From Paris to Los Angeles in premium economy with low-cost Frenchbee: champagne is fine, but the seat...
Milan does not have non-stop flights to Los Angeles. It had them for about ten years between 1998 and [...]
ORY
United States of America
Milan has no non-stop flights to Los Angeles. It had them for a decade between 1998 and 2008, when Malpensa was the main hub for Alitalia, which flew to the City of Angels with the MD-11. Today, if you want to fly to the mecca of cinema from northern italy, you have to make a stopover. Either Rome Fiumicino or one of Madrid, Paris, Dublin, London, Amsterdam, Zurich, Vienna, Munich, Frankfurt, Copenhagen or Helsinki. Or fly to the U.S. East Coast with American, Delta, United or Air Canada and from there on to LA.
In this article:
- Specifications
- Aircraft:
- A350
- Class:
- Premium
- Treat:
- ORY - LAX
- Price:
- 700€
- Book
Among them, the choice of Paris immediately evokes Air France, which flies to LAX twice a day from its Charles De Gaulle hub. Or, even, Norse, which flies there from CDG until the end of October three times a week. But from Orly, the oldest airport in the French capital (as well as the only one, before CDG was opened in the very early 1970s), there is another company that flies to Los Angeles International Airport.
It is called Frenchbee and is one of the very few long-haul low-cost airlines connecting Europe with the United States. Established in 2016 at the initiative of the same group that also owns Air Caraibes, it has a fleet consisting of by two Airbus A350-1000s and four A350-900s configured in two classes of service: Economy and Premium Economy.
The ticket
Looking for a cheap flight but one that offered decent in-flight comfort for a trip to LA of just three days, between Norse and Frenchbee I had no choice but to choose the latter because, on the day I was supposed to fly, the Norwegian low-cost carrier's Premium Economy was sold-out.
And there it was, 'my' flight: departure from Orly at 2:50 p.m., a one-way fare in premium economy just under 700 euros (with less than a week to go) and one last window seat (the only one in which I admit I can travel) still available.
Ready to go, I booked on the Smart rate, which allows you to check up to two pieces of checked baggage (and carry one in the cabin, as well as a bag or backpack) and entitles you to access dedicated check-in counters, fast track for security screening and priority boarding, as well as two meals, drinks (including champagne) and inflight entertainment. Wifi is available for a fee and, as you can read on the website the packages cost from $4 to $29 (with the latter you get 250GB).
Linate-Orly with easyJet (delayed, ca va sans dire)
Problem: Reaching Orly from Milan. Solved with easyJet, which has a flight every day from Linate that takes off at 10:35 a.m. and lands at Orly at 12:10 p.m., leaving plenty of time for the terminal change (from 1 to 4) at the Parisian airport. Or, at least, so I thought.
Because, after having reached Milan's city airport with the highly efficient M4 subway e skipped the line at the security checkpointthanks to my American Express Platinum, once on board from the cockpit came the usual, ominous communication that precedes most of the British low-cost company's flights: delay. By 20 minutes (later to become 45). And so, what was supposed to be a smooth stopover at Orly became a race against time to get to check-in on time.
Having, in fact, returned from Los Angeles with another company (Norse), Frenchbee's website did not allow me to check in online, forcing me to check in 'on-site'. That, according to French low-cost rules, closes a full 90 minutes before takeoff time.
At the airport
Arriving at Orly at 12:40 p.m., I had 40 minutes left to move through an airport where I had been just a couple of times (and many years ago), having to change terminals to boot. As soon as I disembarked, an Aeroport De Paris attendant explained to me that I would have to Exit Terminal 1, board the OrlyVal automated train and use that to reach the T4 check-in area. Fortunately, the 'little train' is actually a kind of Frecciarossa train (because of the high speed it reaches) that connects the two opposites of the airport in one minute.
T4 is the one from which non-Schengen flights depart: some Air France to Caribbean destinations and Overseas Territories (as the French call them) in addition to those of North African airlines, Corsair, Air Caraibes and, indeed, Frenchbee.
The floor-acceptance looks like a souk, but after sending (on time, thank God) the luggage and getting the long-awaited boarding pass, I went up to the departure floor, which appeared to me to be an oasis of silence and quiet, complete with a break room open to all and one of the very few terraces in Europe open to the aircraft parking apron.
Despite the fact that I had fast track and had scrupulously put all liquid containers inside a transparent bag, security checks were hell (worse than that of British airports).
The attendant still wanted to open my backpack, take everything out, perform three or four antiexplosive tests and then dump me with the backpack all to be redone.
At that point, if even Frenchbee offered free lounge access to its premium economy passengers (which, by the way, only very few airlines in the world do), I would not have had time to access it.
Embarkation
So, after the horrendous security experience (long live Italy) and fortunately passed through immigration unscathed (there was so much case at the checkpoints that it was deserted there) I paced the interminable T4 with my head down and steadfast step (With firm people movers, vive la france) and I finally arrived at my gate, F26, where one of Frenchbee's four A350-900s was parked.
Here, I must admit, I enjoyed the first two good things of my long day: in fact, not only did Premium Blue passengers have A dedicated line for passport and boarding pass control. But They also had a dedicated finger, which is sometimes absent even when traveling in business class.
