OpenSkies
| OpenSkies SASU | |
|---|---|
|
|
| IATA code : | EC |
| ICAO code : | BOS |
| Call sign : | MISTRAL |
| Founding: | 2008 |
| Operation stopped: | 2020 |
| Seat: |
Rungis , France
|
| Operational basis: | |
| Company form: | SASU |
| Frequent Flyer Program : | Avios |
| Fleet size: | 3 |
| Aims: | international |
| Website: | www.flylevel.com |
| OpenSkies SASU ceased operations in 2020. The information in italics refer to the last status before the end of operation. | |
OpenSkies was a French airline based in Rungis and based at Paris-Orly Airport in France . It was a subsidiary of British Airways and thus part of the International Airlines Group and operated transatlantic flights from Paris for Level .
history
British Airways' first plans for OpenSkies went under the name Project Lauren . British Airways wanted to reduce excessive traffic at its London Heathrow hub for flights from Europe to the USA . This was only possible through flight connections from other cities in Europe and the USA. The Open Skies Agreement signed in March 2008 now enables connections between every EU and US airport.
BA European Limited received a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating License , which entitles them to carry passengers, cargo and mail using machines with more than 20 seats. Flight operations began on June 19, 2008 with a Boeing 757-200 acquired from British Airways . Also in July 2008, British Airways acquired the French airline L'Avion for £ 54 million, which was fully integrated into OpenSkies in early 2009.
Originally, the new airline only planned to offer pure business class flights for the connection from Paris-Orly to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City . Before the first flight, however, the concept was changed and three classes of transport were introduced (Economy, Premium Economy and Business). The change came from the experience of the meanwhile insolvent companies MAXjet and Eos Airlines , which only offered pure business class flights. In October 2008, however, the three-class concept was reduced to two classes, which since March 2009 have been called the Biz Bed and Biz Seat .
OpenSkies occurred on December 1, 2012, the airline alliance oneworld to British Airways as an associate partner at. British Airways Executive Club frequent flyer program members can earn miles when flying with OpenSkies. Since the end of 2011, OpenSkies has been operating codeshared flights with American Airlines and Iberia as part of the International Airlines Group .
OpenSkies ceased operations in mid-2018. It should merge with the airline Level , which will be building a second base at Paris-Orly Airport from July 2018.
On July 9th, 2020 it was announced that Open Skies will be liquidated.
Destinations
The only two OpenSkies routes led twice a day from Paris-Orly to Newark near New York City and also once a day to the local John F. Kennedy International Airport and back.
Flights to New York originally only went to John F. Kennedy International Airport, but were relocated to Newark in January 2010. Since March 2013, however, in addition to the flights to Newark, New York-John F. Kennedy has been served again.
Another connection from Amsterdam to New York-John F. Kennedy was discontinued on August 16, 2009 due to insufficient capacity utilization. In October 2011, the route from Paris-Orly to Washington-Dulles was also withdrawn from the program. All routes were discontinued in September 2018 to fly for LEVEL.
OpenSkies has been operating for LEVEL from its Paris-Orly base to Fort-de-France ( Martinique ), Montreal , Newark and Pointe-à-Pitre ( Guadeloupe ) since September 2018 .
fleet
As of July 2019, the Open Skies fleet consists of three aircraft with an average age of 1.1 years:
| Aircraft type | active | ordered | Remarks | Seats ( Eco + / Eco ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A330-200 | 3 | operated for level | 314 (21/293) | |
| total | 3 | - | ||
See also
Web links
- LEVEL website (English, French, Spanish and Catalan)
Individual evidence
- ^ Dale Moss: 100% business class, 100% of the time , OpenSkies. March 31, 2009.
- ↑ British Airways lets French daughter die. aeroTELEGRAPH.de, November 28, 2017, accessed November 30, 2017 .
- ↑ Level: IAG also closes OpenSkies. In: busnews.com. July 9, 2020, accessed July 9, 2020 .
- ↑ usatoday.com - BA's OpenSkies restores New York JFK service (English) October 23, 2012
- ↑ Dale Moss: OpenSkies to Refocus Business Efforts on Paris - New York Route ( Memento from July 29, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ aero.de - OpenSkies discontinues Paris - Washington October 4, 2011
- ^ Paris. In: flylevel.com. Retrieved October 23, 2018 .
- ^ LEVEL Fleet Details and History. In: planespotters.net. July 31, 2019, accessed December 21, 2019 .
