Unveils seating plans for new airline

British Airways’ new OpenSkies subsidiary, which plans to offer non-stop flights between the U.S. and continental Europe starting this summer – bypassing BA’s London base – has released more details about its in-flight product. The first Boeing 757 in the OpenSkies fleet is currently being refitted, the company said, with plans for a second aircraft to start service “later in 2008” and a total of six in the fleet by the end of 2009. The planes will have a three-class configuration with a total of just 82 seats. The business class cabin will have 24 seats that convert into six-foot, fully flat beds, OpenSkies said. The 28-seat premium economy sections will offer a 52-inch seat pitch, “more legroom than any other premium economy seat in the world,” the company claims. Thirty economy leather seats will round out the interiors. Passengers will be able to use personal entertainment systems with more than 50 hours of programming, and in-flight amenities will include a “fresh, healthy and creative meal service and extensive wine list,” the company said. OpenSkies said that its first route will be New York-Paris, and that additional European routes, as they are added, will also be from New York.