Here's Everything You Need To Know About This Parisian Budget Airline
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Have you ever had the experience of searching for flights and the most affordable options to come up are, uh, airlines you've never heard of? And then you're scared to book said flights because you're not sure if they're legit?
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I had this experience when searching for a nonstop flight from New York to Paris. Because I was traveling during spring break, tickets were astronomical, and the most affordable option popping up on Skyscanner.com was French Bee. It was a carrier I had never flown with and (to be completely honest) hadn't heard much about.
Cue a lot of internet research. My deep dive made me confident that French Bee was legit. Ergo cue my coordinating a roundtrip flight from Newark to Paris Orly.
TL;DR: It was awesome. Scroll down for a deep dive on my personal experience and on French Bee as a whole.
First, an introduction: French Bee is a low-cost, long-haul airline based in Paris's Orly Airport. It flies from major cities in the US and to France, French Polynesia, and Réunion.
This is the network of airports that French Bee operates from:
Paris, France — Paris Orly Airport
Papeete, French Polynesia — Faa'a International Airport
Saint-Denis, Réunion — Roland Garros Airport
Los Angeles — Los Angeles International Airport
Newark — Newark Liberty International Airport
San Francisco — San Francisco International Airport
Miami — Miami International Airport (to launch in December 2022)
You can choose from a trio of fare options: basic, smart, and premium. I booked a premium rate for one flight and a smart rate for the other — and rest assured that each option is a bang for your buck.
While smart and premium fares have additional amenities (meals and checked luggage), all three have this in common: You won't get nickel and dimed.
Each fare includes a personal item and carry-on bag, plus you can change your booking prior to departure if necessary.
You also get two checked bags with the premium rate, one checked bag with the smart rate, and if you'd like to add a checked bag to your basic fare, it costs 45 euros. For reference, I've flown budget airlines (*cough* Spirit Airlines) that charge roughly that exact same price for a carry-on.
Psst, the fares shown above are for flights from Miami to Paris.
While rates always fluctuate, French Bee fares are consistently competitive — particularly if your dates are flexible and you can book on their website directly.
Pictured above are flights from Miami to Paris.
On the left you'll see one-way ticket averages for French Bee flights from December 2022 to March 2023. On the right is a Google search of roundtrip flights via competitor airlines from Miami to Paris in January 2023. Booking a roundtrip with French Bee will cost roughly $476, while the most affordable option with other low-cost airlines is $503...and that $503 ticket isn't a nonstop flight.
Now, I'm not going to gaslight you into believing you'll save hundreds upon hundreds of dollars per flight.* But you can save an average of $150–$200 without compromising travel quality. And that goes a long way! Particularly when you will not have to pay for things like a carry-on upon arrival at the airport. And speaking of carry-ons...
*The exception here is premium rates, but we'll talk about that later.
A carry-on and personal item are included in the price of every French Bee ticket. Even the basic fare. This is a massive distinction from other low-cost airlines.
Example time and venting session ahead! I recently booked a bachelorette trip to Austin, Texas with JetBlue. I booked the basic fare and realized afterward that a carry-on was not included, which is a genuine travesty considering the flight cost $430. And you know what I'm realizing? Too many airlines employ the practice of charging for carry-ons, particularly when they brand themselves as low-cost.
I wouldn't die on many hills, but I will die on this one: That is bizarre. Every plane ticket should include a carry-on. French Bee allows every passenger, regardless of their ticket fare, to bring aboard a personal item and carry-on. The slightly more expensive smart and premium fares include a checked bag, too.
Let's clink together some champagne glasses in honor of French Bee's premium cabin, which is a budget-friendly way to experience the luxury of business class.
As someone who's had the opportunity to fly some seriously ritzy flights (cc: Etihad business class), read my lips: The French Bee premium fare is fantastic, especially when you consider the competitive pricing.
The average price for a premium one-way fare on French Bee starts at $650. Now, their version of premium is not like the BS you see on other low-cost airlines that offer an inch of "extra legroom" for an upgraded fee. French Bee premium rates are comparable to business class seating offered by big wigs like Delta (from my personal experience).
