BA has launched its first commercial flight under the EU-US transport agreement.

“An exciting new chapter in British Airways’ history” occurred today, as BA’s OpenSkies airline launched its first commercial flight between continental Europe and the US.

The daily service between Paris’ Orly airport and New York’s JFK airport will be provided by the first airline specifically created to take advantage of the aviation agreement, which allows any airline to fly between the EU and the US.

Willie Walsh, BA’s Chief Executive, was confident about OpenSkies’ future. He commented: “It will benefit from British Airways’ experience in the transatlantic market and have the ability to be innovative and respond quickly to changing customer demands. OpenSkies will become a test-bed for new customer services and onboard products that we hope to integrate into British Airways’ fleet.”

OpenSkies was launched by BA in January 2008, after the European Parliament approved the EU-US air transport agreement in October the previous year, and it will operate six aircraft by the end of 2009, serving destinations such as Amsterdam and Milan.

Walsh was confident that the airline would succeed in the current economic climate, which has been particularly hard on the travel industry. He attributed the airline’s strength to its “low cost base and support from British Airways in key areas such as sales and marketing.”

For further information about the new airline, visit www.flyopenskies.com ^[1]