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La Compagnie, a fully business class luxury airline, has today announced plans for a new nonstop service. The carrier will fly between New York’s Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and Düsseldorf Airport (DUS) in Germany.
The luxury airline has chosen Düsseldorf owing to the opportunities for both business and leisure travelers in the Rhine-Westphalia state, of which DUS is the largest airport.
What Passengers Can Expect From The Service
La Compagnie will launch its services between EWR and DUS in Spring 2027. The trips will occur five times weekly. It will make use of the carrier’s newly delivered Airbus A321LR, becoming the carrier’s fourth destination out of EWR. The others are Paris Orly Airport (ORY), Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP) and Nice Côte d’Azur Airport (NCE).
New York to Düsseldorf is a route that will turn heads in its own right because of the total absence of direct services between the two cities. Condor is the only airline currently bucking this trend. La Compagnie has previously operated routes where there is plenty of competition. It will be fascinating to see how it performs in such unproven territory.
La Compagnie also creates its own market through only offering business class seats aboard its aircraft. This unique approach to aviation certainly doesn’t come cheap. A simulated booking through La Compagnie for a return journey on the route comes to $9,437.35 at the time of writing.
La Compagnie Expects A Combination Of Business And Leisure Travelers
Rhine-Westphalia is Germany’s most populous federal state, and DUS is its largest airport. La Compagnie has chosen its latest route because of the opportunities to serve both business and luxury leisure travelers. Düsseldorf leads a globally connected economic region with close ties to the US. Fashion, telecommunications, life sciences, professional services and advanced manufacturing businesses are particularly present. Over 24,000 companies are based in the North Rhine-Westphalia state, of which 1,700 are US firms. The United States is also North Rhine-Westphalia’s most important non-European export market.
Opportunities to capture leisure travelers are also abundant because of the state’s rich culture. Düsseldorf is known for its art, architecture, shopping and gastronomy. Vacationers are expected to use it as a gateway to historic Rhineland. The region is packed with historic towns, vineyards, and castles. It is also known for its river cruises along the Rhine and Ruhr rivers.
Christian Vernet, President and CEO of La Compagnie, said:
“At the heart of one of Europe’s most dynamic economic regions, with strong international businesses and longstanding ties to the United States, North Rhine-Westphalia is well suited to our unique all-business-class model. We look forward to welcoming travelers from the region on board, while also offering our American clientele a new and convenient gateway to Germany.”
A321LR: The Aircraft Operating The Route
The airline’s new A321LR will complete this flight. When the carrier began operations in 2014, it used the Boeing 757, before transitioning to two Airbus A321neo jets. These planes have the range for transatlantic aviation, but a direct flight into Central Europe needs a longer range aircraft. These A321LR are scheduled for delivery in 2027.
One Mile at a Time reports that the carrier’s A321LR will have 68 business class seats across 17 rows, down from the 76 across 19 rows aboard its A321neo jets. As with its older aircraft, there will be no row 13. La Compagnie’s standard business class is based on the Collins Aerospace Diamond seat and in a 2-2 configuration. It is expected the A321LR will be similar, although without the row at the front and the rear. Whether this space will be used to slightly extend the pitch of each seat or for cabin crew areas remains to be seen.
