Decision to Fly French Bee to Tahiti

A few months ago we got an alert from Pomelo Travel for an amazing ticket deal from San Francisco to Tahiti. We had planned a trip to French Polynesia several years ago that was suddenly canceled when the world shut down during the pandemic, so it felt like a full circle moment. We decided to jump on the opportunity to return and were lucky enough to have grandparents agree to watch our toddlers since it was going to be a quick trip. The tickets were with French Bee, which, as the name suggests, is a French budget airline that mainly flies between France, the US, and French Polynesia. French Bee is well known for nickel-and-diming its customers as all budget airlines do, so we were interested in seeing what it was like paying particular attention to whether or not we’d recommend flying with them with children.

Decision to Book “Bee Light” Economy Ticket

French Bee offers seven different levels of fares that each include different perks. We wanted to best price possible though, so decided to book their most basic economy fare, which is called “Bee Light”. The most notable things about this level of ticket is that you have to pay a hefty fee for checked bags and food and drinks are not included. We always travel with carry-on luggage only so had no issue not checking bags. You can purchase food on the flight even if you don’t add it to your ticket in advance, so we decided we’d just eat a lot before our flight and could always get some food if we were starving.

Good to know: Food, drinks, and checked bags are not included in Bee Light airfare. The price of checked bags can range from $70-$140 depending on when you book your ticket - surely some of the steepest prices in the industry! As such, you should definitely plan to go carry-on only if you truly want a budget ticket deal.

*A description of the Bee Light fare from French Bee*

Boarding Process

We boarded our French Bee flight in San Francisco. The boarding process went quickly and smoothly and staff were pleasant. We didn’t have assigned seats when we got to the gate because of our Bee Light fare, but the desk agent assigned us seats together in an empty row, which was really nice and different from our economy flights with United Airlines where they seem to purposely split up groups to punish you for booking basic economy! When we booked our ticket it said that we would only bring a personal item (no overhead baggage) with our Bee Light fare, but the gate agent told us we could stash our bags in the overhead bins. When I went to French Bee’s site to look at the Bee Light info again, I noticed the policy has changed and cabin baggage is now allowed for Bee Light tickets purchased after February 17th.

Good to know: Cabin baggage is now included with Bee Light tickets, so you can store your bags in overhead bins instead of just under your seat

The Plane

French Bee flies an Airbus A350 between San Francisco and Tahiti with a 2-4-2 seat configuration. There is inflight entertainment for each seat. We had a full row to ourselves as it was shoulder season in Tahiti and the flight was probably a third empty. It was an overnight flight, so there was a blanket on eat seat but no pillows. We settled into our seats and felt the leg room was average compared to other airlines we’ve flown with. Justin is 6’2” and had space for his legs for context. However, we did feel that the seat width was narrower than average and a quick Google search revealed that the seats in economy class are 16 inches in width. It wasn’t an issue for us since we had a row to ourselves both going and coming, but I can see it feeling pretty tight if you were in a middle seat on a full plane! After take off I went to explore the bathroom situation. I went to the bathroom at the very back of the plane and noticed right away that there was no changing table. However, all the rest of the bathrooms had changing tables over the toilets and the space and amenities in the bathrooms were the same as what we’ve experienced on other airlines.

Good to know: Leg room is average but the seats in economy class are 16 inches in width, which is a little narrower than economy industry averages (17-18 inches). If you’re flying with a baby or toddler, most of the bathrooms in the plane have changing tables.

*Average leg room on our French Bee flight - I’m 5’2” (157cm) and Justin is 6’2” (188cm) for context*

*The bathroom also seemed pretty average compared to other airlines*

*The changing table on our French Bee flight - pretty tiny but they seem poorly designed on pretty much every airline!*

Food and Drinks

Since our ticket didn’t include food and we didn’t want the extra expense, we didn’t have anything to eat or drink on our flight down. Since it was an overnight flight it wasn’t a big deal, but on the way back we brought a bag with some snacks and drinks that we were allowed to eat. I did, however, look through their menu (you can find it on your in-flight entertainment main menu) so you can get a sense of what’s available and what the prices are like. Most things ranged from 2€ - 8€ and looked okay but certainly not amazing. There were no prices listed with the full meals so unsure if that means you have to book them in advance or if you can change your mind and pay for a meal in the moment during their meal service. I’ve read in forums that they will give you a glass of water for free, but they definitely charge you for bottled water, so keep that in mind.

Good to know: There is an extra charge for all food and drinks on French Bee, aside from a cup of water, unless you bought a more premium ticket that included these items. That said, you’re still paying for it since the premium tickets are more expensive! If you want to stay ultra budget, bring your own food and drinks (alcohol is not allowed).