On board
As a good last, I walked through the deserted tunnel to the forwardmost door of the aircraft, to the right of which opened Premium Blue's cabin, consisting of five rows of seats in a 2-3-2 configuration.
My 8A (the row count began, inexplicably, at 5) was one of only 4 seats still vacant (the others remained vacant later).
'Instructed' by Barbone Matteo Rainisio, the first thing I noticed was that both the blanket and the pillow were amazingly both wrapped in protective film. That in Paris they saw some videos from The Flight Club YouTube channel?
The second is that, for a pungent premium economy, legroom was not that much: 36 inches barely, as opposed to the 38-40 normally offered in this class of service. In short, a very spacious Economy, one might call it.
So much so that when the passenger in front of me at one point in the flight reclined his seat to its fullest extent, also complicit with the console separating my seat from my neighbor's, I literally had to do cartwheels in order to make my way to the restroom.
Once I was seated, the hostess moved on to ask me what I wanted as a welcome drink And, as a good Frenchwoman, she is returned a minute later with a glass of champagne (already poured) in a goblet glass. Business Class stuff (although I haven't seen the bottle).
The seat
Inspecting the seat, I noticed the height-adjustable headrest with side 'flaps' to keep your head still when sleeping, the IFE's generously sized screen (12 in.), the removable footrest from under the front seat, a USB outlet next to the screen, a universal outlet on the front side of the console that separated me from my neighbor, a remote with the IFE controls and the button to call the flight attendants, a cup holder on the right armrest, and the coffee table removable from the armrest itself.
Next to the left armrest, a space of about six inches separated the seat from the cabin wall and window, increasing the feeling of personal space, at least horizontally.
The onboard bar menu and instructions in case of emergency (both in poor condition) were in an ugly gray plastic retina that was really low-cost.
The service
After takeoff, the flight attendants (three for the premium cabin) distributed a small but very colorful vanity kit, a small bottle of water and a warm washcloth (lukewarm, actually). I inspected the small but colorful beauty case, discovering inside. IFE audio headphones, a pair of socks, foam plugs, a nice eye mask, and a kit with toothpaste and toothbrush. In short, all the essentials.
Food & Beverage
Lunch was served one hour after departure on a plastic tray covered with a paper towel and with metal cutlery.
The choice of the main course (which I had already seen by peeking at the contents of the IFE) was between chicken nuggets in a cinnamon sauce accompanied by coconut milk mashed potatoes and a generic 'tomato pasta'. On my side of the booth, all but one ordered chicken, including me. La presentation of the meal was at the level of Economy, except for steel cutlery and glassware, since all the food bowls were plastic and the paper napkin.
However, food allowed itself to be eaten (Amazingly, being on a French plane there was no garlic, which I hate, in any dish). From the cod flan with sweet bell pepper sauce to the chicken and mashed potato to the cheese plate with candied fig. Everything was okay except the dessert, which had the consistency of a buttery mushy muffin with candied figs. The choice of drinks included soft drinks, beer, champagne (I could not discern the label) and two still wines: a red Burgundy (my choice) and an 'organic' Chardonnay. To close, more trolley with coffee, tea and digestives.
Now, I confess that on Austrian and Lufthansa, in Premium Economy I had eaten better and with a decidedly different level of plating... but eating with gusto (almost) everything when not sitting in business class is already a lot.
IFE
Passed the two-hour flight and freed the coffee table from the tray, I explored the IFE: there were three view cams (front, tail, bottom), and a fairly basic version of moving maps we aviation enthusiasts love so much. On the movie front, there were 55 films, with one negative (at least half were French) and one positive (all were subtitled in English). Very little stuff on the TV series front, 21 albums from gospel to jazz to rock to electronic and the usual games.
Two contents that are certainly appreciable: the (updated) menu of meals departing from Paris and all cities served by Frenchbee, And the one (with prices) at the Blue Cafe, with drinks, snacks and sandwiches for a fee.
In the end I succumbed to one of the 'enne' French films, 'consoling' myself then with 'The Hangover 2' (already seen, but it gets a lot of play).
Pre-arrival snacks
Four hours from Los Angeles International, As we flew over northeastern Canada the crew came by the cabin for snacks, which are usually served an hour to an hour and a half before landing.
But so what: on the usual plastic tray covered by a paper towel were this time a boxed sandwich stuffed (so to speak) with a mysterious 'tomato sauce and nothing else (discarded), a maxi-pot of apricot yogurt (a few spoonfuls) And a mini chocolate chip cookie (meager consolation). All accompanied by hot or cold beverages of your choice. In short, after the decent lunch consumed a few hours earlier, I expected more. But so be it, after all, it is still low-cost.
The remaining three and a half hours of the flight were (as always when not traveling in Business or even better) the most 'excruciating': sore buttocks, aching backs, and that impatience to get off and stretch one's legs. Some views of the Great Lakes and Rocky Mountains were a comfort.
But when, shortly after 4:30 p.m. West Coast time, the announcement came from the cockpit that we had begun our descent to LA, I cheered as I do in Economy on long-haul flights.
Conclusion
The 'soft' part of the product (priority check-in, security screening and boarding with dedicated finger, courtesy and timeliness of service, food and beverage, IFE content and onboard wifi) Has lived up to expectations (and the price paid). Seat and personal space, with that measly 36 inches of legroom, absolutely not.