OpenSkies Passenger Reviews and OpenSkies Customer Trip Reports

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OPENSKIES customer review :  20 July 2010 by J Costi    (France)

Biz seat is fine for the price, service is good, staff very attentive. The only bad point is the poor quality of the IFE, but with an IPOD and a good book, you don't care! From Paris, it was good catering. Biz bed is great for a night flight, a duvet, pillow and you can ask when you want to dine. Good flight on time.

OPENSKIES customer review :  18 July 2010 by M Khalid    (USA)

ORY-EWR first time using Open Skies. I didn't know about the airlines until I was told by my travel agent that it offers value for money. Was told that it was all business class but when I boarded, it was obvious that my seat and the amenity kit given were inferior from those at the front of the aircraft. The food and service were OK and although the airline is operated by BA, I think BA's business class service is better and the FAs are more attentive. But of course, I suppose you have to pay premium for that.

OPENSKIES customer review :  2 July 2010 by Alan Duffy    (USA)

IAD-ORY return in BizSeat. I disagree with comments about the BizSeat being Premium Economy rather than Business Class. BizSeat is equivalent to the business class seats that airlines used to use on transatlantic seats prior to the introduction of flat beds in the last few years. The seat is very comfortable and uses old manual controls, reclines to a 140 degree angle. The best thing about the layout of the 757 currently used on the Dulles route is that there are just 40 seats in the BizSeat cabin and 24 in the BizBed cabin, meaning 64 passengers. BA Lounge at Dulles is great, while the Salon Icare lounge at Orly is nothing to write home about. Service on the flight to ORY was poor, especially considering that there were only 25 passengers on board and 5 flight attendants. Service on the return from ORY with a full plane was much better. The one downfall certainly in the BizSeat cabin is the food and beverage service. While there are some great wines available, liquor selection is very limited. The main meals are nouvelle cuisine, so while tasty are not very filling. I was shocked that OpenSkies don't provide a menu card to preview meal options. The breakfast on the outbound and snack on the return flight were below the standard I've seen in any transatlantic economy cabin. Passing through the BizBed cabin, it looks like a very poor product compared with parent company BA's Club World and not worth the money. I'd strongly recommend OpenSkies BizSeat for anybody looking for a very affordable halfway point between Premium Economy and a lie-flat bed, but the small number of people on board makes the biggest difference.

OPENSKIES customer review :  18 June 2010 by T Hanrahan    (USA)

IAD-ORY return in business (premium economy?) seats. The seats are comfortable enough, but not at the level of major carriers. Manual controls don't always work very well, but the seat pitch is very decent. Fold-out trays show the effects of age - none were flat, all sagged in the middle. Food service - no menu, paper tablecloth, but wine was quite good. Service is professional but not terribly attentive. Meal on return from Paris was pretty awful though. On the plus side, the price is great (got a 2-for-1 deal on this trip) - Orly Airport is old but convenient.

OPENSKIES customer review :  11 June 2010 by P Santiago    (France)

ORY-IAD. First time on OpenSkies. Good value business class with flat bed and business experience (food, amenities, lounge, etc) but in a small aircraft. This means cabin with more privacy and rapid boarding / luggage delivery. Since OpenSkiesis British Airways subsidiary, you can rely on British Airways ground facilities and shared frequent flyer programme. The B757 plane is retrofitted with former BA business seats - somewhat old but acceptable entertainment system. More privacy than Air France. Food was good on this flight and by far better than British Airways. Crew ok and more interaction in such cabin. Operating from Orly also an advantage - connecting from other countries is pretty smooth, with orly connected to RER through main Paris railway stations.

OPENSKIES customer review :  27 May 2010 by D Sano    (USA)

Newark to Orly and back. Outbound they had a plane change which changed our seat configuration. Because of this we were upgraded to business class. It seemed about 40% full in business and 50% in premium economy. The seats were great, full flat feature. The seats had nice width and were very comfortable in seated and reclined position. The food was decent. The entertainment system they issue was similar to one you get on AA for domestic flights. It had about 15-20 movies, tv, music, games, etc. After the meal, lights down and did get some rest. They gave us a kit with socks, eye cover, and toothbrush. We also had a nice down comforter and blanket. Return flight in premium economy, seats identical to a US domestic business class. The seat wide with a nice recline. It was well worth the money, and I will be fly openskies again.

