British Airways announces agreement to acquire French airline L’Avion

British Airways today announced an agreement to acquire French airline L’Avion and integrate the company with its new subsidiary OpenSkies, buying the French carrier for 54 million pounds (68 million euros, 107 million dollars) to combine with its transatlantic OpenSkies operation.

OpenSkies recently launched daily flights between Paris Orly Airport and New York John F. Kennedy Airport. L’Avion operates two Boeing 757 aircraft between Paris Orly and Newark Airport. The combined airline will operate up to three daily flights between Paris Orly and the New York area using Boeing 757 aircraft. The value of the acquisition is Euro 68 million, which covers the purchase of the airline and Euro 33 million of cash in its business.

“L’Avion has built a fantastic business offering high-value premium service that has inspired tremendous customer loyalty on both sides of the Atlantic,” said Dale Moss, Managing Director of OpenSkies. “Together, we share common values and a deep commitment to safety, innovation and customer service. L’Avion will provide OpenSkies with immediate scale, increased access to Paris Orly and an experienced, talented employee base. This is a combination of two companies that are focused on bringing comfort and personalization to transatlantic travel.”

“We are thrilled about this agreement, which brings together two like-minded airlines with complementary business models and a focus on low costs and high value to create a premium transatlantic carrier,” said Marc Rochet, chief executive officer of L’Avion. “We look forward to being a part of the high-quality customer experience that will become synonymous with OpenSkies, all backed by the vision of British Airways.”

Once the two airlines are integrated, customers can expect to experience benefits that will further improve the Paris – New York offering, including an increased schedule and BA Executive Club privileges. OpenSkies and L’Avion currently operate a codeshare with L’Avion selling seats on OpenSkies flights.

L’Avion has accommodated more than 65,000 customers since its start on January 3, 2007. The airline has experienced steadily increasing load factors since launch and consistently outperformed its business plan objectives.

L’Avion’s configuration of 2×2 seats offers a wide central aisle and spacious feeling akin to a large private jet. Each seat reclines to 140 degrees, separated from the seat in front by nearly four feet and equipped with an individual power supply. L’Avion offers French cuisine with freshness, quality and elegance mixed with a great selection of French wines and Champagne. The airline uses DigEplayers XT as its in-flight entertainment system to offer an extensive choice of movies, games, and music on-demand.

With no more than 82 passengers on each flight, OpenSkies offers a unique travel experience with superior service, competitive fares and exceptional value. OpenSkies features three cabins – BIZ(SM), a business class service featuring the only fully lie-flat beds on the Paris – New York route; PREM+(SM), a completely new service category featuring reclining seats with a 52″ pitch; and ECONOMY, featuring a cabin containing only thirty seats.

With no more than 30 passengers per class, the OpenSkies travel experience also includes personal entertainment units with 50-plus hours of programming, fresh and healthy meal service, and an extensive wine list.