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Affordable, Comfortable Business Class An Interview with Peter Luethi, Co-Founder and Deputy Chief Executive Offi cer, La Compagnie A rendering of a La Compagnie plane cabin EDITORS’ NOTE Peter Luethi started How will this be different class between 30 and 50 percent cheaper than his aviation career with Swissair from those who have gone this with other carriers. in 1967. After duties in the U.S., route previously and not had much Also, it’s one thing to have a nice busi- Canada, Middle East, Far East, and success? ness class in an aircraft with 600 other pas- Africa, he returned to New York Each carrier that failed before us sengers but one still has to endure the loading and became Swissair’s Head of failed for a specifi c reason, but very and unloading process, and the clogged im- Operations for North America often, the timing was when businesses migration lines. and Mexico. In 1997, he moved weren’t doing too well, and the price Arriving on an aircraft with 74 business or to Zurich to lead Swissair’s North and comfort level wasn’t in line with leisure travelers is much easier. The comfort and Eastern European markets. any clear concept. on board and the cabin without dividers gives He was promoted to Executive Vice Maybe it seems risky to start a a much nicer ambiance. We also believe that President and then Chief Operating new airline now, but you basically high-tech communication and social media Offi cer. In 2003, Luethi joined Jet Peter Luethi have one or two airlines across the will play a big role in our airline’s success. Airways as Chief Operating Offi cer. globe that are starting international This kind of modern communication with the In 2013, he co-founded La Compagnie and as- services. So it shows the amount of space that younger generation is where our niche will be. sumed the role of Deputy Chief Executive Offi cer. would actually be available for a niche carrier What level of food product are you to come in. offering? COMPANY BRIEF Launched in July 2014, La The alliances and the big carriers do a We have a chef, Christophe Langree, who Compagnie (lacompagnie.com) is an exclusively great job, but they also lack many things. used to cook for Prime Ministers and he’s run- business-class airline offering regularly sched- If we can offer a comfortable business class ning his own restaurant now. He will design uled transatlantic fl ights between Paris (Charles at an affordable price, this has an impact on the menus, which will be seasonal. Since we de Gaulle) and New York (Newark Airport). An corporations, especially for the small en- will have point-to-point traffi c, we will probably entrepreneurial initiative offering very compet- trepreneurs that don’t get into the big deals have mainly European and American guests, itive fares, the airline was created in October with the airlines. Also, if your business is which will make our menu selection a little eas- 2013 by L’Avion Founder Frantz Yvelin with as- between these two Metropolitan cities where ier as compared to having a multinational array sistance from Peter Luethi. there are potentially 500,000 customers that of passengers. use the upper class services, this is a good Langree will design the dishes to the What opportunity did you see in the market market to get into. taste of our passengers. Since we’ll leave at and why did you feel the timing was right to In addition, fl ying out of Newark, we have 9:45 PM each evening, we’ll offer a chic snack launch La Compagnie? a much closer relationship with the French com- at around 11:00 PM and a full breakfast prior to We have to look at the past eight years of munity and the American community in France landing in Paris. On the way back from Paris, aviation. There was a spike in 2004 and 2005, because many of these companies have New guests will get a four- or fi ve-course meal. We before the fi nancial crisis. After that, there was Jersey-based offi ces. will always strike a balance between heavier a consolidation in the airline business, alliances How did the initial launch go? and lighter dishes. grew, and there was nothing new coming onto Our maiden fl ight was on July 21 from Paris We have teamed up with companies in the market. to New York and New York to Paris on July 22. France and the U.S., and we have some exclu- Capacity was somewhat reduced through We signed and formed the company in October sivity with Champagne providers. The uniforms the consolidation, which had an effect on the and the money is all equity from 40 individual and the amenities kits are brand names so we availability of seats. The normal reaction is that investors who believe in the concept. It was the feel it’s going to be a nice combination. prices went up. We have reached a point where largest equity raising in France in 2013 so there Is the focus to expand to other destina- the business class travel is very well used, but are a lot of people in business who believe in tions eventually? comes at an incredibly high price. our concept. We are not in the business of saying we’re There are two kinds of pain as a passen- We moved very rapidly in getting the or- going to have 15 planes in two years. We feel ger: one is that you pay little and you have ganization structured, getting offi ces, getting we need to stick to this business model, which no comfort so the pain is physical; or you do people hired, getting airplanes leased, and go- is simple and effi cient business class, point-to- travel in business class and the pain becomes ing through the processes with the French and point. When you do this, you have to stick to monetary. U.S. governments. the destinations where there is a market. Even though the competition has made When you say “business-class prod- Having said this, we do have longer-term great strides to improve their upper classes, very uct,” what can your customers expect? plans and will start with an additional aircraft often, it’s just to maintain the price. Many clients who look to use La Compagnie in December so, at that time, we will either do At this point, an alternative has to come are corporate travelers, so the corporation decides a double daily on the same route or we will in, and it doesn’t have to be the most luxuri- the policy and with whom they fl y. Chief Financial open another destination in Europe spreading ous, but it has to be an affordable, comfortable Offi cers in companies will take a second look at the product into other key markets. As we grow, business class. La Compagnie when they see fares in business we can also improve capacity.• VOLUME 37, NUMBER 4 POSTED WITH PERMISSION. COPYRIGHT © 2014 LEADERS MAGAZINE, INC. LEADERS 343.