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British Airways is to launch a subsidiary airline this year to take advantage of the Open Skies agreement that was signed between the US and the EU last year.

This accord removed restrictions on air travel between EU nations and the United States, a development that BA's OpenSkies subsidiary will make use of with new flights from New York to France and Belgium.

Operations will get underway in June 2008, with one Boeing 757 flying from the American city to either Brussels or Paris Charles de Gaulle.

A second plane will be added to the fleet later this year to serve the other European destination, with plans to have six 757s flying by the end of 2009.

BA chief executive Willie Walsh said: 'This is an exciting new venture for us and we're confident that it will be a great success as we build on the strength of British Airways' brand in the US and Europe.

'By naming the airline OpenSkies, we're celebrating the first major step in 60 years towards a liberalised US/EU aviation market which means we can fly between any US and EU destination.'

Mr Walsh said that BA will lobby for further liberalisation of the market when talks between the EU and the US take place later this year.

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