French low-cost carrier French Bee has announced two new South Asian destinations, both of which are islands located in the Indian Ocean.
The routes will bring more options for leisure travel not only to French travelers, but also to those in North America, as passengers coming from the airlines’ destinations in the U.S. and even faraway Tahiti can easily connect to these new flights.
Beginning in December, the airline will fly from Paris Orly to both Malé in the Maldives and Colombo in Sri Lanka. The flights will operate twice per week from Dec. 19 until the end of the winter flight season in May 2027.
Both connections will use Airbus A350-900 aircraft.
The routes to Malé and Colombo will operate in a triangle tag route fashion, with the flight first stopping in Malé and then continuing on to Colombo before heading back to Paris Orly, picking up and dropping off passengers at each stop along the way. However, French Bee does not have fifth freedom rights, so it does not sell tickets on the Malé-to-Colombo portion on its own; the journey must be paired with the Paris flights on at least one end of the ticket.
The only exception to these twice-weekly flights will be between January 2027 and March 2027, when Colombo will receive an additional third flight by itself, which will be a nonstop to and from Paris-Orly, without the intermediate stop in Malé.
“The launch of this route aligns perfectly with our growth strategy,” CEO Marc-Antoine Blondeau said in a news release. “It allows us to capture a high-potential market that remains underserved by direct flights from France. By combining two highly complementary traveler profiles, we are tapping into both the beach-resort tourism of the Maldives and the booming cultural, nature, and wellness tourism in Sri Lanka.”
Tickets are now available for purchase.