OPENSKIES customer review :  1 May 2010 by J Parkinson    (USA)

The biggest problem with OpenSkies is their total lack of communication. Suffered through two long delays with no explanation or apologies. I am sitting at ORY as I write this awaiting some notice of departure. The lounge at EWR seems like a temporary setup in a corner of the terminal. Internet was not working and limited food provided for a long delay, and EWR has limited food to begin with. Once on the flight the seats are OK, but the manual operation is difficult and did not stay in place. The entertainment units were poor with unintelligible sound and awkward to hold/place. Went through two units before getting an operable one. Food was marginal and my wife's special meal was not provided as asked. The cabin crew were professional and most agents helpful except the ones at the check in at EWR, they never informed us of the delay when we checked in. I realize there was a bit of turmoil as this was the week after they began flying after the Volcano disruption, but the lack of communication was unacceptable.

OPENSKIES customer review :  10 March 2010 by L Scheer    (USA)

EWR-ORY ORY-EWR. I can't complain too much, as I won this ticket in their birthday contest. I sat in BIZ seats. Seats comfortable although manual controls were hard to use. Handhold video player had poor sound and wish it had more movies. Food was fine. There was a medical emergency on the way to ORY and the paramedics arrived when we landed. There was a doctor on board to assist during the medical emergency. FA were nice and worked hard. Flight was about 80% full. ORY-EWR flight about 20% full and surprised it was not canceled. Ordered a diabetic special meal and food was fresh and much better that the standard option. FA were very attentive. There is a second screening on flight going to USA - went quickly as PAX load was very light. Security wanded PAX and searched hand luggage again. The BIZ seats shown on the website are not the same as flown. EC has two plane configurations and the one I flew twice was the older L'Avion configuration.

OPENSKIES customer review :  4 March 2010 by R Schoell    (USA)

Newark to Paris Orly and back in the BizSeat cabin. On the whole this was a decent flight, although in terms of standard it is not comparable to transatlantic business class offerings of major European airlines. Price-wise my ticket was about half that quoted by the more established airlines, so it would be unrealistic to expect the same standards. I found check- in at EWR and ORY quick, competent and helpful - high marks. The lounge at EWR is a big disappointment, small, dark and rather gloomy. On board the B757, seats are the old-fashioned business type (eg all manual controls), which I found ok for the medium-length journey as they are fairly spacious. The video screens they use are of very poor quality with appalling audio, and I gave up after a frustrating 30 minutes. From EWR the special meal I ordered (low fat) was terrible - really inedible, but much better coming back from ORY. Otherwise the cabin was clean, pleasant, and the crew professional.

OPENSKIES customer review :  23 January 2010 by F Gelly    (France)

ORY-EWR; 2nd trip with Openskies and better value than the previous one. ORY-EWR in BizSeat Cabin, good enough for a day flight. Be careful - all hand luggage are checked manually before boarding. EWR-ORY in the Bed Cabin. However long check in due to a computer crash, the staff had to made check in manually after waiting in line for 90min. French staff on the way back professional.

OPENSKIES customer review :  17 January 2010 by A Armon    (USA)

I had rather high expectations, but was sadly mistaken. It starts when you arrive at the airport. There was only 2 very slow agents at the check-in counter causing a long wait not seen at any business class check ins. The very basic EWR lounge is shared with Jet Airways crammed into a corner area of Newark airport. I would advise going to the bar in the main departure lounge instead; better food, drinks, and service. The airplane interior, and seats are a duplicate of the old business class. The main difference between open skies and these old flights is that OpenSkies food is WORSE and there Is less leg room. In their attempt to expend as little capital on the service as possible they provide a relatively low-end portable video player for the entertainment. This is an expensive premium economy airline billed as business class.

OPENSKIES customer review :  28 October 2009 by D Wright    (USA)

ORY-EWR in "Biz Seat." It's not quite business class, but better than Premium Economy offered by others. A roomy seat with very good pitch, decent if limited food and wine selections and a competent, bilingual cabin crew. The portable digital players are a bit inconvenient to use and have a limited movie selection. Orly is preferable to CDG in terms of convenience, though the third-party lounge was crowded and barely adequate, with loud pop music playing. EWR immigration, customs and baggage were a breeze. The real attractions are the very good value for the money and comfortable seat.