By Susan Carey
Dreamjet SAS, which started flying in July between Paris and
Newark, N.J., under the brand name La Compagnie, plans to bring its
aggressively priced business-class fares to the New York-London
route this spring, according to Chief Executive Frantz Yvelin.
The startup company, which has raised EUR30 million in equity
from mostly French investors, currently operates a single Boeing
Co. 757, fitted out with 74 business-class seats that convert into
beds. It plans to take delivery of its second 757 next week, which
will enable La Compagnie to link Newark with a London airport. Mr.
Yvelin said he arranged for takeoff and landing slots at London's
Gatwick Airport but also is exploring service from either Luton or
Stansted, two smaller London-area airports, instead.
The Paris-Newark flights now operate six times a week and
probably will go to daily service in January. Mr. Yvelin said the
percentage of seats filled on that route in the first three months,
normally a ramp-up phase, exceeded 50%, and the November load
factor is "definitely a few points above that." Sales were aided
when La Compagnie in October began selling its tickets through
global distribution systems used by travel agents and corporate
travel management companies, he said.
The company, which obviously sells the bulk of its tickets on
its own website, prices its round-trip tickets at a fraction of the
fares its trans-Atlantic rivals charge. Mr. Yvelin said he would
stick to that strategy on the London route. La Compagnie's
round-trip fares in mid-January on the Paris route are $799, $1,315
or $2,072 depending on the flexibility of the ticket. It also sells
a promotional fare of $2,599 round-trip for two persons traveling
together.
Individual business-class tickets from United Continental
Holdings Inc., American Airlines Group Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc.
and the Air France unit of Air France-KLM SA, on the same dates
range from $5,500 to $6,500 round-trip.
The airline chief in the late 2000s founded another all-business
trans-Atlantic carrier called l'Avion, which operated two planes
between Newark and Paris's Orly Airport. He sold the company in
2008 to British Airways, which rebranded it and added premium
economy and full economy classes. Two other all-business class
trans-Atlantic airlines shut down around the same time.
But based on his experience, Mr. Yvelin thought there was room
for another affordably priced all-business airline, particularly
since mergers and alliances across the Atlantic mean some 85% to
90% of the seats between, say, New York and Paris are sold by just
a few, large players. "We are bringing something new," he said, and
aiming not just at business travelers from small and midcap
companies but also well-to-do leisure fliers.
He hopes to start selling tickets on the London flights in
December and to start flying by the end of March, probably five
times a week initially.
Having only one plane to start, Mr. Yvelin said the company
tried to prepare by anticipating aircraft maintenance requirements
well in advance. But when La Compagnie had a minor technical issue
last summer, it put its passengers on another airline in business
class, a step other carriers routinely take when their own planes
are grounded by weather or mechanical problems. He said he also
carried some passengers for Air France, whose operations were
disrupted by a pilots strike last fall.
Having two planes covering two routes won't be much better. "The
point is to get very well organized before you start," Mr. Yvelin
said, adding that many airlines in history have begun service with
just one or two aircraft.
Write to Susan Carey at susan.carey@wsj.com
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