[andystock]

Hifly have some ex virgin, emirates and kingfisher A340s

[IstanbulWarrior]

How would they deal with the weight distribution?

[TiredOldHack]

“Cabin crew required for new transatlantic service. Pie Eaters preferred.”

[AMcWhirter]

According to the carrier’s website, there have been no flights operating at Luton for the past few days.

This morning I was informed that La Compagnie is expecting to operate its B757 from Luton tomorrow.

[Ricjackal]

Doers anyone have the reg for the Aircraft their using as they appear to have 6 available on the website ??

[Carajillo2Sugar]

So, you’ve booked and paid for a ropey old 757 and get promised this:

La Compagnie offers a truly unique 100% business-class cabin with 19 rows and 74 seats. Integrated in fixed shells, our seats offer passengers ultimate privacy and comfort. Our seats recline to a 180-degree angle with a built-in massage feature for added comfort during your journey. Arranged in 2×2 rows, our comfortable seats are spaced by a pitch of 62 inches.

And you end up with a more comfortable experience on a wide-bodied A340 – fair deal?

[pearcey]

the reg that operated this mornings arrival into Luton was CS-TQY

[Alexthegreat]

Hi-Fly also caused a stir when one of their A330’s in basic Saudia livery positioned into Tel Aviv for some maintenance on 06MAY.

[LuganoPirate]

Ricjackal. it’s CS-TQY

As to weight distribution, I don’t think 74 passengers would make a lot of difference and they’re more or less midships. I think the 340 can carry total 90 tonnes and 74 pax is about 6.5 tonnes. They’d probably load baggage at the back to compensate.

[KSHaggag]

It does indeed feel bad to book a specific product with that specific seat with 74 seats on board a 757 and then end up on a different configuration and seat .When you book ” La Compagnie ” you are paying FOR that specific product and not something else ;you go out of your way till Luton to board that aircraft .If you were interested in a conventional flight with conventional seating ,albeit more expensive ,you would have booked VS ,BA ,etc from Heathrow and safeguard your loyalty points/miles .
The question is : is this situation going to be recurrent ???..now that La Compagnie has only two aircraft ,I see such a scenario as a very possible one very regularly ;this falls under sheer inconsistency in my opinion .Come on La Compagnie !.are you really ready for that Luton operation ??????? or was it too early to embark in such an adventure that would rather ruin your reputation as a reliable carrier ?..stick to CDG/EWR now till you feel indeed ready to conquer the UK/US competitive market .

[SimonS1]

Sadly I don’t see much difference between La Compagnie and the other all-business airlines that went out of business such as Silverjet.

I don’t think in this day and age you can run an airline with a couple of aircraft – as soon as something goes wrong you have to charter and it destroys the whole proposition.

Much the same reason as we have started to hear mutterings in recent months about the BA LCY model, their planes seem to have had their share of technical issues and I believe one lost it’s pre-clearance at Shannon.

[KSHaggag]

The BA LCYJFK operation is still an outstanding upscale product and BA is a huge airline that can reaccommodate you comfortably should something happen ,however with La Compagnie I am now getting the feeling that you need to be lucky enough to go to Luton and get on board the 757 you booked ..no alternatives coz simply you are already at Luton ,far away from anything ..hard luck PAL !

[rodders]

Appears that their flight tonight from Newark to Luton has been cancelled, have an unhappy staff member stuck in the US….I think this one is best avoided for now…..

[KSHaggag]

It is becoming very clear that they are NOT yet ready for that Luton operation ..it was too early to start it ;better focus on the CDG one till they build a nice reputation then think of expansion .Business travellers criteria in choosing an airline over another is not only price ,but convenience ,reliability ,comfort and loyalty miles do also count ;in their case they are lagging behind with the exception of the onboard comfort which seems good but they are unable yet to compete when it comes to reliability and loyalty .

[andystock]

This business model simply dose not work, using a small number of old aircraft which will more likely have tech problems is a always going to fail.

[Author]

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