British Airways to launch US carrier

British flag carrier British Airways (BA) announced plans to create subsidiary airline to operate direct services between the US and mainland Europe. The new airline, called ‘OpenSkies’, will fly daily between New York and either Brussels or Paris from June, subject to regulatory approval.

A Boeing 757 will be used to service the first of these European routes, and a second will be added later in the year to operate the other. BA plans to allocate six Boeing 757 aircraft to the new operation by the end of 2009, and says it will consider routes to other major European cities such as Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Madrid and Milan.

The new airline will be a full-service carrier and will offer business class, premium economy and economy cabins. The routes that ‘OpenSkies’ intends to fly is only possible because of the recent Open Skies Agreement between the EU and the United States which permits any US or European airline to operate services to and from any European or American location. Until now, British Airways has only been allowed to fly to the US directly from the UK.