*Food and drinks we brought for our flight home so we wouldn’t have to buy overpriced items from French Bee*

Sleep Quality on Overnight Flight

As mentioned earlier, our flight was an overnight flight so every seat had a blanket but no pillow. The blankets were a light fleece and decent quality, but I do have to say I missed having a pillow. Even the tiny pillows they give you make a difference! That said, we both slept for about 4 hours after they dimmed the lights. It was pretty quiet and dark without excess interruptions. At one point though in the middle of the night the pilot turned on the fasten seatbelt sign and the flight crew did walk up and down the aisles waking up passengers to make them put on their seatbelts, myself included. The seatbelt sign was turned off just minutes after but I couldn’t go back to sleep for an hour. Tick mark for the crew taking safety seriously but also a tick off for sleep quality.

Good to know: While I was scrolling through amenities you can purchase on your flight, I discovered that blankets cost 5€! I was horrified since I’d opened an extra blanket from the empty seat beside us as I’m always so cold on flights. However, we didn’t get an extra charge for the blankets and the fact that they already had them laid out on seats seems to indicate they are included in overnight flights. Our flight home was during the day and there were no blankets. I assume this is when they charge you for a blanket it.

*Page where I discovered blankets cost 5*€! However, they seem to be included in overnight flights.

Entertainment

Every seat has its own in-flight entertainment but the options were a bit limited. Our flight had 59 movies and 39 TV shows. Plenty number wise but I still struggled to find more than a handful that seemed interesting and only ten of the movies were new. I tend to enjoy watching TV shows more but many of the shows seemed very niche and random (like documentaries) and all of the shows had no more than episodes with many only having a single episode so that even if you enjoyed it, you couldn’t watch more. I filtered for children’s content next and found that there were only six movies for kids and no TV shows. Overall thoughts were that we’ve experienced much better in-flight entertainment, but its enough to get by and we’re old enough to remember the days when there was no in-seat entertainment at all, so it still feels like a luxury. We always have books on our phones to supplement the entertainment so didn’t feel that the slightly lacking entertainment was an issue and certainly not a big enough deal to not buy a ticket with French Bee if the price is right. That said, the lack of content for children could be a bigger problem if you’re depending heavily on in-flight entertainment for them. One kind of cool form of entertainment our flight had was cameras in various places on the plane that you can toggle to on your entertainment screen. It was actually pretty fun to watch our take offs and landings and we could clearly see the reefs around Tahiti coming and going.

Good to know: Programming for children was limited on our flight with only six movies for children and no TV shows

*59 movie options for adults and 39 TV shows on our French Bee flight to Tahiti*

*Views of the reef around Tahiti on take off from Papeete with a tail view camera*

Pros and Cons of Flying French Bee With Children

After our roundtrip flight, here’s what we felt would be the pros and cons to flying French Bee agin with our toddlers:

Pros

Friendly staff
Changing tables in bathrooms
Bassinet seats available (we saw one in use on our overnight flight)
In-flight entertainment for each seat with some child friendly programming

Cons

Extra narrow seats in economy, which makes it even harder to keep your little ones from getting into other passengers’ space (that said, with French Bee’s 2-4-2 seat configuration for this route means you may very well have a whole row to yourselves depending on the size of your family making this a moot point)
Food and drinks not included in basic economy tickets, which is clearly a bigger issue with small children. Solutions include adding meals for your kids to your tickets, booking a more premium ticket that includes meals and drinks, buying snacks and drinks during the flight when offered, or packing your own food and drinks for your kiddos (what we would do)
Limited programming for children for in-flight entertainment. There were only six options total on our flight.
Have to pay exorbitant fees to check baggage, so you need to know how to travel light with your kids (carry-on luggage only) in order to still get a good ticket deal

Would We Fly French Bee Again With Our Toddlers?

So, would we fly French Bee again with our toddlers in light of that pros and cons list? If we were choosing between French Bee and another airline and the prices were the same, then no. But if we could get a great ticket deal on French Bee, then yes, because getting discounted tickets makes a huge difference when you’re buying tickets for an entire family! While there are definitely downsides to flying French Bee with kiddos, if the price is right, they can be mitigated by bringing your own food and drinks, extra forms of entertainment for your children, and practicing your light packing skils.

*Arrival in Tahiti. You will need to help your kiddos down stairs and across the tarmac to the terminal. Not a big deal at all, but something to note and a reason to take as few bags as possible!*

Have you flown French Bee with your kiddos? If so, we and our readers would love to hear your experience and whether you’d do it again. Leave us a comment!

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