OpenSkies receives nod from US Department of Transportation

OpenSkies, a premium transatlantic airline from British Airways, has received approval from the US Department of Transportation to commence its operations.

The new airline will offer flights between Paris' Orly Airport and New York's JFK Airport starting in June. 

The Department of Transportation also approved OpenSkies' codeshare arrangement with French airline L'Avion.  L'Avion's code will be placed on OpenSkies' flights between Orly and JFK.

This formal approval by the DOT enables OpenSkies to start selling tickets for its services.  The company will start taking bookings via its website www.flyopenskies.com or by phone. 

OpenSkies will also be available for booking through BA.com and by travel agents using the global distribution systems (GDS) as British Airways codeshare flights. 

OpenSkies will initially operate one Boeing 757.  A second Boeing 757 is scheduled to join OpenSkies later this year from the British Airways fleet and it is planned that there will be six OpenSkies aircraft in total by the end of 2009.  OpenSkies plans to service additional routes from European cities including Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt and Milan to New York.