La Compagnie - Newark to Paris (Orly) - Anyone Use?

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Retiredron
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La Compagnie - Newark to Paris (Orly) - Anyone Use?

Post by Retiredron »

Hi,

Thinking about a trip to Paris this September. La Compagnie flies out of Newark into Orly and all seats are business class. Their fares are excellent compared to the large airlines. Before I book I would welcome any feedback on this airline and landing at Orly vs. CDG. Thanks very much.
Startled Cat
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Re: La Compagnie - Newark to Paris (Orly) - Anyone Use?

Post by Startled Cat »

stan1
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Re: La Compagnie - Newark to Paris (Orly) - Anyone Use?

Post by stan1 »

If my destination is central Paris as a public transit user I don't have much of a preference for CDG vs. Orly. There is a shuttle train from Orly to the RER station but on the other hand walking distances to the RER station at CDG can be long. Probably a wash. Both airports are served by the same RER B line (but there are multiple branches so not all trains go to both airports).

For a taxi into Central Paris Orly is usually going to be faster.

As far as La Compagnie I've never flown it and would consider it if I my starting destination was NYC metro area. Not sure I would try a connection from United onto La Compagnie at EWR though. That seems like extra inconvenience with possible travel disruption risk since your tickets would not be interlined.
rich126
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Re: La Compagnie - Newark to Paris (Orly) - Anyone Use?

Post by rich126 »

I've read several stories about them. My only concern would be if they had flight issues. Usually they have very few flights so weather or mechanical delays could really cause a problem. If your schedule is flexible it might not be an issue. And to be honest, the big name airlines haven't done the greatest with weather, mechanical, computer IT, etc. problems either of late.
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snackdog
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Re: La Compagnie - Newark to Paris (Orly) - Anyone Use?

Post by snackdog »

A small French airline would not be my first choice for safety in the air.
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Nestegg_User
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Re: La Compagnie - Newark to Paris (Orly) - Anyone Use?

Post by Nestegg_User »

What happens when they go on strike when you are half way across the pond? :oops:
(<Paris joke>, for those who have spent any real time there, especially with the trains)
9liner
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Re: La Compagnie - Newark to Paris (Orly) - Anyone Use?

Post by 9liner »

snackdog wrote: Sat Apr 01, 2023 2:39 pm A small French airline would not be my first choice for safety in the air.
Speaking as a commercial airline pilot, you’re making some pretty major correlative assumptions. There are small airlines with poor safety records. There are large airlines with poor safety records. There is no correlation between size and safety.
Cruise
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Re: La Compagnie - Newark to Paris (Orly) - Anyone Use?

Post by Cruise »

If safety is a concern, I could not find evidence that this airline is an IATA member and completed a safety audit.

https://www.iata.org/en/programs/safety/audit/iosa/
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Re: La Compagnie - Newark to Paris (Orly) - Anyone Use?

Post by bberris »

I would only take the RER if I was traveling solo, with very little baggage. The trains are crowded, and Uber or taxi is competitively priced if there are more than two people. And you will still want a taxi from the RER station to your hotel.
guyfromct
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Re: La Compagnie - Newark to Paris (Orly) - Anyone Use?

Post by guyfromct »

snackdog wrote: Sat Apr 01, 2023 2:39 pm A small French airline would not be my first choice for safety in the air.
Why? I was unable to find any mention of a crash or incident involving them. They’re an EU airline, if the safety record was of concern they wouldn’t be operating. The EU maintains a banned airline list, they’re not on it.
talzara
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Re: La Compagnie - Newark to Paris (Orly) - Anyone Use?

Post by talzara »

guyfromct wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 9:56 am Why? I was unable to find any mention of a crash or incident involving them. They’re an EU airline, if the safety record was of concern they wouldn’t be operating. The EU maintains a banned airline list, they’re not on it.
La Compagnie has only two planes. They'd have to be very unlucky to have one of them crash. They'd also have to be very bad to have a poor safety record.
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Re: La Compagnie - Newark to Paris (Orly) - Anyone Use?

Post by 02nz »

I would not hesitate to fly them if the fare is significantly cheaper than others on the same route. It's not the world's best business class but still perfectly decent for such a (relatively) short flight. Interestingly, AFAIK they are the only surviving all-business-class transatlantic airline. A lot of companies have given this a go and failed.
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Re: La Compagnie - Newark to Paris (Orly) - Anyone Use?

Post by Cruise »

talzara wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 12:00 pm
guyfromct wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 9:56 am Why? I was unable to find any mention of a crash or incident involving them. They’re an EU airline, if the safety record was of concern they wouldn’t be operating. The EU maintains a banned airline list, they’re not on it.
La Compagnie has only two planes. They'd have to be very unlucky to have one of them crash. They'd also have to be very bad to have a poor safety record.
Let’s see, an international airline with 2 planes— what kind of typical non-customer-facing controls might be abbreviated:

*training department
*hiring and vetting staff (HR)
*maintenance department
*IT department
*
scophreak
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Re: La Compagnie - Newark to Paris (Orly) - Anyone Use?

