Low-cost French airline launches Paris - Montréal route
Daily flights are scheduled between the two cities this summer
It is the first Canadian route operated by the airline
Lukas Wunderlich/Shutterstock
A new direct service between Paris and Montréal has launched, as low-cost airline ‘French bee’ joins the competitive route.
The carrier kicked off its summer service between the airports on April 30, initially with four flights per week scheduled per week between the destinations, rising to a daily service in July and August.
It will drop to three times per week during the winter period.
One-way tickets begin from €151, and a return flight from around €370 on the French bee website.
The A350-900 aircrafts used for the flight have a capacity of 376 economy seats and 35 premium seats.
The route is already served by other airlines including flag carriers Air Canada and Air France, however French bee is unique in that it flights from Paris Orly, with all other routes heading into Paris Charles de Gaulle.
There are several thousand Canadians who call France home, more than a third of which live in the capital Île-de-France region.
Low-cost, long-haul airlines open more routes
French bee is a long-haul, low-cost carrier currently serving seven direct destinations from Paris-Orly.
Most of these are in the United States, but include French Polynesia, Réunion, and now Canada, with Montréal being its first foray into the US’ northern neighbour.
It also offers tickets that include a connection ticket on the French rail network, for example from New York to Bordeaux St-Jean TGV station, as well as links between French Polynesia and the United States.
The low-cost long-haul approach sees customers offered the choice between ‘economy’ and ‘premium’ seats, at a generally lower cost than other airlines but with a no-frills approach.
It is not the only airline to operate on such a business model – Norse Atlantic offers a similar service between several North American and European cities, including Paris, as does American airline JetBlue.
At the same time, several regional airports in France that operate short-haul flights are struggling.
Read more: Which French regional airports are faring well - and which are not
