Summary

• Founded in 2016, the company started with an A330-300 and gradually converted its fleet to an A350 fleet.
• French Bee no longer focused solely on the Caribbean, but also offered services to the United States and Tahiti.
• To avoid confusion with JetBlue, the airline was renamed from French Blue to French Bee and expanded worldwide.

French Bee is a leisure airline based at Paris-Orly Airport, south of the French capital. With a modern fleet of A350-900 and A350-1000, the airline flies passengers to major holiday destinations in North America and serves the French holiday island of Réunion, right next to Madagascar. Today we take a look at the airline’s exciting history.

How it all began

French Bee, originally French Blue, started operations in 2016 with Punta Cana (PUJ) in the Dominican Republic as its first destination. The Groupe Dubreuil airline initially targeted “sun destinations” such as the French West Indies and the island of Réunion.

Like American travelers, the French also prefer their holidays in the Caribbean. In particular, overseas territories such as Saint Martin, Martinique and Guadeloupe are among the main destinations frequently visited by the French. Therefore, connections between mainland France, Fort de France and Pointe-à-Pitre to larger regions such as Puerto Rico and Cancun are naturally also very profitable.

A gradual shift to the continent

In 2018, French airline BFU made a strategic change. Previously, the airline’s sister company, Air Craïbes, as its name suggests, had focused mainly on operations in the Caribbean.

The newly formed airline began with flights to New York and San Francisco, as well as a fifth-freedom flight via SFO to Papeete, Tahiti. It focused on the U.S. mainland and the remote French territory in Oceania, but continued to fly to the island of Réunion.

Your fleet history

French bee, a renowned airline celebrated today for its state-of-the-art A350 aircraft, began its journey with a humble Airbus 330-300, registration F-HPUJ, which it operated from 2016 to 2019. Delivered brand new in 2016, this aircraft is one of the youngest A330ceo in service in France and is currently celebrating its eighth year of operation.

After its short time with French Bee, the aircraft was taken over by Air Caraïbes, where it remains in service to this day.

The first Airbus A350-900 registered in France, F-HREU (in connection with the flight to La Réunion), is also the first A350 operated by a low-cost airline. Its first commercial flight took place on 22 August 2017 to Saint-Denis on the island of Réunion.

The second aircraft, registered F-HREV, was delivered in March 2018, followed by F-HREY in 2019. Subsequently, F-HMIX was delivered in 2021 and F-HMIB in 2022.

These newest aircraft, F-HMIX and F-HMIB, are the longer and more densely configured A350-1000s. Currently, these aircraft are used exclusively on flights to Saint-Denis.

French Blue, then French Bee, why the airline had to change its name

You may have noticed, but the French Bee was originally called French Blue.

On January 30, 2018, the airline changed its name to French Bee to avoid possible confusion with the US airline JetBlue, which did not yet offer transatlantic flights at the time.

This change was prompted by JetBlue’s concerns about similar brand names, and was particularly important given the airline’s expansion into the US market.

The airline’s branding in the cabin remained unchanged: Eco Blue and the magazine available on board retained the French name Bluetique, thus adapting to the previous brand identity.

Even their premium economy airline kept the name “Premium Blue”, further explaining that the dispute was about the airline’s name, not the use of the word “Blue”.

What is it like to fly with the airline?

As mentioned, there are two hard products on board: EcoBlue and PremiumBlue.

• EcoBlue is Economy Class with 440 seats in the -1000 and 376 in the -900. It is one of the most densely packed A350s flying today and there is a complimentary personal IFE system to keep passengers entertained.

• PremiumBlue is the premium economy product with 40 seats in a 2-4-2 configuration (-1000) and a 2-3-2 configuration (-1000). It is more comfortable with a leg rest and a greater recline.

The offers are divided into four different product levels:

• Basic: Complimentary in-flight entertainment (IFE) is offered. Seat selection is available from €10 ($11). Checked baggage costs $50 ($55) and meals are available from $20.

• Basic Plus Offers The same benefits as in the Basic level, plus hand luggage and a free meal.

• Clever: Similar to the basic fare, one piece of luggage is included in the price.

• Premium: Offers access to Premium Economy seating with complimentary seat selection, premium meal and complimentary window seat selection.

What does the future hold for the French bee?

Air traffic to the United States has recovered significantly from the effects of the pandemic. Despite this, the US remains a popular destination for European travelers, so it is not surprising that rumors are emerging that French Bee plans to introduce its A35K aircraft to Newark.

One of our journalists recently reported on this development, pointing out that the A35Ks are the aircraft with the highest seating capacity in Newark. In contrast, airlines such as Emirates, Etihad and Lufthansa operate Airbus A380s in the New York metropolitan area, which have even more seating capacity.

According to reports, the following flights are affected:

• BF720 leaves Paris Orly at 18:50 and arrives in Newark at 21:00.
• BF721 leaves Newark at 11:00 p.m. and arrives in Paris Orly at 12:15 p.m.

From May 16, 2025, the A350-1000 will be used on this aircraft three times a week. The flight times are as follows:

• BF726 leaves Paris Orly at 8:20 p.m. and arrives in Newark at 10:30 p.m.
• BF727 leaves Newark at 01:15 and arrives in Paris Orly at 14:30.

With Air France and its joint venture with Delta operating multiple daily flights from CDG to JFK and EWR with aircraft ranging from the A330-200 to the 777-300ER, it’s only logical that the Orly-based airline is expanding its offering to the Big Apple.