OpenSkies (BOS, Paris Orly) has announced to its American labour union that it would close its New York crew base in the first quarter of 2019 due to operational reasons.

"This decision was presented to the Union at a meeting held on, September 26, 2018, in Washington D.C. This was not a discussion on whether or not the US Base should close. The Company stated emphatically the base was going to be closed on approximately, January 31, 2019," the local unit of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers wrote in a bulletin to its members.

The union further said it would now enter into bargaining related to compensation and severance benefits for the US-based staff of OpenSkies.

A unit of British Airways (BA, London Heathrow), OpenSkies used to focus on premium services between Paris Orly and New York Newark with its fleet of B767-300(ER) and B757-200 aircraft. It has undergone a transition into a production carrier running long-haul low-cost carrier flights out of France for IAG International Airlines Group's LEVEL (Barcelona El Prat) virtual carrier brand.

OpenSkies currently bases its two A330-200s exclusively out of Paris Orly, with New York being its only foreign staff base.