La Compagnie’s New A321neo Business Class Debuts June 6, 2019
by Ben Lucky – onemileatatime.com
La Compagnie is the all business class airline offering flights between New York and France (they used to just fly to Paris, but are also now seasonally operating flights to Nice).
Up until now the airline has just used two Boeing 757-200s for their service, featuring angled seats in business class. In September 2017 the airline announced plans to refresh their fleet, as they ordered two A321neo aircraft.
The exciting news is that we’re just a couple of weeks away from La Compagnie starting service with these planes, as La Compagnie’s first A321neo will be in service as of June 6, 2019.
So if you’ve avoided La Compagnie in the past because of their angled seats, you may want to consider them again.
La Compagnie’s A321neo business class
La Compagnie’s A321neos will feature a total of 76 fully flat business class seats in a 2-2 configuration. La Compagnie selected B/E Aerospace Diamond seats, which are an efficient use of space thanks to the footwells being to the side of the seats in front, which allows them to fit in more seats.
La Compagnie’s A321neos will feature high-speed wifi and 15.7″ touchscreen monitors at every seat.
This represents a massive improvement over their old business class product. While there are no doubt better business class seats out there, I do think this configuration strikes the perfect balance between offering a good product while also allowing the airline to offer a product efficient enough for the economics to work.
After all, La Compagnie’s business class fares are significantly lower than what you’ll otherwise find in the markets they operate.
La Compagnie’s A321neo routes
As mentioned above, La Compagnie’s first A321neo will enter service on June 6, 2019. La Compagnie’s schedule varies by week and season.
In summer and fall La Compagnie typically operates twice daily flights between Newark and Paris, while in winter they operate only one daily flight. As of now:
All Newark to Nice flights are operated by 757-200s
One daily Newark to Paris flight is operated by an A321neo as of June 6
While La Compagnie has two A321s on order, as of now the schedule just shows one of these planes. That’s to say that for the summer and fall I see one daily A321 and one daily 757, and then in winter there’s just one daily A321. So it seems like the second A321neo might just be joining their fleet next year.
La Compagnie’s business class fares
If you want to fly La Compagnie, they pretty consistently have great business class fares. The La Compagnie special deals page will show you their best values.
For example, right now their best fares are $1,300 roundtrip, and you can potentially fly the A321neo in both directions with that fare, which I’d consider to be an excellent deal.
Bottom line
While La Compagnie had some growing pains when they first launched operations, they’ve matured quite nicely. They’ve continued to offer exceptional value, and have developed quite a loyal following of people flying between New York and Paris.
The A321neo will really take the airline to the next level, both in terms of operating costs, and in terms of the passenger experience. I can’t wait to give La Compagnie another try on this plane, given that my experience on their 757 wasn’t amazing (in fairness this was back when they launched several years ago).
Photos of the interior of the plane and new seats would be great.
Let me know when they fly from LA to Hamburg