OpenSkies gets airborne
19 Jun 2008
British Airways subsidiary OpenSkies is scheduled to commence operations with its first daily flight today between Paris Orly and New York JFK, aboard a three-class, 82-seat 757.
BA CEO Willie Walsh said, "While the economic climate has worsened in recent months, we believe that OpenSkies can compete effectively. 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 without the backing of an established carrier."
Similar airlines such as Maxjet, Eos and Silverjet have ceased operations, with high fuel prices accelerating their demise.
British Airways chief executive officer Willie Walsh had said in May that he did not believe that anything was wrong with the business models of Eos and MAXjet.
He attributed the lion's share of troubles at these three ''thinly capitalised'' airlines to oil prices at around $130 a barrel. At the time Silverjet launched its operations in January 2007, oil was just over $50 a barrel. British Airways itself has issued warnings a few months ago that spiralling oil prices could make its profits disappear.