B.A. to drop Open Skies and L'Avion ?

[WELSH WIZARDS]

I was having a conversation on my recent cruise on Equinox to the Norwegian Fjords and mentioned I had booked with Maxjet when they collapsed, then with Silverjet when the same happened again ! . I mentioned the possibility of flying possibly with Open Skies for my next TA , and was told B.A. was to drop Open Skies and L'Avion. Does anyone have any info about the truth of this.?

[Goldryder]

There is a piece about this in Travel Weekly...

 

http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articles/2009/07/27/31536/bas-openskies-suspends-amsterdam-new-york-route.html

[Goldryder]

The Guardian goes further saying that BA could well sell off the venture...

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jun/21/ba-openskies-selloff-transatlantic-flights

[Atomica]

I don't know if I'd make any long-term plans with OpenSkies. BA seems to be going back and forth with what to do with the company: one month it's profitable, the next month it's racking up losses. If they have to, they'll cut it loose.

[WELSH WIZARDS]

Thanks for your input both. I think it is really sad if this happens, as Maxjet and especially Silverjet did a very good job , bridging the gap between ordinary flights and business class. Now there will be no company's left attempting this.

[Globaliser]

BA will still be doing all-premium flights, but now on London City <-> JFK.

[WELSH WIZARDS]

BA will still be doing all-premium flights, but now on London City <-> JFK.

That is something I did not know, and I will keep it in mind and investigate, but for us in Wales that will still mean going up to London. At least we could fly to Amsterdam from Cardiff with KLM.

[Globaliser]

You're right, it's not going to be good for anyone in the UK who's outside central London. But this is different from the other all-premium airlines, in that it will operate exclusively from one high-yield airport to another.

 

Indeed, to mark the nature of the service, it's been given Concorde's JFK flight numbers: BA1, BA2, BA3 and BA4 - which some consider sacrilege.

[Atomica]

You're right, it's not going to be good for anyone in the UK who's outside central London. But this is different from the other all-premium airlines, in that it will operate exclusively from one high-yield airport to another.

 

Indeed, to mark the nature of the service, it's been given Concorde's JFK flight numbers: BA1, BA2, BA3 and BA4 - which some consider sacrilege.

 

Do you think the flights from London City Airport to JFK will take off? It sounds neat for business travelers, but I can't imagine crossing the Atlantic on something as small as an A318...

[scottbee]

Do you think the flights from London City Airport to JFK will take off? It sounds neat for business travelers, but I can't imagine crossing the Atlantic on something as small as an A318...

 

Air Canada already operate A319s on YYT-LHR, I know the 318 is a bit smaller, but you'd be surprised.

 

The 318 is more than capable of the mission, the two engines on the 68 tonne A318 deliver a total 47,000 lb of thrust, whereas original transatlantic aircraft like the 707-120 weighed 117 tonne, but only had 50,000 lb of thrust

[fbgd]

Do you think the flights from London City Airport to JFK will take off?

 

Apparently advance bookings are very positive and from what I understand the service has been created to cater for some City firms who have asked for it.

 

I don't see a problem with flying an A318. The upper deck on the 747, with similar 2-2 seating, is very popular.

[ab0si]

Air Canada already operate A319s on YYT-LHR, I know the 318 is a bit smaller, but you'd be surprised.

 

The 318 is more than capable of the mission, the two engines on the 68 tonne A318 deliver a total 47,000 lb of thrust, whereas original transatlantic aircraft like the 707-120 weighed 117 tonne, but only had 50,000 lb of thrust

 

Note that the West-bound flight stops in Shannon for refueling. Since the intention is for the passengers to clear immigration/customs here rather than at JFK, I see this a plus.

[missyal]

We are scheduled to fly BA from Amsterdam to NY on Oct. 6. Will we have a flight?????

[FlyerTalker]

Are you taking BA or Open Skies??

[missyal]

Originally booked as L'Avion, now Openskies.

[missyal]

Just got off the phone w/ Open skies. As of today, they stopped service from Amsterdam to JFK. We have been moved to BA- Amsterdam to Heathrow then on to JFK. No more non stops. They did however honor business class seats. They claim we were "on the list" to be notified by today. Thank goodness for Cruise Critic folks being on the ball!!:D

I appreciate the heads up.

[fbgd]

They did however honor business class seats.

 

Nice. Were you booked in Biz Seat or Biz Bed?

[scottbee]

Note that the West-bound flight stops in Shannon for refueling. Since the intention is for the passengers to clear immigration/customs here rather than at JFK, I see this a plus.

 

Mostly because it would be impossible to take off a fully loaded/fueled 318 from London City's short (4,980') runway. The fact that Shannon (and Dublin) offer US pre-clearance is a nice side effect

[Globaliser]

Do you think the flights from London City Airport to JFK will take off?

Despite much scepticism from some, it actually has all the makings of a great success - bookings are apparently well ahead of target. It's backed by one big BA customer based at Canary Wharf, which has underwritten the service for some time (a couple of years, IIRC).

 

The main risks for the service are that the Shannon stop turns out to be a logistical and organisational nightmare; or that there are too many days of weather disruption at LCY. But if Shannon can be made to work efficiently and operations generally are reasonably smooth, then I can see many other customers clamouring to fly on this service rather than trek out to Heathrow.

[missyal]

Ugh--now I get an email that our flight from JFK to Orly has been changed to EWR to Orly and It's an hour later( not a big deal on timing). For both original flights I had seat assignments. Now I have to wait until 24 hours before to get them.

What's up with BA/Open skies?

[fbgd]

Ugh--now I get an email that our flight from JFK to Orly has been changed to EWR to Orly and It's an hour later( not a big deal on timing). For both original flights I had seat assignments. Now I have to wait until 24 hours before to get them.

What's up with BA/Open skies?

 

I'm a bit confused. I thought you were going from Amsterdam to JFK via Heathrow now. Where does Orly and Newark come into this?

 

BA's seating policy is as follows. Unless you have elite frequent flyer status (oneworld Sapphire/Emerald) or are booked in a non-discounted fare class then you have to wait until online check-in:

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/mmbseatingpolicy/public/en_gb

[missyal]

fbgd~~sorry for the confusion! We leave for our river cruise 9/21/09 originally JFK to ORly. Now they changed to EWR to Orly. We end the cruise in Amsterdam and that flight was changed from AMS to JFK( 10/06/09) with a layover at Heathrow now. So that flight is not non stop but EWR to Orly is non stop. I found out about the AMS flight change last night. When I spoke with BA last night they said the 9/21 flight was still the same, then this morning I got an email with the change. Go figure!

[fbgd]

Gotcha, thanks for the explanation.

[Globaliser]

What's up with BA/Open skies?

The frank answer: I suspect BA is trying to save the OpenSkies operation, if it can. But the chances of it being around for much longer appear to be slimmer by the day.

[WELSH WIZARDS]

Is it me ? Am I the kiss of death to airlines ? Everytime I book a ticket the airline goes bust. ! :eek::D