OpenSkies debuts Paris-New York flights

A new airline division of British Airways Plc launched service from France to the US recently. The flights were made possible by provisions of an international treaty allowing added North Atlantic service, which is the most profitable aviation market in the world.

The first flight operated by UK carrier OpenSkies leaves Paris at 10:49 and arrives at New York’s JFK airport at 13:25.

Even as the economy slows and soaring oil prices cause other airlines to collapse, British Airways is adding flights. The carriers’ Chief Executive Officer Willie Walsh was quoted earlier last week that the new subsidiary’s costs will be kept at lower levels by joint purchasing with its parent company. British Airways is Europe’s third-largest carrier.

“While the economic climate has worsened in recent months, we believe that OpenSkies can compete effectively,” Walsh said. “It has a low cost base and support from British Airways in key areas such as sales and marketing. This differentiates it from some new airlines that have failed recently which were operating in isolation.”

British Airways shares rose by 0.25 pence, or 0.1 percent, to 226 pence, shaving the stock’s declines in 2008 to 27 percent.