Review: La Compagnie A321neo Business Class

The plastic lid my be “convenient” but and absolutely wasteful and unnecessary from an environmental point of view.

Also wasteful are the plastic cups for the pre-departure beverage. Looks really nice, and similar in seat and service to what AA offers on their JFK-LAX and JFK-SFO service in business class. This is all nice, but these types of airlines do well in good economic times. I see La Compagnie as a new incarnation of Eos (or MaxJet or SilverJet) with better seats. As for the less than elaborate meal service, at EUR 600- you can't really expect an Air France La Premiere type of gourmet experience, now can you?

I remember 10 years ago there used to be similar all business class airlines competing on the London - New York route (Maxjet, Eos, Silverjet). Guess the economics didn't work out and they all disappeared. I'm surprised that the economics are working out on the Paris - New York route.

By pure coincidence, because I had no idea of the specific details, I caught a Swiss all business class 737 from France to Newark a long time ago. I walked on the plane with a business class ticket and realized it was a 737 and had a slight anxiety attack because I figured it was two cabin and I would get a crappy business class product. Nope, it was 2-2 just like this. Awesome flight. Loads of food. Tons of legroom.

I'd say the main difference between previous "all business" airlines and La Compagnie is that the latter has been able to take advantage of modern technology (smaller and more efficient planes). Sure, just like Eos they operated 757s for a couple of years, but after two or three years of operations La Compagnie knew they'd be able to profit from the a321 in the medium and long term.

@Jay, I've also been on that plane (I think), which were leased from a small charter corporation, later hired by SK for their short-lived service to Houston. I believe the seats were 2-2 angled flat, but still very nice for a 737. I would assume that an A321 is, at least marginally, better since it's more quiet, have the windows a bit higher up, and so forth. Too bad La Compagnie only flies this route, I would LOVE to use them for my transatlantic journeys. Seems like truly excellent value.

"La Compagnie is an airline that is essentially revolutionizing transatlantic business class travel"

Are they really? If that were true, there would be a dozen flights per day using the same business model offered by various airlines. We still haven't seen that...yet.

At best, they seem to offer a niche product that people who use it seem to appreciate. And it is a good value for the price you are paying.

@Lukas @Jay

You are thinking about PrivatAir, used to operate a number of routes for Lufthansa in the past.

Company folded last year.

This airline is surviving because it's not challenging Legacy carrier like BA, AA or AF, since it's flying to a secondary airport and that too to Paris. Had it been flying to LHR or CDG they would have either folded or been bought out like open skies and then shut down, which was a shame. Nevertheless this looks like a solid product for the price and option to fly to Paris at a reasonable price which amazing. If I use my BA avios it would cost me over 100K miles and around $1200 in taxes which pure highway robbery, save your miles and fly LC.

Lucky: you describe the cabin
The A321neo has just a single cabin with 76 business class seats, spread across 19 rows in a 2-2 configuration

A321's have a B door ahead of the wing. The type of seat on this plane depends upon having the seat in front of your seat a specific distance away for the footwell and screens. What happens with the seats at the B door and at over wing emergency exit.

BTW I personally would like to see one or bulkheads to break up the cabin into smaller more intimate cabins

That's a nice little amenity kit with a very reusable bag. I like socks with grippers and Caudalie is a good skincare brand. For a similarly priced Business class seat on Condor, you don't get something that useful.

I guess when things work, it's good. After reading the TPG horror story about the Nice flight a couple of months ago I would probably give them a pass

Can't believe people are moaning about the use of plastic cups and lids on a business class transatlantic flight.

More energy will be wasted from the drops of kerosene lost when the crew detach the fuelling hose than goes into about 100 plastic lids.

If you're worried about echo credentials, don't turn your nose up at the receptacles, don't fly. Full stop.

Considering they refer to it as expresso multiple times, I'm not surprised she didn't know what a latte was. Seems like a rookie mistake for an airline attempting to be boutique.

@lucky.

I've read both reviews of La-Compagnie and to be honest I'm not impressed.

How would it compare out of 5/10/15 or what ever score you wish to give to Virgin Business, BA Business, Air France business?

Viva La Compaignie! My wife and I look forward to flying on La Compaignie to and from NCE again, especially now that they have ditched the out-dated 757.

Latte could of been a language barrier as in Italian latte is literally milk and caffe latte is milk coffee. Ran into that while in Milano hence the double check of “a latte? Like you want a coffee with milk?”

I believe the airline’s name is spelled incorrectly in the title (missing the g).

