All-business-class Open Skies

I previously reported about the all-business-class discount airline Maxjet, now defunct (Oct. ’06, pg. 32). When I was invited to take a flight by a similar operation, the British Airways venture Open Skies (866/581-3596, www.flyopenskies.com), I couldn’t refuse.

Open Skies started its combination first- and business-class service between New York and Paris in June ’08, later testing a route between New York and Amsterdam, which was shelved in July ’09. It launched a new route, between Washington, DC, and Paris, in May 2010.

On my trip, last June, check-in at New York’s JFK for the 9:20 p.m. flight was via British Air’s first-class desk, where the agent presented a pass to the posh business/first-class lounge, which included dinner and drinks gratis. ‘A good start,’ I thought.

Boeing 757 airliners normally can carry over 200 passengers each, but in Open Skies’ configuration they accommodate just 84 fortunate souls — 12 in the Biz Bed cabin, featuring 180-degree flat beds, and 72 in spacious Biz Seats, which have 52 inches of pitch and can recline 140 degrees (think La-Z-Boy chair), in one of which I was regally seated.

Each passenger was handed a digital player loaded with plenty of movies to accompany the excellent food and wine served en route to Paris’ Orly Airport.

I flew back to New York from Amsterdam’s impressive Schiphol Airport, where I was assigned a first-class Biz Bed compartment. It is the way to go, but you do have to tuck yourself in.

Prices for round-trip flights to Paris (into September 2010) with Open Skies are as follows: from New York, Biz Seat, $1,618-$5,518, and Biz Bed, $3,783-$8,066, and from Washington, DC, Biz Seat, $1,768-$5,968, and Biz Bed, $3,094-$8,366. (The low-end prices are more restrictive, with a change fee of $450; the high-end fares are fully refundable without penalty.)

To compare, in April I checked fares of major airlines’ round-trip New York-Paris flights for June 2010; business class averaged $4,600-$8,200, while first class averaged over $14,900 (unrestricted only). Even as airline fares fluctuate, passengers always can expect Open Skies’ prices in respective seating classes to be at least 20% lower than those of the “legacy carriers” (American, United, Air France, et al.).

JACK CARROLL

New York, NY