Openskies

Travelling Paris-Newark in October and I fear I'm about to be very disappointed (a pity because I've flown this route with OpenSkies in the past and had good service). A phone call today informed me that my flight has been cancelled with three options available: leave the previous day (impossible as connecting flights are built around this one) fly BA through London (non-direct flight that adds 3.5 hours to an already long trip; I chose OS to avoid this sort of thing) or refund. The customer service agent was courteous but had no explanation other than "operational issues" (3 months out?). My answers to the other rating questions in this review would be "it depends" (on the outcome of the current situation) but that option is not available.

Flew OpenSkies in a Biz Seat from EWR to ORY and back. Comfortable seats on time departure early arrival decent food and very nice crew. Having only a small number of people on the aircraft and using ORY instead of CDG make a world of difference. This really is one of the most pleasant ways to fly.

Open Skies makes the waiting and boarding process very relaxed. In Newark we were treated to the British Airways Lounge as we were flying BizBed to Paris. Security was even easier with all the little perks you get by flying this "boutique" airline. The bed was okay but the configuration of the BizBed cabin was atrocious. Once everyone reclines their bed you can not get out if you in the window seat. Each bed unfolds to the edge of the seat in front and in back of them. Coming home we were in the BizSeat cabin. Orly Airport was excellent. Security was set up so you bypass the masses and enter through a private line. The lounge was quite comfortable and extremely relaxing. For the comparative price to business class/first class on other airlines this is a great bargain.

Check-in is smooth the seats very comfortable and I find Newark in the US and Orly in Paris both more reasonable options than JFK and Charles De Gaulle for city access. I am not a big consumer of inflight entertainment but they gave out iPads that seemed to have a large range of movies and TV and even some games. The food is pretty horrible but does anyone really expect great cuisine on a plane? We flew BizBed over and it was a treat to actually recline all the way and arrive semi-rested as opposed to uncomfortable United and Delta Business seats on previous flights. I would definitely fly them again and hope that they can stay in business.

On our outbound flight to Paris my seat did not work properly. The light panels for reading did not work on our side of the plane nor did my hand-held remote for the movie. Attendants were polite but unapologetic. On our return flight to DC we were delayed at the airport for over 3 hours because of a strike situation and our flight sent to Newark. Again no apologies. Save your money and take a different airline!

Dulles-Orly return. Checked in online used American Airlines Admirals Club boarded on time and surprised at condition of aircraft and seats. Flight attendants were helpful and during a delay served additional beverages - meal was good. Our return flight was no different. ICare Lounge was spacious with food and beverages to choose from. The main meal on the return was lovely. Audio Visual system it may not have been state of the art but worked well with much to view.

The actual flying and airport experience is that of an average Economy Plus with access to mediocre airport lounges. Onboard the seats are a little better than economy plus much less good than business class. No bells and whistles poor entertainment. Food ok wine quite nice no hard liquor. What kills the Open Skies experience is their sales and reservations practices and procedures. They reschedule and cancel without notification and on minimal notice. If you need to change it's a nightmare. The "archive" or "purge" your records which then have to be "researched" a lengthy and extraordinarily aggravating experience. We cancelled a trip for last week and they have twice either archived or purged our records so that once again they are not able to rebook our travel til further "research". This has gone on for 10 days and is beginning to feel like an overt attempt to convert our monies. We would only fly this airline if were for a last minute booking and only if they were significantly less expensive than Air France Premium Economy. Having to deal with Open Skies on this rescheduling has been the most difficult experience of our highly traveled lives.

Extremely thoughtful and helpful service. Dulles-Orly roundtrip we traveled with a dog and on both check-ins the staff could not have been more helpful reassembling the cage for us providing water for the animal assisting us personally through security. The same attentive help was provided with our luggage which had been unloaded from the belt and assembled in one location when completed immigration procedures. During the flight we found the overall attention to details surprising food was good the selection of wine refreshing the absence of duty free sales commercial pitches and interruptions by the captain most welcome. Overall a pleasant experience further enhanced by the small number of passenger which made both departure and arrival a breeze compared to even preferential treatment when you are part of a crowd 500+ strong.

ORY to EWR. Plane departed on time cabin was clean and crew in our zone friendly and efficient. No more food choice. All the dishes on a single tray like in Economy Class. Food was cold and main course choice not available and being seated in row 8 this is not understandable. Inflight Entertainment system was as usual not working replaced 3 times without luck. Landed in EWR on time and luggage delivered quickly.

757-200 all Business Class from ORY-EWR return. Check-in at both airports and onboard service slow food choices limited and poor quality. Cabin attendants are 'correct' but unsmiling. DVD players handed out well over an hour after take-off and collected 40 mins before landing. Cheaper than regular C class on other carriers but one might as well go Economy - the experience is not much different.