{"id":7063711,"date":"2026-09-22T04:41:05","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T04:41:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/airline\/french-bee-lie-flat-premium-add-on-from-paris-orly-to-san-francisco\/"},"modified":"2026-09-22T04:41:05","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T04:41:05","slug":"french-bee-lie-flat-premium-add-on-from-paris-orly-to-san-francisco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7063711","title":{"rendered":"French Bee Lie-Flat (Premium Add-On) from Paris Orly to San Francisco"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Air Caraibes is one of the most mysterious airlines for North America.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0They can be spotted regularly in places like San Francisco (SFO), Newark (EWR), or Miami (MIA), but you can\u2019t book a ticket on that airline from those cities.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Air Caraibes operates for French Bee in the busy summer season when there is not much demand between Europe and the Caribbean.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0Both airlines are owned by Groupe Dubreuil, which allows the group flexibility scheduling aircraft and crew.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For trans-Atlantic travelers seeking a premium experience on a budget, this is relevant, because Air Caraibes aircraft (but not French Bee aircraft) have lie-flat seats offering a business class-like experience at a premium economy price!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How to Get It?<\/span><\/h4>\n

Upgraded seating on French Bee aircraft consist only of premium economy<\/a>, which is just additional legroom of their normal seats arranged in a 2-3-2 configuration.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, when flights are operated by Air Caraibes, they additionally have fully lie-flat seats<\/a>, arranged in a 2-2-2 configuration.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>This is not advertised on the French Bee website until you get to seat selection and it\u2019s one of their best kept secrets!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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Premium Seats (both Lie-Flat and regular Premium) between doors 1 and 2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

You can read all about these seats on the Air Caraibes website<\/a>\u00a0(note – lounge and other perks described on that page are not<\/u><\/b> for French Bee flights).<\/span><\/p>\n

The only way to see if a flight has lie-flat is in the seat selection screen.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>To see the seat map, unfortunately, you have to make a mock booking all the way to seat section.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Each lie-flat seat costs an additional $400 over the premium fare.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Grand total on my one-way flight from Paris Orly (ORY) to SFO came to less than $1800. Knowing what I know now, that is an excellent value!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Check-in and Boarding at Orly<\/span><\/h4>\n

We first checked ourselves in at the self-service kiosk. There was a separate (and short) Premium line to the counter with agent<\/span>\u00a0assistance. \u00a0The agent printed out boarding passes and got our bags tagged. \u201cFast Track\u201d airport security check was included, but confusingly, it was labeled as \u201cNo 1 Lane\u201d at security and passport check.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lounge was not included in the fare.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>It was available as a steep $75 add-on, which I skipped.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Boarding was from bus gates F15 and F16 to remote parking.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Announcement was not clear and was confusing which gate\/lane to queue up to for a particular seat zone.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Once the packed bus arrived at the aircraft, we had to wait another 10 minutes or so for fueling to be completed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Meanwhile, four buses stacked up behind us.<\/span><\/p>\n

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On Board – Amenities\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Being a low cost carrier, I really didn\u2019t expect much (or any) amenities.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0French Bee\u2019s website<\/a> says meals were included, but nothing else regarding amenities.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I was pleasantly surprised!<\/span><\/p>\n

Pillow and blanket were on the seat. Flight attendant later passed welcome drinks with choice of champagne, water, or juice.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Flight attendants later passed out bottles of water and an amenity kit consisting of eye shade, ear plugs, dental kit, and headsets (seat-back screens do not have bluetooth capability).<\/span><\/p>\n

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And hot towels!<\/span><\/p>\n

Wifi was available for purchase. I did not use wifi, so I cannot speak to its speed or reliability.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Lie-Flat Seats<\/span><\/h4>\n

On board the Air Cariabes A350-900, the first three rows are lie-flat.<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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J and K seats<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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A and B seats<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Center E and F seats<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Storage, seat light and controls, remote control, headphone jack, AC and USB-A outlets<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n


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Lie-flat seats are arranged in a 2-2-2 configuration. The seat pair are in an unusual high-low setup while flat.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0The window seat is set about one foot above the aisle seat (you can see this in the footwell level difference).\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0This creates an elevation privacy separation at leg level so that your feet are not exactly next to your neighbor when flat. In addition, the aisle seat\u2019s lower position allows easy step-over to and from the window seat.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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Different bed elevations<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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In-Flight Entertainment System<\/span><\/h4>\n

Large 17-inch (43 cm) monitor with touchscreen remote control. \u00a0The remote was laggy, bordering on unusable. \u00a0I ended up doing the long reach to the monitor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Meals\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

About one hour after takeoff, lunch was served.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0Beverage cart was combined with the meal cart.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0There was a vast free selection of beverages including alcohol, served in a small cup.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Choice was a vegetarian pumpkin pasta or chicken in some sort of sauce. A menu was available on the screen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Courses were high-end and very French:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0cheese plate with two types of cheese, foie gras and jam, the bagette roll was warmed up and fresh.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0Though I was not particularly impressed with the chicken-potato-carrot dish.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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Chicken with three-peppercorn sauce<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Fancy French appetizers and dessert<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Beverage cart later returned offering coffee, tea, and refills. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Both flight attendants working my section (including the purser) were friendly, professional, and spoke perfect English.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mid-Flight Snack<\/span><\/h4>\n

Served 4.5 hours before arrival (and there was not<\/i><\/b> a pre-arrival meal).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0By this point, it was dinner time back in France and I was hungry!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Paprika chicken bun, strawberry Greek yogurt, with a small cookie.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The bun was warmed, which was nice.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0Flight attendant warned the chicken is a bit spicy.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0I didn\u2019t think it was, but appreciated the warning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I asked if there were any other snacks.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Only one thing – crackers that was served during lunch.<\/span><\/p>\n

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No amenities or upgraded toiletries in the lavatory.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Minor Annoyances<\/h4>\n

There were reminders that I was in premium economy and not business class.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0But that is OK, because I just had to remind myself how little I paid!<\/span><\/p>\n