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✓ You only pay if you get compensation✓ Up to €600 per passenger✓ EC Regulation 261/2004
French BeeDelay · Cancellation · Overbooking

French Bee compensation: up to €600 per passenger

French Bee flight delayed, cancelled or overbooked? Check for free in 2 minutes: we handle the claim, all the way to court if needed.

  • Up to €600 per passenger
  • Check in just 2 minutes
  • Nothing upfront: you only pay if you get compensation
  • Legal assistance specialised in air travel
DelayFlight24 applies European Regulation EC 261/2004
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Check your French Bee flight

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Choose departure and arrival: we will show you right away how much you are owed.
  • Data protected
  • Nothing upfront
  • You only pay if we win
  • Transparent feeOnly 25% + VAT and only if French Bee pays: out of €400 you receive €278.
  • All the way to courtIf French Bee does not pay, our lawyers take the airline to court, at no extra cost to you.
  • Claims handled87,715 passengers have already trusted usupdated in real time

In short

  • Delay: if you arrive 3 hours or more late, French Bee owes €250 to €600 per person, depending on the distance.
  • Cancellation: you are owed compensation if you were told less than 14 days before departure, on top of a ticket refund or an alternative flight.
  • Not owed for extraordinary circumstances (severe weather, air traffic control strikes). Technical faults and strikes by the airline's own staff usually are not extraordinary.
  • With DelayFlight24 you pay nothing upfront: if French Bee pays, you keep €173.75 out of €250 or €278 out of €400.

French Bee claims in numbers

Figures from the French Bee claims we have handled for our customers, updated daily.

135French Bee passengers have trusted us
57%of claims concern delayed flights
30%concern cancelled flights
13%concern overbooking and denied boarding

French Bee routes with the most claims

French Bee routes with the most claims
RoutekmOwed
ParisNewark5,862600 €Check
St DenisParis9,367400 €Check
NewarkParis5,862600 €Check
San FranciscoParis8,985600 €Check
Los AngelesParis9,123600 €Check
ParisLos Angeles9,123600 €Check
ParisSt Denis9,367400 €Check
MiamiParis7,372600 €Check

Amount per person for arrival delays of at least 3 hours, cancellations with less than 14 days' notice and overbooking, unless there were extraordinary circumstances.

French bee compensation: up to €600 on flights to and from Paris-Orly

French bee is France's long-haul low-cost airline. It flies Airbus A350s out of Paris-Orly to the United States, Réunion and French Polynesia. Launched in 2016 as French Blue, it took its current name in 2018 and belongs to the same group as Air Caraïbes. We have handled more than 80 French bee claims so far, covering over 130 passengers, mostly on Paris–Newark, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Saint-Denis de La Réunion.

Because French bee is a French, and therefore EU, airline, Regulation (EC) 261/2004 applies in both directions: on departures from Orly and on flights into Paris from Newark, Los Angeles or San Francisco.

Transatlantic delay

You land 3 hours or more behind schedule, whether outbound or on the way home.

From 3 hours

Flight cancelled

You heard less than 14 days before departure and the replacement was far from the original times.

Under 14 days' notice

Boarding refused

The flight was sold beyond capacity and you were left behind despite being on time with valid documents.

Owed straight away

Exclusions

Events French bee cannot control, such as a hurricane in Florida or a cyclone over Réunion.

Extraordinary circumstances

Tell us where you flew from and when: in 2 minutes you will know whether your French bee flight qualifies.

How much French bee pays: long-haul routes and Réunion

Almost every French bee route is longer than 3,500 km. There is one important exception: Réunion is part of the European Union, so Paris–Saint-Denis counts as an intra-EU flight, and for those the Regulation sets €400 above 1,500 km.

French bee route Type of flight Amount
Paris–Newark and Newark–Paris Non-EU, about 5,850 km €600
Paris–Los Angeles and back Non-EU, about 9,100 km €600
San Francisco–Paris Non-EU, about 9,000 km €600
Saint-Denis (Réunion)–Paris Intra-EU, about 9,350 km €400

Every passenger with their own seat, children included, gets the full amount. Two parents and two children on a Los Angeles–Paris flight that lands 4 hours late can claim €2,400; the same delay on Saint-Denis–Paris is worth €1,600.

