Word: classing
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...carrier is a boutique subsidiary of British Airways that flies 64-seat, single-aisle 757s to Amsterdam and Paris from Newark and J.F.K. It has two cabin classes: in the back is a 40-seat premium economy section called Prem+ that is basically discounted business class. The seats recline 140 degrees--more than enough to sleep comfortably--and the service matches that of any business class out there. The front section is called Biz, with 24 lie-flat seats, high-quality food and amenities. Round-trip pricing to Amsterdam starts at $1,100 in Prem+ and about...
OpenSkies is named after the deregulatory policy that frees airlines to add new city-to-city routes beyond their once protected home turf. OpenSkies chose Amsterdam and bought another business-class fledgling, L'Avion, to gain access to Paris and slots at Orly and share costs and culture. BA doesn't fly to those places from New York City, and it sure as heck isn't going to undercut its own lucrative business-class traffic to London...
Still, BA sees a huge gap in the market. "It's for people who recognize that transatlantic travel is something you want to do in other than economy class," says Dale Moss, OpenSkies' effervescent managing director. Business-class flyers to Amsterdam and Paris pay as much as $8,000 round-trip on legacy carriers such as KLM and Northwest. For that money, you get to board first; then you wait for the other 200 passengers to crowd in after you. Asks Moss: "Would you rather be on an airplane that has two-by-two seating that takes, what, 15 minutes...
...targeting that segment has failed before, notably in London. Indeed, BA and American Airlines used price-cutting and other tactics to help shoot down three business-class-only carriers. Nor will the incumbents in Amsterdam fail to react. KLM and Northwest have already slashed business-class fares...
They weren't part of the Trench Coat Mafia (although there was a real Trench Coat Mafia). They weren't nerds or outcasts or goths, and they didn't target jocks or black people or anybody in particular. They did not go bowling for Columbine. They skipped class that morning instead...