L’Avion - All Business Class Paris to New York?
Yet another all business class airline is preparing to hit the skies. L’Avion plan to operate a five times weekly service from Paris Orly to Newark New York using a Boeing 757-200 configured with 90 business class seats.
The start-up is due to commence flights on 27th of December 2006, although it is unclear whether the airline has reached agreement with the US aviation authorities. Special offer prices will be €1000 return and the normal fare will come in at €1600 return which will considerably undercut the major carriers.
L’Avion (also known as Elsyair) is aiming to get 10% market share on the popular Paris - New York route. However with only one aircraft, they will need to provide great service to gain a loyal customer base. MaxJet and Eos Airlines have been successful flying all business cabins from London to New York - can L’Avion follow suit?
We will probably see Air France drop their business class fares to the USA in response. In addition it is possible that Maxjet could enter the Paris - New York market themselves next year.