British Airways plans to launch a new airline in June that will offer direct service between New York and the European mainland, catering mainly to business and affluent leisure travellers.

The new carrier, named "OpenSkies," will begin with service to either Brussels or Paris using a single Boeing 757, BA said this week. The carrier plans to add a second aircraft to the other destination later this year, and four more aircraft by the end of 2009.

The airline is aimed largely at business and well-heeled leisure travellers. Only 32 of each plane's expected 82 seats — five rows in the back of the plane — will be economy class. The rest will be almost evenly split between business class, whose seats convert into six-foot beds, and a new mid-priced level known as "premium economy".

"We don't intend to be a mass-market type of vehicle," said Dale Moss, British Airways' former director of worldwide sales, who will serve as the new venture's managing director. "We're a very special point-to-point application."

BA chief executive Willie Walsh said: "By naming the airline OpenSkies, we're celebrating the first major step in 60 years towards a liberalised US/EU market, which means we can fly between any US and EU destination.

"It also signals our determination to lobby for further liberalisation in the market when talks between the EU and US take place later this year.