Photo illustration of French bee Airbus A350. The airline began flying non-stop from Los Angeles … [+]
French bee
What’s the buzz about French bee? (Yes, their style is a lower-case “bee.”) The French airline just launched non-stop service from Los Angeles to Paris with one-way tickets starting at $321.
French bee (www.frenchbee.com) is operating modern Airbus A350 aircraft with two classes of service—Basic Economy and Premium Economy—for the non-stop flights. In addition to the Basic Economy fares starting at $321, one-way Premium Economy Fares start at $679 for Los Angeles to Paris flights.
The flights will depart from LAX at 7:45pm with arrival in Paris (ORY) the following day at 3:35pm. Flight time is pegged at 10 hours and 50 minutes from LAX to ORY.
French bee will fly the LA-to-Paris route three times per week on Monday, Thursday and Saturday beginning in April. Frequency will increase to five times weekly in June 2022, just in time for what should be an enormous, hopefully post-COVID summer of travel. If travelers needed any additional incentive to visit Paris this May, the city will play host to events like the Festival, the Taste of Paris Festival, and the French Open.
French bee is joining LEVEL (which just began flying a route to Barcelona from Los Angeles) in offering non-stop service to Europe from California. The low-cost airlines are picking up the mantle of Norwegian Airlines, which has ended the low-cost long-haul service that made it a budget traveler’s delight.
The interior EcoBlue Cabin on French bee Airbus A350. The airline began flying non-stop from Los … [+]
French bee
The LA/Paris route is serviced by French bee’s fleet of five Airbus A350 wide-body aircraft, each with 411 seats. The airline has four A350-900 and one A350-1000 aircraft, optimized for long flights like the 5652-mile trip from Los Angeles to Paris. The quiet planes offer on-board mood lighting that mimics sunrise and sunset, using LED lighting to improve sleep quality and reduce jet lag. The aircraft have leather seats with adjustable headrests, USB and electrical ports and headphone plugs. French bee offers what’s billed as unlimited in-flight entertainment on its HD touch screens.
As with most low-cost airlines, passenger ticketing options are a la carte, a nice way of saying that one pays for upgrades. As a spokesperson put it, on French bee “There are more than 20 a la carte services to add to any ticket so customers have the flexibility to pay for exactly what they want in their trip.”
French bee’s three booking options are Basic, Smart and Premium. Passengers choosing Basic, the lowest-priced option, get one 26-lb carry-on bag included. Smart includes the Basic carry-on bag plus one 50-lb checked bag and an in-flight meal, with choices that include vegetarian and fish. Premium customers get the carry-on and 50-lb checked luggage, plus an additional 50-lb checked bag, two premium meals, complimentary beverage service, Premium cabin seat choice, priority boarding, priority luggage delivery and “line jump.”
In Paris, French bee has a new lounge near the boarding gate at Paris-Orly 4. The Prime Class lounge offers a panoramic view of the runways and services like complimentary Wi-Fi, hot and cold beverages, and snacks.
Onboard, meals included in the Smart and Premium pricing sound intriguing. For example, the “Instant Duo” meal includes a pre-dinner aperitif, two bottles of Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne (7 oz) and two plates of three warm canapés (spring roll, beggar’s purse, and vegetable samosa.
Even French bee’s internet access, iZiWifi, is offered on an a la carte basis. The four packages including Hello ($4) for ‘emoticons and WhatsApp addicts’ and a Social package ($9) for those who like to follow their ‘likes’ and tweets. Then there is the Geek plan ($17) for emails and internet, and the Addicted package ($29) for the ultra-connected who crave bandwidth.
Premium Economy seating on French bee Airbus A350. French bee is now flying nonstop from Los Angeles … [+]
French bee
“France is not only Paris,” notes a French bee press release. French bee has an interesting partnership for its budget travelers to explore the rest of France. The airline has joined forces with SNCF, the French National Railway Operator, to offer packages that combine air and train fare into a single fare so travelers can explore other destinations in France.
French bee is operated by Dubreuil Group, a family-owned holding company in Belleville-sur-Vie, France that operates airlines through its subsidiaries. French bee is a sister company of Air Caraïbes within the Dubreuil Group’s airline division.
The Paris flights are the third U.S. routes for French bee. The airline offers three U.S. routes from San Francisco (SFO), New York (Newark; EWR) and Los Angeles (LAX.) The airline offers multiple flights per week from New York, San Francisco and now Los Angeles to Paris. And if you want to get away from it all, French bee also offers flights from SFO to Tahiti.
Pretty night time illuminations of the Impressive Arc de Triomphe (1833) along the famous tree lined … [+]
getty
Marc Rochet, President of French bee, says, “Affordability continues to be a top factor for our customers as well as our new Airbus A350 fleet, which makes long-haul travel efficient and comfortable.”
For all bookings made for travel until June 30, 2022, French bee says its tickets are changeable free of cost provided the same fare is available. Otherwise, the difference in fare is applicable. For cancellations, tickets can be exchanged into a refundable voucher to be redeemed within one year.
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