I have flown Open Skies about 7 times now so this is a good time to write a little review. I like flying into and out of Orly airport in Paris since it is closer to the city, and smaller than CDG, therefore the taxi ride is less expensive (two weeks ago I paid 37 euro from Paris to Orly and 55 euro from CDG to Paris), and it's much faster to get through the whole check in and security process.
British Air acquired the French airline L'Avion, (a business class only airline which operated between Newark and Orly), in 2008 and named it Open Skies. I usually fly premium economy, which uses the original business class seats from L'Avion. The Boeing 757s seem a touch tired and worn down, but the flight attendants are lovely, extremely helpful, and frankly make up for what the airline lacks.
Here are the measurements:
Business Class - pitch 73 width 20 (20 seats)
Premium Econ - pitch 47 width 20 (28 seats)
Economy pitch 31 width 17.5 (66 seats)
The seats are comfortable and recline to a fairly decent position for sleeping but nowhere near flat.
A blanket, pillow, amenity kit, a bottle of water, and headphones are waiting at the seat for the premium economy passengers.
The seat controls offer a couple of possibilities of reclining and extending the leg rest, really not much else, but I have always been able to sleep well and relax during the flights.
After takeoff each passenger is handed an iPod loaded with movies, TV shows, music and games. The selections for each are not the greatest but usually I can find one movie worth watching on each flight.
My mom enjoyed a little bottle of wine with her pretzels.
On one of the flights I really liked this chicken curry with basmati rice, it was nicely spiced and surprisingly tasty.
Chicken with gravy and potatoes was my dinner on another Open Skies flight, it was very good and I was hungry.
The amenity kit is very basic but offers everything one might need just no bells and whistles that some airlines offer in theirs.
Now, for some minuses: the napkin I received on my last flight was slightly damp and terribly wrinkled. It made me feel like I was not the first one to be using it that day.
Another negative is that there are only 2 bathrooms for the entire premium economy and economy class, that's a total of 94 passengers. Also, the PE class was so cold that some people kept their jackets on while the economy class was so hot that they sat in tank tops and t-shirts.
On one flight my tray table extended nicely.
But on the next flight I had this slightly folded tray that refused to lock in position, and made it quite difficult eat and work.
The pre-landing snacks on the flight landing in the morning in Paris and one landing in the late afternoon in NYC were very basic.
The morning snack was not as bad, it consisted of OJ, muffin and yogurt.
The afternoon snack prior to landing in NYC was just awful.
This cold hamburger bun with a blob of cream cheese with some chopped veggies in it was a snack that I have been offered a few times now, and something I politely declined on my last flight. Looking at the photo I see that the bun actually photographed better than it looked and felt in real life. Sorry, but this snack kind of stinks. I understand that this is not business class but still, what is this? Would it be that much more expensive for the airline to offer a piece of bread that was warmed up and a packet of cream cheese? We were flying out of Paris, the land of delicious bread! I saw many passengers around me look puzzled at this and put it back in the box. Funny, airlines can make their customers happy by paying attention to the little details, if they care that is.
I did enjoy the business class seat a few months ago. The seats are positioned so that one faces the front of the plane and the other faces the back, they recline fully, and are comfortable enough for the eight hour flight. The space is a bit tight and some have complained of an awkward lumbar support which did not bother me.
The business class passengers are given the same IPod and headphones as the premium economy class.
I did not take photos of all the food but it was all fresh and tasty.
The cup of ice cream was a lovely touch.
I also flew economy on Open Skies from JFK to Orly, and since my son is 6'3" and I am 5'9", we did not land fully rested, but were still happy to be in Paris.
All in all, I will continue to fly with Open Skies, but bring a snack. Ultimately it is the human interaction that makes a difference and they luckily employ some really lovely people.
Joanna
Comments
Post a Comment