OpenSkies: British Airways
to Launch New Carrier in June
TRAVELERS SOON WILL HAVE
another air option when traveling from
New York to Brussels or Paris when
British Airways launches a new airline—OpenSkies—in June. The new airline will feature daily flights to both
destinations on Boeing 757 aircraft that
can carry up to 82 passengers. The carrier will offer three distinct traveling
classes: business, premium economy
and economy. The business class cabin
has 24 seats that convert into 6-foot flat
beds. There will be 28 premium econ-
omy seats with a 52-inch seat pitch and
30 economy seats. The plan is to operate six 757s by the end of 2009, all of
which will come from the current BA
fleet, according to Dale Moss, the managing director of OpenSkies.
Willie Walsh, CEO of British Airways, says: “We’re celebrating the first
major step in 60 years towards a liberalized U.S./European Union aviation market. That means we can fly between any
U.S. and European Union destination.”
—Joseph Kornik
For Consultants, It’s
The Over-Connected
Conundrum
A flight just may be
the last place a con-
sultant can get away
from it all—at least
for a little while with
no phone or e-mail at
35,000 feet. But that all changed a
few months back when JetBlue Air-
ways launched in-flight, high-speed
Internet access. Not to be out-
done, several carriers recently
upped the ante and unveiled their
own plans for high-flying Wi-Fi.
Alaska Airlines, American Airlines,
Continental Airlines, Southwest Air-
lines and Virgin America all have
OF BUSINESS
56% TRAVELERS DON’T
THINK IN-FLIGHT
INTERNET ACCESS
IS NECESSARY.
Do You Really
Need All That
Baggage?
CARRY ON, IF YOU CAN. THAT’S
the message United Airlines is sending
passengers with a new cost-per-checked
bag policy that goes into effect for travel
beginning May 5. As if waiting at
the baggage claim while precious
moments—and strangers’ bags—roll by
wasn’t reason enough to overhead-bin it
on your next business trip, United just
gave you a better reason—the carrier
now charges $25 to check a second bag
if passengers don’t have Mileage Plus
or Star Alliance status.
The new policy does not apply to
itineraries that include international
flights, except Canada. United says the
new baggage policy could generate
$100 million a year.
committed to adding the service
this year, and some said they will
charge a fee for access.
So, the big question is: Do frequent travelers want it? A recent
Orbitz for Business survey found
that more than half of business
travelers (56 percent) don’t think
it’s necessary. Of those who said
they would use the service, 21 per-
8%
OF RESPONDENTS
WOULD BE WILLING
TO TAKE A LESS CONVENIENT OR MORE
EXPENSIVE FLIGHT
BECAUSE IT HAD
INTERNET ACCESS.
cent said they’d use it exclusively
for business, while 59 percent said
they’d use it for both business and
pleasure. The remaining 20 percent
said they’d use it for pleasure only.
But perhaps most telling, only eight
percent of respondents said they’d
be willing to take a less convenient
or more expensive flight because it
offered Internet access.
