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I recently flew on the new all-business class airline, L’Avion, from New York to Paris. Or make that actually from Newark (EWR) to Paris Orly (ORY) since that is their route. The airline sells seats on a reconfigured Boeing 757-200 for often much less what business class seats sell for on the major airlines. And they are filling those seats since the company is ahead of its business plan and may add more flights. Thus Mark asked me to provide my first-hand perspective to you.

Since I had never been to Newark International Airport before (gasp!) I was particularly delighted to receive the email telling me where to check in. I proceeded to the appropriate terminal, door, and counter number only to be greeted with a queue for a LOT flight to Poland. Aha. I must admit to a slight panic when I had a flashback to trying to book my ticket on the phone and only getting voicemail! Was this airline for real, I wondered?

Indeed it is. A few queries later and I found the two check-in desks where I was thrilled to find absolutely nobody in line. Passport read, bag checked and I was on my way. Very easy check in. (Longish line at the TSA, however.)

If you are expecting a lounge, this is where the discount part kicks in. L’Avion has arranged for gate 51 to be partitioned off and serves as a waiting area for their Paris passengers. There you will find the finest bottled water, Budweiser, mixed nuts, and cheddar cubes that good money will buy at Food Emporium. I found it overly full and awkwardly silent so wandered back to the main gate area where boarding started on time and proceeded swiftly.

Once on board, I thought a charming member of their staff would greet me with a glass of Champagne. A wine writer can but dream. No drink offer ever came before take off. Interesting drinks are not expensive, L’Avion: provide them liberally.

We pushed back from the gate and sat on the tarmac without a word from the cockpit. And sat. Finally, the usual patter came on about backups, delays yadda yadda and now we’re ninth in line for take off. Information is free, L’Avion: provide it freely. In this day and age of nine-hour groundstops, inquiring minds of fliers want to know what’s going on.

The seat is good, I’m pleased to report, although it is a “cradle” not a flatbed in case that’s what you’re after. The bag of goodies offered, however, is the exact same bag of goodies I remember getting in coach, way back when coach had amenities. The same plastic eyeshade that sticks to your face. A hard-bristled toothbrush. And a pair of those sock things that go over your socks.

The media was the first to arrive. They distributed some little hand-held monitors that had the entertainment in them. In the spirit of adventure I took one even though my only goal was to sleep on the flight. There’s a basic array of movies and games on the system. Oddly, it plugs in to a power socket in your seat. So not only do you have this hand-held monitor (with a pull-out stand to rest on the tray table if it is not in use with, say, your dinner) but your hip is being gouged by the plug adapter.

I just wanted to eat and go to sleep. But, alas, after our delay of almost an hour on the ground, the food did not appear for another hour and with it more exciting beverages than the bottle of Crystal Geyser that greeted me on my seat. The food was solid. And the wine? I’ll save that–and my final conclusions–for the future posting on my return journey.

Tyler Colman, Ph.D. writes about wine in print and on DrVino.com