French bee flight delayed: what to do

More than half of the French bee claims we handle are about delays. With a fleet of only a handful of A350s, when one aircraft is grounded by a fault in Newark or Saint-Denis there is no spare ready, so the flight slips by many hours, sometimes to the next day. While you wait:

  1. Save your boarding pass and the French bee booking confirmation with the flight number.
  2. Screenshot emails and texts with the new times, which often arrive only hours before departure.
  3. Note the actual arrival time and photograph the arrivals board at Orly.
  4. Keep receipts for meals and hotels in the US, where costs are high and must be refunded if no care was offered.
  5. Be wary of vouchers for a future flight: compensation is owed in cash.

Care at the airport

French bee must provide meals, drinks and, if the flight leaves the next day, a hotel with transfers, including when you are stuck in Newark or Los Angeles.

Flight Care after
Up to 1,500 km 2 hours
Intra-EU over 1,500 km (e.g. Paris–Réunion) 3 hours
Non-EU over 3,500 km (e.g. Paris–Newark) 4 hours
Over 5 hours You can give up the trip and claim a ticket refund

Connections and the San Francisco route to Papeete

French bee's service to Papeete goes via San Francisco. On a single booking, what counts is the delay at your final arrival: if Papeete–San Francisco–Paris reaches Orly 3 hours late or more, compensation is based on the whole journey. With separate tickets, a missed connection is not covered. More on French bee delay compensation.

Does your French Bee flight qualify?Check in 2 minutes, with no obligation.
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French bee flight cancelled: refund and compensation

About 3 in 10 of our French bee claims are cancellations: on a network with only a few flights a week, a cancelled departure can mean leaving days later.

Refund or rerouting

Choose a ticket refund or another flight to your destination, even with a different airline if that is the only reasonable option.

€400 or €600 compensation

Added on top when notice came less than 14 days before departure.

Notice of cancellation Compensation
14 days or more No, refund or rerouting remain
7–13 days Yes, unless the alternative leaves no more than 2 hours earlier and arrives less than 4 hours later
Under 7 days Yes, unless the alternative leaves no more than 1 hour earlier and arrives less than 2 hours later

Schedule changes. If French bee moves your flight by many hours or a whole day shortly before departure, EU case law can treat it as a cancellation. See our page on compensation for a cancelled French bee flight.

French bee overbooking: more common than you might think

More than 1 in 10 of the French bee claims we receive involves denied boarding. If you had a confirmed seat, checked in on time and were left behind against your will, compensation is due immediately, with an alternative flight and care. It is not owed if you were stopped for incomplete travel documents, such as a missing ESTA for the United States. Read our guide to French bee overbooking and denied boarding.

French bee strikes and strikes in France

Strikes by French bee's own pilots or crew are not extraordinary circumstances, so the airline must pay (EU Court of Justice, case C-28/20). French air traffic control strikes, which often hit Orly, are outside the airline's control: no compensation, but you keep the right to care and rerouting.

French bee refused to pay? How to respond

Usually payable
"Technical problem with the A350"

A fault found during routine maintenance is a normal business risk, even if no spare aircraft is available.

EU Court of Justice, case C-549/07
Usually payable
"The flight departed from the United States"

Irrelevant: French bee is an EU airline, so flights into Paris from Newark, Los Angeles or San Francisco are covered.

It depends
"Cyclone" or "hurricane"

Extreme weather is extraordinary only if it actually stopped your flight; we check the real conditions on the day.

Often not payable
"Air traffic control strike"

If French controllers were on strike and that caused the delay, compensation is usually not due.

Has French bee already said no? We test the reasoning and, if it does not hold, follow up with a formal demand and court action. Check your French bee flight.

Réunion, the US and Polynesia: what the Regulation covers

In short:

  • Paris–Réunion and back: intra-EU, covered both ways, €400;
  • Paris–Newark, Los Angeles, San Francisco or Miami: covered out and back, €600;
  • Papeete–Paris via San Francisco: French Polynesia is not in the EU, but the flight is covered because an EU airline is flying you into France.

Montréal routes follow the same logic: over 3,500 km, €600 in both directions.

How to claim from French bee: on your own or with us

French bee offers an online claim form on its website, where you choose the reason and enter your booking reference.