@AR

The dominant spelling of the word in French is probably now expresso, though both spellings are used there. In English, dictionaries disagree on whether expresso is incorrect or merely a less common variant. In general English usage, espresso is definitely preferable. However, for a French airline’s translated menu of French cuisine, expresso seems acceptable.

She could have been confused about latte or whether you meant cafe au lait ( the former an espresso drink, the latter more commonly using a French Press).
I wish airlines would not serve pork: Jews and Muslims don’t eat it ( and obviously nor do vegetarians): so why serve something that 30% of the world’s population can’t eat?

I really like flying them. It feels a bit like flying private in that there are so few seats on the plane. Also boarding and disembarking are very fast. The lounges in Newark and Orly are not that great, but that is minor.

They used to fly to Luton in the UK, which was great for London. They switched last year from CDG to Orly, which is slightly more convenient, except if you are taking public transportation.

I agree, sitting in the back is very different! You feel like you’re on a pendulum instead of turning like normal.

Are they having downward pressure on NYC-Paris business fares on UAL, Air France, or other carriers?

I really liked our flights on the A321 with LaCompagnie. I found their lounge accommodations less than sterling, and EWR is such a pit—- but it all is well worth the other $1400 apiece we saved per r/t, and the seats sleep just fine. Bravo, and we’ll be back!

In this configuration how do you access the aisle from the window if someone is sitting in the aisle seat?

Latte is a US invention like Häagen Dasz to dazzle ignoramuses.

In Italy, as someone says above, it is just a coffee with milk, in gist for babies.
Europe prouds itself for serving all kinds of torrefied good coffee, milk or suger will alter what precious aromas have.

So a company that does not offer Latte is actually educated, and so is the FA who guessed it right.

Also, you'd be surprised what a cappucino is in France ( coffee and chocolate )
The best cream coffees are in Wien ( Vienna ), they put any starshmucks to shame 😉

@BrewerSEA:

Interesting. They share a border with the word's country of origin - it's literally espresso. There's no translation for it that would allow for the misspelling. So the whole of the country has just decided they're going to spell it incorrectly for shits and giggles? Even more interesting is this comes from a country that's incredibly anal retentive about ensuring their own language remains "pure".

@Paolo, that's sacrificing 70% for the 30% who don't ear pork. Why not serve vegan which satisfies nearly everyone. Your logic doesn't make sense.

@ JW. Well, I intended something more universally accepted than pork, like chicken, rather than complete deprivation. However, I would prefer vegan/vegetarian only food on planes. After all, how hard can it be? Just like a meatless Monday or Lent. It will come in the next few years, I’m sure.

@neil: You can order the A321neo with the Cabin Flex configuration without B doors. It instead has two pairs of overwing exits like the smaller A320 family jets. This maintains the required exit throughput without sacrificing seats.
This is the configuration that La Compagnie flies.

"They’re offering unbelievable value. Paying under $700 for a one-way ticket and getting fast track, lounge access, a fully flat bed, unlimited high speed wifi, and most of the amenities of business class is simply unbeatable." Kinda hard to argue with that logic.

You have to ask for "cafe au lait" or a French person might not understand what you want.

Latte just means milk (in Italian), and isn't universally understood outside of Americanized Starbucks culture.

Hey JW, if you serve me vegan it will all go directly into the trash can. Not everyone likes quinoa and rabbit food.

@Stogieguy7, frankly I would too, life's too short for compromises. Keep the pork and leave a moslem/kosher special meal option open.

I really like the amenity kit design and the reusability.

I flew with La Compagnie a couple of years ago from Luton to Newark. We were more than satisfied with the service but thoroughly disappointed when they withdrew the service shortly afterwards. I would fly with them again in a heartbeat. I like the look of the new cabin and would not worry about going to Paris first to fly with them.

Now that the COVID-19 global pandemic is in full swing, in my opinion, this type of product is what is highly needed and desired. I usually use premium economy class, and on the rare occasion business class. Nowadays, people want to be able to socially distance themselves from others. That is simply not possible in economy class nor premium economy class. I am a frequent flyer with ANA, and I love their premium economy class product. However, my typical flight is 8 to 10 hours. For the same price, I think La Compagnie, based on the pictures and review, offers the highly sought after benefits of social distancing and a flat bed seats. This formula would be a big hit for transpacific flights! Reasonable prices, comfortable seats, and social distancing! Please, come to Asia!!!

Espresso is Italian, therefore the only acceptable spelling is "espresso" without the x.

Ahh, Milan and Paris... so similar and charming. Service with attitude and no smiles ! Love that.

Also on the Milan – New York route. Very premium and huge market.

They have flights from Milan too.

La Compagnie is great. They have daily flights from Milan too.