Featured image: Tony Bordelais/Airways

7/21/2014: La Compagnie Makes Inaugural Flight

DALLAS — Today, in 2014, French all-business airline La Compagnie (B0) made its maiden flight to New York's Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR).

Founded by pilot, and serial entrepreneur Frantz Yvelin in 2013, 'the company' was originally known as DreamJet. Its aim was to offer a full business class service using a low-cost structure. 

The airline started life with a fleet of two 74-seat Boeing 757-200s. Operations began at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) before switching to Paris Orly Airport (ORY) in 2014.

La Compagnie Boeing 757-200 pictured at Paris CDG. F-HTAG was originally delivered to Iberia in May 2000. Photo: Olivier CABARET/CC BY 2.0

New Routes

On April 27, 2015, the airline launched its second route from London Luton to EWR. However, the route failed to meet expectations, and citing Brexit as the main reason, it was suspended on September 26, 2016.

A five-weekly seasonal route between Nice and New York (EWR) was launched on May 5, 2019.

That same month the carrier also received the first of two brand new Airbus A321neos, with the second arriving in September. Both aircraft are equipped with 76 seats. The final Boeing 757 flight occurred on October 28, 2019.

La Compagnie ordered two Airbus A321neos in September 2017. The first was F-HBUZ Airbus A321-251NX. Photo: Noah Pitkin/Airways

A Return to the Skies

Following a hiatus after suspending services due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline returned to the skies on June 21, 2021. This came with the announcement of two brand-new routes to its network.

On July 21, 2021, a further thrice-weekly seasonal route was added between ORY and Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport (TLV). Meanwhile, a four-flight per week service from Milan Malpensa (MXP) to EWR commenced on November 29, 2021.

Exploring Airline History Volume I

David H. Stringer, the History Editor for AIRWAYS Magazine, has chronicled the story of the commercial aviation industry with his airline history articles that have appeared in AIRWAYS over two decades. Here, for the first time, is a compilation of those articles.

Subjects A through C are presented in this first of three volumes. Covering topics such as the airlines of Alaska at the time of statehood and Canada's regional airlines of the 1960s, the individual histories of such carriers as Allegheny, American, Braniff, and Continental are also included in Volume One. Get your copy today!