La Compagnie to resume all-business-class flights between France and NYC this summer
One of the most unique ways to cross the Atlantic in style returns after a pandemic break.
In another promising sign for the resumption of travel between the United States and Europe, French carrier La Compagnie has announced via Twitter that it will resume flights between Paris Orly (ORY) and New York Newark (EWR) from June this year. From July, the carrier will also resume flights between the French Riviera's Nice (NCE) and New York.
The Paris flights are now on sale for the twice-weekly frequency on Fridays and Sundays from June 13, 2021, increasing to daily from June 25, 2021, though the airline says those days are still pending government authorization. It will tentatively operate on the following schedule:
- BO100 Paris (ORY) 10:30 a.m. Departure ⇒ Newark (EWR) 1:10 p.m. Arrival
- BO101 Newark (EWR) 6:55 p.m. Departure ⇒ Paris (ORY) 8:35 a.m. (+1) Arrival
The Nice flights will operate twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays east-bound, and Tuesdays and Saturdays west-bound as follows from July 2, 2021:
- BO200: Nice (NCE) 1:30 pm Departure ⇒ Newark (EWR) 5:00 p.m. Arrival
- BO201: Newark (EWR) 9:40pm Departure ⇒ Nice (NCE) 12:00 p.m. (+1) Arrival
These frequencies and flight times remain highly subject to change, as the Nice flights suggest very poor aircraft utilization with the proposed schedule.
What makes this airline so unique is that it operates in a business-class-only configuration, with 76 fully flat seats in each of its Airbus A321neo aircraft. As TPG's Zach Honig discovered in a pre-pandemic review, there are really no bad seats on this aircraft.
Related: Take a Tour of La Compagnie's All-Business Airbus A321LR
"There's decent privacy, despite the 2-2 arrangement, thanks to the shell design and fixed seat divider," Honig said. "I did find it to be very comfortable in bed mode, though, especially after adding the comforter from the seat next to me as a mattress pad."
Unfortunately, La Compagnie flights cannot be booked with points or miles from any major airline program. The airline does have its own loyalty program MyCompagnie, though you can only earn points flying La Compagnie flights, and only redeem for these flights (as well as for change fees and excess baggage).
If you are planning to fly between France and New York this summer, this is a very unique way to travel, and arguably the closest you can experience to a private jet on a commercial jet across the Atlantic.
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