Post by scophreak »

Cruise wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 2:12 pm
talzara wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 12:00 pm
guyfromct wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 9:56 am Why? I was unable to find any mention of a crash or incident involving them. They’re an EU airline, if the safety record was of concern they wouldn’t be operating. The EU maintains a banned airline list, they’re not on it.
La Compagnie has only two planes. They'd have to be very unlucky to have one of them crash. They'd also have to be very bad to have a poor safety record.
Let’s see, an international airline with 2 planes— what kind of typical non-customer-facing controls might be abbreviated:

*training department
*hiring and vetting staff (HR)
*maintenance department
*IT department
*
Objection, your honor. Assumes facts not in evidence...
EddyB
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Re: La Compagnie - Newark to Paris (Orly) - Anyone Use?

Post by EddyB »

scophreak wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 2:56 pm
Cruise wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 2:12 pm
talzara wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 12:00 pm
guyfromct wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 9:56 am Why? I was unable to find any mention of a crash or incident involving them. They’re an EU airline, if the safety record was of concern they wouldn’t be operating. The EU maintains a banned airline list, they’re not on it.
La Compagnie has only two planes. They'd have to be very unlucky to have one of them crash. They'd also have to be very bad to have a poor safety record.
Let’s see, an international airline with 2 planes— what kind of typical non-customer-facing controls might be abbreviated:

*training department
*hiring and vetting staff (HR)
*maintenance department
*IT department
*
Objection, your honor. Assumes facts not in evidence...
Granted.
TravelGeek
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Re: La Compagnie - Newark to Paris (Orly) - Anyone Use?

Post by TravelGeek »

Cruise wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 3:04 am If safety is a concern, I could not find evidence that this airline is an IATA member
How much searching did you do when, using the IATA website’s current member search, it took me two seconds to find their membership record?

https://www.iata.org/en/about/members/a ... agnie/573/
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snackdog
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Re: La Compagnie - Newark to Paris (Orly) - Anyone Use?

Post by snackdog »

TravelGeek wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 3:17 pm
Cruise wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 3:04 am If safety is a concern, I could not find evidence that this airline is an IATA member
How much searching did you do when, using the IATA website’s current member search, it took me two seconds to find their membership record?

https://www.iata.org/en/about/members/a ... agnie/573/
Additionally, the company was only rated 4 out of 7 stars for safety which is fairly low (similar to smaller airlines from Belarus, Venezuela, and Indonesia).

https://www.airlineratings.com/safety-rating-tool/
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guyfromct
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Re: La Compagnie - Newark to Paris (Orly) - Anyone Use?

Post by guyfromct »

snackdog wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 3:53 pm
TravelGeek wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 3:17 pm
Cruise wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 3:04 am If safety is a concern, I could not find evidence that this airline is an IATA member
How much searching did you do when, using the IATA website’s current member search, it took me two seconds to find their membership record?

https://www.iata.org/en/about/members/a ... agnie/573/
Additionally, the company was only rated 4 out of 7 stars for safety which is fairly low (similar to smaller airlines from Belarus, Venezuela, and Indonesia).

https://www.airlineratings.com/safety-rating-tool/
Sorry but the rating site is wrong, La Compagnie is audited, but that’s its DBA, its legal name is DreamJets SAS, which has an IOSA audit. https://www.iata.org/en/programs/safety ... -sas/3622/
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Re: La Compagnie - Newark to Paris (Orly) - Anyone Use?

Post by guyfromct »

Cruise wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 2:12 pm
talzara wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 12:00 pm
guyfromct wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 9:56 am Why? I was unable to find any mention of a crash or incident involving them. They’re an EU airline, if the safety record was of concern they wouldn’t be operating. The EU maintains a banned airline list, they’re not on it.
La Compagnie has only two planes. They'd have to be very unlucky to have one of them crash. They'd also have to be very bad to have a poor safety record.
Let’s see, an international airline with 2 planes— what kind of typical non-customer-facing controls might be abbreviated:

*training department
*hiring and vetting staff (HR)
*maintenance department
*IT department
*
Much of training e.g. pilot licensure isn’t done by the airline.

I have no reason to suspect that HR is any better or worse there than any other airline.

You’re aware that many airlines outsource maintenance, right? Also, the counter argument is they bear a much higher cost if half of their fleet is out of commission.

You’re also aware that many legacy carriers have legacy IT systems, which can be problematic e.g. Southwest’s recent tech issue in December.
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Re: La Compagnie - Newark to Paris (Orly) - Anyone Use?

Post by Cruise »

TravelGeek wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 3:17 pm
Cruise wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 3:04 am If safety is a concern, I could not find evidence that this airline is an IATA member
How much searching did you do when, using the IATA website’s current member search, it took me two seconds to find their membership record?

https://www.iata.org/en/about/members/a ... agnie/573/
Yikes! When I put their name in the search, I got squat. Woe is me. I recant on this.

My general concern remains, and is a personal conviction: when given options include a smaller/newer startup versus an established business with a track record, I’m going with the latter. Others may choose based upon different criteria.
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