On your own

You fill in the form, usually in French or English, and deal with any refusal yourself. Beyond that, your options are the national enforcement body of the country where the flight departed or the courts, at your own cost.

With DelayFlight24

Give us the details and sign online: we handle the claim, the formal demand and court action in France with our own lawyers. You pay only if you get the money: 25% + VAT. Legal costs stay with us even if we lose.

If French bee has already said no

Forward us the reply: if it cites an extraordinary event without evidence or an invalid reason, we reopen the case with a formal demand.

Documents

  • Booking confirmationWith the reference and the BF flight number.
  • Passport or ID cardFor each traveller.
  • Messages about the disruptionFrench bee emails, receipts for meals and hotels.

Deadlines

The Regulation has none: national rules in the country where you claim apply (EU Court of Justice, case C-139/11). A US trip from a few years ago may still be recoverable: enter the date.

When French bee compensation arrives

If French bee accepts, the money usually comes within a few weeks. If it refuses, a formal demand and possibly court action take a few months. Out of €600 you keep €417, out of €400 you keep €278, transferred as soon as French bee pays.

Lost or damaged baggage with French bee

Baggage falls under the Montreal Convention. Before leaving Orly, Newark or Saint-Denis, file a PIR at the baggage desk, then write to French bee within 7 days for damage or within 21 days of delivery if the bag arrived late.

French bee contacts and flight status

Airline
French bee, French carrier of Groupe Dubreuil, based at Paris-Orly
Claims
Online claim form on frenchbee.com
Flight status
frenchbee.com and the Paris-Orly airport website
No upfront cost. We tell you whether your French bee flight is covered and what it is worth; our fee is due only once compensation is paid. Check your French bee flight.

What if French Bee does not pay? We go all the way

Many airlines only pay when they realise we will not give up. If they refuse or do not reply, our lawyers take legal action, and you do not have to do anything.

Claim to the airline

We send the formal claim with all the documents.

Formal notice

If they do not pay, we send a formal notice with legal value.

Our lawyers in court

Our lawyers take the airline to court, all the way to a judgement.

  • If we lose, you pay nothingNo fee and no costs. If we win, the fee is 40% + VAT.
  • Legal costs are on usYou pay nothing for the court case, even if we lose.
  • All the way to a judgementWe do not stop at the formal notice: if needed we go to court.

French Bee compensation: frequently asked questions

Is French bee an EU airline? Does EU261 cover flights from the United States?
Yes. French bee is a French carrier, so Regulation (EC) 261/2004 covers both departures from Paris-Orly and flights into Paris from Newark, Los Angeles, San Francisco or Miami.
How much does French bee pay for a delayed Paris–New York flight?
Paris–Newark is over 3,500 km, so you are owed €600 per passenger if you arrive 3 hours or more late and the cause was not extraordinary. The same applies to Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Why is Paris–Réunion worth €400 rather than €600?
Réunion is part of the European Union, so the flight is intra-EU. For intra-EU flights over 1,500 km the Regulation sets €400, even though the distance is more than 9,000 km.
My French bee flight from Papeete via San Francisco arrived late in Paris. Can I claim?
Yes, if it was a single booking and you reached Orly 3 hours or more late. French bee is an EU airline, so the journey into France is covered even though it starts in French Polynesia.
French bee refused me boarding because the flight was full. What am I owed?
Immediate compensation, €600 on transatlantic routes or €400 on Réunion, plus an alternative flight or refund and care at the airport. Nothing is owed if documents such as an ESTA for the US were missing.
French bee cancelled my flight and refunded the ticket. Can I still get compensation?
Yes, if you were told less than 14 days before departure and were not offered a flight at similar times. A refund and compensation are separate rights.
Does a French air traffic control strike entitle me to compensation from French bee?
Usually not, as it is outside the airline's control, although care and rerouting are still owed. A strike by French bee's own pilots or crew does not let the airline off.
French bee used to be called French Blue. Does that matter for older flights?
No. It is the same airline, renamed in 2018, so a claim for a French Blue flight goes to French bee.
What does DelayFlight24 charge for a French bee claim?
Nothing upfront. Once compensation is paid we keep 25% + VAT: you receive €417 out of €600, or €278 out of €400. Legal costs are ours, even if the case is lost.

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French Bee flight delayed or cancelled?

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