U.S. airlines have been making headlines lately with their newly announced nonstop flights to destinations throughout Europe. Now, one lesser-known French airline is getting in on the action. All-business-class La Compagnie runs three direct routes to Europe, all from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), to Milan Malpensa (MXP), Nice Côte d’Azur (NCE), and Paris Orly (ORY). Starting next spring, it’s adding a rather unexpected fourth: Düsseldorf Airport in Germany (DUS).
The new route, which begins April 21, 2027, will be the only direct flight between Düsseldorf and North America. Up to five flights per week will take off from Newark at 9 p.m., arriving in Düsseldorf the next day at 10:20 a.m. for a total flight time of approximately 7 hours and 20 minutes. The return flight is about 8 hours and 40 minutes, departing at noon and landing at 2:45 p.m. The Düsseldorf flights are currently available for booking and start at about $3,800 round-trip.
Why La Compagnie is launching a direct flight from Newark to Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is a western German city of just under 660,000 people that is divided by the Rhine River. It may seem like a random destination for La Compagnie’s expansion given the airline’s tiny network, but the company is betting on business travelers.
Some 1,700 American companies have offices in Germany’s North Rhine–Westphalia region, including roughly 450 in the Düsseldorf region.
“With strong international businesses and long-standing ties to the United States, North Rhine–Westphalia is well suited to our unique all-business-class model. We look forward to welcoming travelers from the region onboard, while also offering our American clientele a new and convenient gateway to Germany,” La Compagnie president and CEO Christian Vernet said in a press release.
What travelers can expect on the flight
La Compagnie’s planes have 76 lie-flat, business-class seats across 19 rows in a two-by-two configuration.
Courtesy of Christophe Dauphin/La Compagnie
La Compagnie flies Airbus A321neo planes with 76 lie-flat, business-class seats across 19 rows in a two-by-two configuration. The company says these planes consume 30 percent less fuel than the Boeing 757-200s they previously used. The Newark–Düsseldorf route will be flown on an Airbus A321LR, due for delivery in 2027, and the company has an additional A321XLR on order for delivery in 2028 but has not yet said where it will fly. Passengers will have access to La Compagnie’s Lounge&Co. space in Newark’s Terminal B and to the DUS Sky Lounge in Pier (Concourse) C at Düsseldorf Airport.
On board, travelers can expect to find a polished business-class experience: Wines are chosen by French wine-ranking guide Bettane+Desseauve, and menus are designed by Michelin-pedigree chefs; breakfast on landing may include Belgian waffles with cherry compote, and a pumpkin-chestnut soup with a mushroom tart may be an afternoon snack on the return.
What to do in and around Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf’s Gustaf Gründgens Platz is an arts and culture hub within the city.
Photo by Malte Veh/Courtesy of Visit Düsseldorf
The Düsseldorf city center is 12 minutes by train from the airport, so you can drop your bags at a hotel such as the Wellem, which occupies a grand former courthouse built in 1913, and then set out again to keep jet lag at bay. La Compagnie’s flight kicks off in time for Spargelzeit, or white asparagus season, when the so-called queen of vegetables is likely to be on the menu at many local restaurants.
Late April is also the end of tulip season, and you don’t need to drive to the Netherlands to see them; colorful tulip field Tulpenhof Francken is about half an hour by car from the city center. Come in the fall for Oktoberfest or to taste rieslings, spätburgunder (pinot noir), and weisburgunder (pinot blanc) during harvest season in the Mittelrhein region—60 miles of vineyards along the Rhine between Bonn and Bingen. Though the days are short and gray in wintertime, Düsseldorf’s glittery Christmas market brightens the evenings during the festive season.
Side trips from Düsseldorf are easy; a 30-minute drive brings you to the Dutch border, and an 80-minute drive gets you to the university city of Maastricht, known for its medieval architecture. By train, you can reach Brussels or Amsterdam in two hours; Cologne is 20 minutes away by rail, and Bonn less than an hour.
