OpenSkies gets green light for take off

British Airways’ new subsidiary OpenSkies has received approval from the US Department of Transportation to start flying from Europe to the United States. The new airline will offer flights between Paris Orly airport and New York JFK from next month.

OpenSkies will be a full-service carrier and will initially operate a single Boeing 757 transferred from the BA fleet with second Boeing 757 due to join later this year.

OpenSkies have also confirmed that they are looking at operating services from other European cities, including Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt and Milan to New York.

BA drafts in volunteers to tackle T5 baggage mountain

More than 400 volunteers from across the airline have been trying to relieve a massive luggage backlog at Heathrow's Terminal 5.

British Airways' effort to return 15,000 lost bags to their owners came after the disastrous opening of the £4.3 million new building last Thursday which saw baggage system problems and flights delayed or cancelled over the weekend.

The airline had to use hundreds of volunteer staff as part-time baggage handlers at T5 at the weekend and bring in IT specialists to fix the malfunctioning luggage system.

BA faces the prospect of multi-million pound compensation claims from disrupted passengers and the likely loss of £20 million due to the cancellation of more than 200 flights, according to reports.

Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 unveiled

Terminal 5 was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in a ceremony on Friday. It is scheduled to open to passengers on 27 March 2008 and will be the new home of British Airways. The first to use the new terminal will be a BA flight 26 from Hong Kong, while flight 302 to Paris will be the first flight departure from the Terminal 5.

The £4.3 billion complex features 60 new aircraft stands, 2 satellite buildings, rail links to London Underground and Heathrow Express, a new multi-storey car park and landscaping.

BAA says the new terminal is set to help transform the passenger experience at Heathrow, and relieve the immense pressure on the airport by handling up to 35 million passengers a year.

Watch video from Heathrow Terminal 5:

British Airways raises fuel surcharges

British Airways is to increase its fuel surcharge on medium and long-haul flights. As a result, BA would charge passengers up to £6 more on tickets issued from February 25 onwards.

The surcharge for one-way flights of less than nine hours will go up by £5 each way, bringing the surcharge to £106 for a return flight.

On flights of more than nine hours, the surcharge will increase by £6 each way, bringing the charge to £128 for a return fare.

Short-haul fuel surcharges will remain unchanged - at £10 and £20 respectively.

The airline blamed the rising price of oil, which hit a record high of over $100 per barrel this week.