would be "out of its mind" to pursue industrial action.
The airline is BA's riposte to the competitive threat posed by a treaty liberalising transatlantic air travel, also called Open Skies, which allows any EU-based carrier to fly to the US and vice-versa.
OpenSkies officially opened for business this morning by offering tickets on the first Paris Orly to New York JFK flights. It will offer business class flatbed seats at $1,700 (£862) for a one-way journey, with premium economy costing $700 and economy costing $500.
Robert Boyle, BA's commercial director, said OpenSkies, which will fly one plane decorated with BA livery, is a genuine departure from other BA services, starting with the fact that under the old transatlantic flight agreements BA was barred from operating US flights from continental Europe.
The 82-seater Boeing 757 plane will also have a new cabin layout, with the long-term possibility of turning the subsidiary into a business class-only carrier to rival the likes of Silverjet, which operates a first class-only service from Luton airport.
"Our real aim is that we are targeting the premium end of the market," said Boyle, who confirmed that BA will operate the service in tandem with L'Avion, a French business class-only carrier.
BA also warned that negotiations on a second stage of the Open Skies treaty have been a damp squib so far. The European commission wants to build on the first agreement with the lifting of ownership restrictions for EU and US carriers. Currently, an EU carrier can own no more than 25% of a US airline, while a US airline's shareholding in a European counterpart is limited to 49%.
John Wood, BA's negotiator in the Open Skies talks, said: "The US team does not necessarily subscribe to the ambition of a full open aviation area." He added that the first stage of the treaty gave the US carriers everything they wanted, including access to Heathrow airport, and very little to EU airlines.
"We were disappointed that the EU did not get a better deal and we did not find it edifying that both sides are celebrating a 'magnificent' achievement," he said. However, Wood said he was "optimistic" that a deal can be done on ownership following the establishment of the Transatlantic Economic Council, a joint EU-US body that is expected to put pressure on the US to loosen shareholding guidelines.
Source: guardian.co.uk
The Paris-to-New York service will begin flying on June 19 with the threat of crippling industrial action still hanging over its owner.
BA pilots voted overwhelmingly to strike over the new carrier, which they claim is a stalking horse for imposing worse terms and conditions. The British Airline Pilots' Association (Balpa) had appealed to the high court to rule on whether any industrial action was legal - but today dropped the claim. A lawyer for Balpa said it would be "out of its mind" to pursue industrial action.
The airline is BA's riposte to the competitive threat posed by a treaty liberalising transatlantic air travel, also called Open Skies, which allows any EU-based carrier to fly to the US and vice-versa.
OpenSkies officially opened for business this morning by offering tickets on the first Paris Orly to New York JFK flights. It will offer business class flatbed seats at $1,700 (£862) for a one-way journey, with premium economy costing $700 and economy costing $500.
Robert Boyle, BA's commercial director, said OpenSkies, which will fly one plane decorated with BA livery, is a genuine departure from other BA services, starting with the fact that under the old transatlantic flight agreements BA was barred from operating US flights from continental Europe.
The 82-seater Boeing 757 plane will also have a new cabin layout, with the long-term possibility of turning the subsidiary into a business class-only carrier to rival the likes of Silverjet, which operates a first class-only service from Luton airport.
"Our real aim is that we are targeting the premium end of the market," said Boyle, who confirmed that BA will operate the service in tandem with L'Avion, a French business class-only carrier.
BA also warned that negotiations on a second stage of the Open Skies treaty have been a damp squib so far. The European commission wants to build on the first agreement with the lifting of ownership restrictions for EU and US carriers. Currently, an EU carrier can own no more than 25% of a US airline, while a US airline's shareholding in a European counterpart is limited to 49%.
John Wood, BA's negotiator in the Open Skies talks, said: "The US team does not necessarily subscribe to the ambition of a full open aviation area." He added that the first stage of the treaty gave the US carriers everything they wanted, including access to Heathrow airport, and very little to EU airlines.
"We were disappointed that the EU did not get a better deal and we did not find it edifying that both sides are celebrating a 'magnificent' achievement," he said. However, Wood said he was "optimistic" that a deal can be done on ownership following the establishment of the Transatlantic Economic Council, a joint EU-US body that is expected to put pressure on the US to loosen shareholding guidelines.
Source: guardian.co.uk
Labels: British Airways, l'avion, open skies deal, OpenSkies
Sunday, May 18, 2008
New 'OpenSkies' carrier cleared for takeoff
OpenSkies, a new transatlantic airline created by British Airways, said Friday it won approval from US regulators to launch flights between New York and Paris starting in June.
The carrier, which calls itself a "premium" airline and offers codesharing with French-based L'Avion, said it received approval from the US Department of Transportation (DOT).
It claims to be the first airline created on the basis of the US-European Union open-skies pact that allows carriers increased access to each other's markets.
"We are delighted to receive approval for take-off and sincerely appreciate the DOT's efficiency and careful consideration in reviewing our application," said Dale Moss, managing director of OpenSkies.
"As the first airline to be created as a result of the Open Skies agreement, this is a huge step forward as we work to make history and set a new industry standard across the Atlantic. We look forward to bringing travelers an intimate, personalized and premium travel experience between Paris and New York starting in just a few weeks."
The company said it will start taking bookings next week via its website www.flyopenskies.com or by phone, and through travel agents.
OpenSkies will use a Boeing 757 aircraft that is configured to allow the seats to fold into full beds in business class.
It plans to serve additional routes from European cities including Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt and Milan to New York.
Source: afp.google.com
The carrier, which calls itself a "premium" airline and offers codesharing with French-based L'Avion, said it received approval from the US Department of Transportation (DOT).
It claims to be the first airline created on the basis of the US-European Union open-skies pact that allows carriers increased access to each other's markets.
"We are delighted to receive approval for take-off and sincerely appreciate the DOT's efficiency and careful consideration in reviewing our application," said Dale Moss, managing director of OpenSkies.
"As the first airline to be created as a result of the Open Skies agreement, this is a huge step forward as we work to make history and set a new industry standard across the Atlantic. We look forward to bringing travelers an intimate, personalized and premium travel experience between Paris and New York starting in just a few weeks."
The company said it will start taking bookings next week via its website www.flyopenskies.com or by phone, and through travel agents.
OpenSkies will use a Boeing 757 aircraft that is configured to allow the seats to fold into full beds in business class.
It plans to serve additional routes from European cities including Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt and Milan to New York.
Source: afp.google.com
Labels: British Airways, New York, OpenSkies, Paris
Sunday, May 11, 2008
OpenSkies gets OK to launch from Paris Orly-New York JFK
OpenSkies, the new BA subsidiary which plans to operate flights from Europe direct to the US, has received clearance from Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority to take to the skies.
travel.timesonline.co.uk
travel.timesonline.co.uk
Labels: British Airways, New York, OpenSkies, Paris
