OpenSkies - British Airways B757 Flights Paris to New York

O penSkies is a British Airways subsidiary airline which flies from Paris to New York. The airline started flying in June 2008 as a consequence of the "open skies" deregulation of routes between the EU and US.

In its short history, OpenSkies has had a variety of cabin configurations - since June 2012 it has been running a 3 class cabin - a business class flat seat, a top-end premium economy seat and a standard economy section.

OpenSkies operates twice daily flights between Paris Orly (ORY) and New York Newark (EWR) under the "EC" IATA code. From March 2013 it will add a daily service from Paris Orly to New York JFK.

It uses 4 narrow body Boeing 757-200s with added winglets to increase fuel efficiency. The new 3 class seating products are as follows:

	Class	Seat Pitch	Seat Width	Recline	Config	Seats (Rows)
Biz Bed	Business	73"	20"	180º flat	2-2	20 (5)
Prem Plus	Premium Economy	47"	20"	130º	2-2	28 (7)
Eco	Economy	N/A*	N/A	N/A	3-3	66 (11)

*we await confirmation of the new Eco seat pitch, it looks likely to be around the 32" mark.

Prem Plus is one of the best premium economy products on the market and is fine for a transatlantic day flight. Note that the seat pitch/recline of Prem Plus is slightly less than the old Biz Seat's 52"/140º. All seats have a universal power outlet and an iPad with 70 hours of entertainment is available for each passenger.

Photo credit: Flickr PhillipC

Lounge Access with OpenSkies - Only Biz Bed OpenSkies passengers now get complimentary lounge access.

At Paris Orly there is the Iberia VIP lounge - located in the West (Ouest) terminal - offering drinks, comfortable seating and free WiFi. At Newark, British Airways has a new Galleries lounge near gates B50-58 - facilities include 2 Silver bars, deli/dining area, showers and free WiFi. At JFK, the British Airways Galleries lounge is used which has pre-flight dining, showers and an Elemis Spa facility.

Return prices from Paris (New York) will set you back from around: €750 ($1,350) for Eco, €1,250 ($1,775) for Prem Plus, and €2,500 ($5,100) for Biz Bed. However do watch for special offers which can be significantly cheaper. Openskies also offers the option of first class TGV transfers to 14 French cities.

OpenSkies is now an affiliate member of the Oneworld alliance which means that miles/points can be earned and redeemed on the carrier.

For some further background to OpenSkies, the following gives a historic timeline of the airline:

Date	OpenSkies
10/2012	OpenSkies announces restart of Paris-JFK route from March 2013.
06/2012	OpenSkies starts a 3 cabin service with the new Eco economy seat.
02/2012	OpenSkies announces rebranded 3 class cabin from June 2012: Eco/Prem Plus/Biz.
01/2012	OpenSkies start codeshare agreement with American Airlines (AA).
10/2011	OpenSkies suspends Paris - Washington route.
09/2011	OpenSkies announces it will close Paris - Washington service by end October.
03/2011	OpenSkies carries its 200,000th passenger.
06/2010	OpenSkies partners with SNCF for TGV train connections.
05/2010	Paris - Washington flights commence.
02/2010	Paris - Washington Dulles service announced for May 2010.
01/2010	OpenSkies moves all JFK services to Newark airport.
12/2009	After seeking new investors BA announces they will retain full ownership of EC.
08/2009	Amsterdam-New York service suspended 2 months earlier than previously planned.
07/2009	BA announces it will stop the Amsterdam - New York service from October 2009.
04/2009	OpenSkies rebrands biz to "Biz Bed" and prem+ to "Biz Seat".
04/2009	L'Avion is "fully merged" into the OpenSkies brand.
01/2009	BA announces plan to sell some B757 aircraft originally earmarked for OpenSkies.
11/2008	British Airways announces curtailment of OpenSkies route network expansion.
10/2008	OpenSkies starts flying Amsterdam to New York JFK.
10/2008	OpenSkies scraps economy in favour of a 2 class cabin - premium economy "prem+" and business class "biz".
07/2008	BA's OpenSkies buys L'Avion (Elsyair) for €68 million.
06/2008	OpenSkies (EC) starts flying a 3-class service from Paris to New York JFK.
05/2008	British Airways OpenSkies tickets go on sale.
05/2008	All business airline rival Silverjet runs out of cash.
04/2008	All business rival EOS Airlines goes bust.
04/2008	Official US-EU Open Skies agreement comes into effect.
12/2007	All business airline rival Maxjet goes bust.
01/2007	L'Avion (A0) flights between Paris and New York take off.
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OpenSkies remains a niche player in the transatlantic business market but has an interesting and sometimes, cost-effective product.

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