Flying JOON, Air France' younger airline

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CTBke
Posts: 1141
Joined: 13 May 2003, 00:00
Location: Newark NJ

Flying JOON, Air France' younger airline

Post by CTBke »

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Flight: AF1435 (Operated by JOON)
Date : 01 DEC 2017
Aircraft: Airbus A320-200 F-HEPC
From-To: Berlin Tegel - Paris Charles de Gaulle (TXL-CDG)
Seat: 12E
Scheduled/Effective Time of Departure: 09:45/10:23
Scheduled/Effective Time of Arrival: 11:30/11:33
Scheduled/Effective Duration of the flight:1hr45min/1hr10min


On this cold morning I decided to try out Air France' latest airline JOON, their new approach to get the younger people choose theirs over EasyJet or Ryanair.



At check in so far nothing to be seen for this first inaugural flight out of Berlin to Paris, only some balloons at the check in desks with the logo on it but that was it. When checked in the agent told me the flight would be delayed with 35 minutes and this due to a delayed departure out of Paris. Boarding would start at 0945 (the departure time). Near that time I walked at the gate and I must say the waiting space in Berlin isn't that big ... curious to see how Lufthansa will use those small waiting areas when boarding their 747 or evening JFK flight. At the gate nothing special to be seen either, again some balloons at the desk and on the screen a continuous message 'We welcome all our passengers on the first flight our our sister JOON' When boarding started they announced it as an Air France flight ISO a JOON flight.

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copyright Berlin Airport - SXF&TXL

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When boarding was launched passengers were surprised with a storybook about Paris ,on the incoming flight passengers got a storybook about Berlin and a goodie box with a keychain and cookie.

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First encounter with the crew is a bit of a change, as normally you would expect ties and scarfs as on JOON it's all about a younger Image with sneakers and polos. This being said they were very friendly and excited about this new airline (just as excited they were with their 787 the week before viewtopic.php?f=4&t=62586).

The cabin isn't much different from an AF one as it's basically an Air France airplane. The main colour is purple though... the curtains, the headrest covers in economy the space underneath the doors of the overhead compartments.
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Once at my seat (the emergency exit) I had to stow my luggage in the bin but could keep my jacket on my lap like the rest of the passengers sitting on the same row. During the boarding they also made publicity for their app which you could download and use during the flight with their local on board network.

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After the welcome speeches done by the CCP and Captain the pushback engaged and with 35 minutes delayed which they explained was due to the late departure at CDG. Loadfactor on today's flight 100%, all seats were taken. After take off their inflight service started which consists out of a dedicated Air France Business class and JOON economy which includes a free cold or hot drink and their buy on board offer. Best of both worlds, passengers in business wouldn't even know they're flying JOON apart from the plane and the crew of course as all the rest is just the AF hard product.

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even the safety card still says Air France as well

The good thing about a relatively long scheduled flight time (taking into account you can get a long holding at CDG) is that even when you have a delay, it can be minimized with a shorter actual flight like I had today. We only touched down 3 minutes late but with all the taxiing time and stopping time until the plane reached the gate it still was 20 minutes later than foreseen before we could leave the airplane.

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last view of my aircraft before transferring to the next (apologies for the dirty windows look's CDG doesn't clean them often)

Overal they give what you pay for ... like any other low cost carrier. With this new airline they want to tackle the strong competition of EasyJet, Ryanair and even Transavia France. The average age of their crew on this flight was between 18 and 25 (except the purser which was older). It reminded me of flying EasyJet in their early days on the 737 which was more or less the same experience. The on board app with movies music news and many other things is a great asset in combination with the installed USB ports. Also that you get something and the option to buy something is a friendly approach as people will buy something if they want. But I genuinely hope it'll work out for them even with their long haul plans which are very ambitious in orde to tackle XL airways as well. But I just hope it's not a little too late... otherwise it'll be a waste of money, planes and people.
Citybird
The flying dream

MSS658
Posts: 555
Joined: 14 Nov 2004, 00:00
Location: Maarkedal,Belguim

Re: Flying JOON, Air France' younger airline

Post by MSS658 »

Hey CTBke

Thanks for sharing JOON! They do look a tad better than EZY/RYR/VLG...
Hope they succeed well :)

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quixoticguide
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Joined: 23 Mar 2011, 18:41
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Re: Flying JOON, Air France' younger airline

Post by quixoticguide »

Nice report, what was the price of your flight?
Visit my flights on: http://www.quixoticguide.com

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CTBke
Posts: 1141
Joined: 13 May 2003, 00:00
Location: Newark NJ

Re: Flying JOON, Air France' younger airline

Post by CTBke »

quixoticguide wrote: 15 Dec 2017, 11:23 Nice report, what was the price of your flight?
approx. 100 EUR but it all depends when you book, that's why I don't mention the price in the trip report as it's not representative.
Citybird
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Oliv5590
Posts: 5
Joined: 17 Jan 2018, 10:27

Re: Flying JOON, Air France' younger airline

Post by Oliv5590 »

Well, it can still be useful, especially if you say approximatively how long before the flight you bought your ticket. Anyways, I'm glad to see that this new airline isn't bad! Do they have flights often or are they going once in a blue moon?

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