Your fare includes champagne, wine, delicious coffee, a meal, a snack (their idea of a snack was a legit meal though), a care package with flight essentials, two checked luggage pieces, and comfortable oversized seats with tons of extra legroom. While your seat doesn't convert to a lie-down bed, it does recline quite a bit, and there's a foot rest in front of you. I flew premium from Newark to Orly and can attest to it being a truly luxurious seven hours.
Quick research shows that the average price for a roundtrip business class flight to Paris from Newark starts at $2,400. But if you snag premium class rates with French Bee at the right time, you're looking at a total roundtrip fare of $1,300. (I personally intend on doing this for my honeymoon.)
And while the premium cabin is fantastic, their economy seating is also super comfortable! There's genuinely room to breathe, and you're not crammed arm-to-arm against fellow passengers.
The planes have a three-four-three configuration. I sat in the aisle seat of the middle section on my way home from Paris with my smart fare and had ample legroom. The ultimate test? I could comfortably reach for my under-seat bag without bumping my head in the process.
The windows are slightly larger, too, to make the space feel bigger!
Is the premium cabin better? Naturally. But their economy seating is probably the most comfortable I've had in a while.
Flights to Paris land at Orly Airport. This is *so* much better than landing at Charles de Gaulle Airport, and I mean that with every fiber of my being.
Charles de Gaulle Airport is more centrally located than Orly Airport by about 20 minutes. But have you ever been to CDG? It is crowded. I once waited 40 minutes to get through customs, and it took me another 40 minutes to get a taxi.
So yes, Orly is about 20 minutes farther from the city center — but it's far more relaxing upon arrival (significantly less crowds), and you won't have to wait forever and a day to fetch a cab. Even if you decide not to fly with French Bee, always travel through Orly. OK? OK.
Flights tend to depart later in the day, which is great because a) there's less traffic at the airport, b) you're more likely to get a full night of rest, and c) you have more time at your destination.
My flight from Newark departed at 10:55 p.m. My usual bedtime is at 11:30 p.m., which means I was able to get pretty decent sleep and wake up refreshed and ready to explore as soon as I landed.
My flight home from Paris departed at 7:45 p.m., which meant I had until 4:30 p.m. to explore. I dedicated this day to visiting the Palace of Versailles (which I wasn't crazy about TBH, but that's a story for another time).
The food is good! No soggy pasta here.
My breakfast was a freshly toasted bagel with smoked salmon and cheese, a bunch of grapes, a York peppermint patty, and an actually good coffee. It was especially lovely considering that every breakfast I've ever gotten on a plane has been sugary, soupy yogurt.
You can check out their full menu here.
The in-flight entertainment is great too. (This is an important distinction from other low-cost airlines, many of which don't have back-of-seat screens at all.)
I associate low-cost airlines with boredom. Always. There is seldom any in-flight entertainment to make the hours go by quicker. Also, I want the euphoria of swiping through dozens of options and scheduling my flight by the hour to see how many films I can watch. (I can only read my book for so long before getting bored, OK? And I never download podcasts and Netflix shows in time.)
But I'm happy to report that French Bee had an awesome selection of films and television shows that kept me quite happy. Major bonus points for that alone.
You can even watch a livestream of your flight! Observe our landing in Newark below.
AnaMaria Glavan / BuzzFeed
I'm not sure if every other airline in the world does this (ignore me if that's the case), but I just really enjoyed this feature.
And if all of the above wasn't enough — the planes look and feel clean thanks to better air quality, less harsh lighting, and elevated design.
The cabins really match the aesthetic of the white-and-blue French Bee logo. As someone who has no understanding of interior design, I can't explain why...but everything from the seats to the bathrooms looked polished and elevated. No obnoxious color schemes for the eyes to see!
The bathroom was also clean in both economy and premium cabins. (The premium cabin even had vanity lights and little minty towelettes.)
There was also an absence of that distinct airplane smell. If you know, you know. I researched into this afterward, and it turns out that the A350 airplane renews air every three minutes.
One more thing! The lighting aboard the craft wasn't as harsh.
Final verdict: French Bee is legit. I strongly recommend looking into the airline if you want affordable fares — but don't want to compromise comfort or be nickel and dimed for literally everything.
AnaMaria Glavan / BuzzFeed
BuzzFeed was provided this ticket free of charge; however, we were under no obligation to give a positive review.
