These restrictions, which remain in effect 15 months later, forced La Compagnie to immediately suspend the entirety of its daily operations until further notice.
La Compagnie, a 100% business class airline based in France, was able to survive the extraordinary circumstances thanks to provisions that were put in place by the French government, along with the support of its shareholders, its suppliers and loyal clientele, and the staff’s flexibility in terms of compensation. The airline was also able to withstand the restrictive measures by temporarily pivoting its business model in mid-2020 by operating charter flights worldwide.
In June 2020, La Compagnie received a loan guaranteed by the government of 10 million euros anticipating the resumption of its transatlantic operations by the third trimester of 2020. While the airline had diversified its operations with charter flights, La Compagnie needed additional funding to assure its ability to overcome the unforeseen and prolonged impact of the pandemic. Recently, the airline received another 10-million-euro government-guaranteed loan, along with renewed financial support from its shareholders, helping to secure La Compagnie’s impending return as travel restrictions are expected to ease in the coming weeks thanks to rising vaccination rates in the United States and Europe.
La Compagnie’s personnel eagerly await the return of the airline’s operations, as do La Compagnie’s passengers, who stood by the airline throughout the past year despite the prolonged suspension. Whether loyal passengers showed up to board La Compagnie’s limited number of holiday flights from New York to Paris in December 2020 or bought gift cards to apply to future trips with the airline, American and French fliers continued to express their desire to get back onboard La Compagnie’s new A321neo aircraft.
“We have never stopped reinventing ourselves this past year so we may overcome this crisis and find new ways for our business to survive the temporary ramifications of the global pandemic. We’re now happy to be planning our return to the skies and to offer our passengers the best business class service” shared Christian Vernet, President of La Compagnie.
La Compagnie is planning to resume operations in June 2021 between New York and Paris and in early July 2021 between New York and Nice. However, its definite flight schedule will be announced pending confirmation from government authorities regarding travel restrictions between international borders.
