Frenchbee Vs Norse: what it's like to fly low-cost from Europe to Los Angeles
Not many non-'conventional' companies regularly cross the Atlantic Ocean between Europe and North America. These include the [...]
Norse Atlantic Airways
ORY
United States of America
There are not many companies Non-'conventional' that regularly cross the Atlantic Ocean. between Europe and North America.
In this article:
These include. the two certainly the most low-cost are the Norwegian Norse ('heir' to the missing Norwegian Long Haul) and the French Frenchbee, a low-cost 'rib' of the transalpine leisure carrier Air Caraibes.
For a recent trip to Los Angeles I had a chance to test both of them: Frenchbee from Paris Orly to Los Angeles and Norse from Los Angeles to London Gatwick.
Ticket cost
In both cases I flew in premium economy and on the same fare, the lowest available among the premium ones: the 'Smart' in the case of Frenchbee and the 'Light' in the case of Norse. Here's what I can tell you at the end of my double test.
Check-in and boarding
Frenchbee offers more, for the same lower premium rate, because to carry-on luggage and priority at check-in and boarding adds a checked bag, fast track at security checkpoints, and free choice of a standard seat (all but those in the first row).
At Orly, I appreciated the fact that. Premium Economy passengers had their own 'finger' through which to board.
Cabin and seat
Both carriers, which although operate different aircraft (the Airbus A350 in the case of Frenchbee and the Boeing 787 in the case of Norse), have the Premium Economy cabin with rows of seven seats each in a 2-3-2 configuration. Both sport leather-lined seats.
The main difference lies in the fact that while Frenchbee spaced the rows by 36 inches (91 centimeters), Norse (two photos below of the four) took a whopping 43 inches (109 centimeters). And the difference, in terms of personal space, can all be felt from the moment you step aboard.
As the rows are so widely spaced, Norse's seats also recline much more and have a leg rest, while Frenchbee has only one footstool whose usefulness and convenience is very relative.
In both cabins, the seats are equipped with height-adjustable headrests and equipped with flaps that allow you to keep your head 'still' when sleeping.
Service
Frenchbee offers a real vanity kit which, while albeit albeit small in size, contains roughly what you would find in some Business Class trousse (if you take out various hand and face creams): a pair of socks, an eye mask, foam plugs, toothbrush and toothpaste.
Norse, on the other hand, hands out a plastic bag for the IFE headphones, a paper bag with the eye mask inside, and a small box, also made of cardboard, with the caps Of foam rubber.
Food & Beverage
From 'good' French company, Frenchbee has champagne among the drinks offered to its premium passengers. The cutlery is made of steel and the glasses of glass.. Otherwise, meals (included in the rate as well as on Norse) are served on Plastic trays covered with a sheet of paper, as paper is also the napkin. E each plate is inside plastic trays.
About Norse Tray and napkin are also made of plastic and paper, respectively, But the trays that hold the food are made of some recyclable material that looks like Styrofoam And it's very ugly to look at, and the cutlery is wooden, very uncomfortable to use.
As for 'eating' in the narrow sense, I found the following. the presentation of Frencbee's dishes at an Economy level, while Norse's are composed with more aesthetic taste. On the level of variety, an alternative between two main courses is offered by both airlines. The taste of the food, of course, varies from palate to palate, but I enjoyed Frenchbee's the most.
IFE
On Frenchbee the individual screen is 'embedded' in the seat in front and is a respectable size: 12 inches. About Norse, on the other hand, the screen is contained in one of the two armrests of the chair and, also for this reason, Is smaller: 9 inches.
The contents are quite different: Frenchbee (photo below) has fewer films (about fifty versus Norse's hundred) , but it has moving maps and three cameras for the outside view; it also has a section with TV series (very poor), games and music.
Norse, conversely, has neither moving maps nor cameras, but only a screen that continuously updates the flight progress data. It is also perhaps the only airline I have flown on that does not have In its inflight entertainment program a section devoted to music.
Wifi
On Frenchbee there is, for a fee for Premium passengers as for Economy passengers. Price plans range from four to about 30 euros, depending on the GB you want to have available (250 is the maximum). But already by spending as little as 4 euros, as I did, you can entertain yourself for a few hours by texting with whatsapp (I even phoned my wife and the call quality was very good). Inexcusable, however, is the absence of wifi on Norse.
Value for money
E' excellent in both cases. Frenchbee has a 'soft' product probably barely superior to Norse's, which nevertheless has in the seat with so much legroom (and also wider than an inch) its strength, especially if the flight is longer than 7-8 hours and if it is overnight. Even Frenchbee's cabin, while having fewer seats than Norse's (35 versus 56) actually appears more 'crowded' precisely because the seats are much closer together.
