British Airways Aims High

Just weeks after the failure of Maxjet, the all-business-class airline category is gaining a new entrant: British Airways announced today that in June it would start a spin-off, OpenSkies, geared toward the premium air travel market.

The new airline will fly between continental Europe and New York, directly competing with L'Avion, a year-old premium airline offering service from Paris to New York. Silverjet and Eos, the two remaining big players in the business-class-only field, currently fly New York to London.

OpenSkies will also be competing against United, American, Lufthansa, Air France, all of which have their own business-class cabins to fill.

So what to make of B.A.'s big new venture? For starters, the name is a little odd. Recent start-ups have given rise to the abstract (Song) or the obvious (easyJet and L'Avion, which is "the airplane" in French), but OpenSkies has the distinction of being the first airline named after an international treaty. The agreement, which allows any airline to fly between the European Union and the United States is what makes British Airways' new venture possible.

Putting aside qualms with the name, the concept isn't half bad. It was a given that Britain's premiere airline would eagerly exploit the newfound ability to go beyond Heathrow and provide a direct route between the United States and another European city. And the performance of existing all-business-class players certainly suggests that premium commercial air travel is a profitable space.

The advantages of brand association with British Airways are substantial. On the marketing side, B.A.'s business class service is consistently ranked amongst the world's best; on the economic one, existing corporate relationships will help OpenSkies build traffic early, and cost synergies will improve the bottom line.

What sank Maxjet was its decision to expand into too many cities too early, which makes it comforting that OpenSkies is starting slow. While the airline would like to build a presence in multiple cities in the United States in Europe, it will debut with just one airplane and one route from continental Europe to New York.

Liz Gunnison