British Airways completes acquisition of French carrier

BA has completed its L’Avion acquisition, which now makes it possible for Britain’s largest carrier to expand the fleet of its OpenSkies subsidiary.

Earlier in the month the British carrier announced that it intended to purchase the French business class airline, and submitted its bid of £54 million.

The full integration of L’Avion’s fleet of Boeing 757s into the OpenSkies fleet should be completed by the early part of next year.

L’Avion currently operates twice-daily service between Orly Airport in Paris and Newark Liberty Airport in New York, which is virtually the same route and scheduled followed by OpenSkies.

When BA launched its business class subsidiary last month, industry observers predicted that it would likely meet the same fate as other premium class airlines such as Silverjet and Eos.

A spokesman for OpenSkies, Dale Moss, spoke optimistically about the finalizing of the deal: “This is an ideal combination of two companies that share a focus on delivering an unparalleled experience on the transatlantic journey.”

The chief executive officer of l’Avion, Marc Rochet, commented: “Together, our combined companies will offer a compelling premium value proposition for travellers on the New York to Paris route.”

Last week, British Airways reported that OpenSkies bookings were already ahead of projections, despite troubling economic conditions.

www.britishairways.com