SECRET DESTINATION
Hello again and welcome to the secret destination for our honeymoon, soon to be reveiled!
Flying blue claimed: 580
XP status points earnt: 23 (Air France was offering 50% more XP after Covid)
This was the first time I built a complex routing with no less than 3 bookings!
Flight routing
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
The two previous flights were one-way tickets, to allow us to reach Turin, where our reservation to our final destination begins.
My criteria for this booking were:
1. not too far from LYS
2. within my price range
3. in J, otherwise if we had taken an economy ticket we would have simply traveled from Lyon
4. traveling on Skyteam, I do not travel as often to allow me to keep a status on two alliances.
The return flight will be in what is now the smallest unit at AF, the E170.
the geeky routing explained
The J round trip tickets from Lyon were almost €8,000 for our dates, or €16,000 for two, an amount that is not reasonable to spend.
1. So we already looked at French cities, close to LYS:
- Direct from CDG it was even more expensive, and I often had the opportunity to check that a departure without a connecting flight was much more expensive
- Marseille is usually a bit cheaper, but this was only the case by €100, the same from TLS, NCE was much more expensive.
2. I looked at the hubs of other companies around France, my rationale that AF would be more competitive there:
- Brussels was at €6,000
- FRA at €7,500
- LHR €5,000, but there was a risk of crossing a border once again unnecessarily
- MAD/BCN at €4,800
3. Finally the good news came from a country where the company is part of Skyteam alliance: Italy
- Milan was at €4,500
- Rome at €4,400
- Turin at €4,050, which is half the price of a flight from LYS!
4. That still represented €8,100 for two, still beyond what I had budgeted.
I changed the dates or tried several combinations, but the prices hardly changed. The long-haul flight in question is so long that there is a technical stopover, and the second part of the flight was the most expensive.
So I had the idea of taking a multi-destination routing by taking out one of the two flights from the reservation and using my miles for part of the return flight in economy, which was not a big deal because it was a day flight.
And suddenly the total price (multi-destination ticket in J + part in Y with miles) came to €2750 each, which is a big amount but "just" €1000 more expensive than the economy - but YOLO!
We had already checked in from Lyon, but we also downloaded the boarding pass on the app.
The Business protocol was then described on the app.
We stayed at the Jet Hotel near Caselle airport and it turned out to be a nice value for money (100€ per night), very comfortable and quiet.
We didn't know Turin, a charming city for a weekend break.
Let's begin with small tourist bonus with this superb Roman gate which delimited one of the entrances to the city, there were of course additional constructions in the Middle Ages but 2/3 of the gate are 2000 years old, which is quite moving for the history fan that I am.
The Royal Palace of Piedmont, property of the Dukes of Savoy, the family became the Italian royal family until the Italian Republic.
The legendary Café Fiorio
The city's famous emblematic monument, which happens to be a museum dedicated to cinema.
We are both fans of Italy, what better way to start this beautiful trip than with a transalpine and gastronomic stopover!
Here we are on our way to the airport which doesn't look that big.
AT TURIN - CASELLE AIRPORT
The taxi drops us off at departures and then we rush down the stairs to Arrivals hall to collect our luggage that came in the morning with the first AF flight.
We had a phone call at 10:01 from a lady (we had been told 10:00) to tell us that our suitcases were there and that we could collect them at our convenience.
I was really impressed by the professionalism of the luggage handling team.
A few minutes later we go back to the check in Counter.
THE PIEMONTE LOUNGE
This is the only lounge at the airport, so it welcomes all the companies, even if we can easily find traces of its former owner with these Alitalia tones.
The buffet is varied but disappointing for Italy, with dishes left to be microwaved and snacks.
The lounge is not very large, but has a bar, toilets, work and relaxation area, but no showers.
Always nice when a lounge has gret views on the airport.
No thanks ahah
Here she comes
Aircraft: Embraer E170STD
Tail Number: F-HBXH
Engines: 2x GE CF34
Age: 12 years
Config: Y76
ONBOARD THE E170
Like most companies in Europe, Air France Hop does not differentiate the Business seats from Economy seats - but good news we are going to have 12 seats for ourselves as we are going to be the only J pax on this flight!
I am making sure our luggages are being loaded on the plane!
Loads of space at the first row.
We find the same flight leader as on the way there.
He is surprised to see us back so quickly.
We explain to him that we love Italy but that the main reason is what I mentioned above - a cheap J trip - he told us that it was a nice move, and that most people don't search for cheaper flights like I did.
He invites us to move to the second row, the tablets in row 1 being a little "shaky".
He asks us the reason for our trip, and tells us that we should have told him the day before, that he will pamper us!
The safety demos are done the old-fashioned way. the famous little security card.
Once boarding is complete, he gives us refreshing wipes and a small bottle of water (well, two each).
Take off!
Flying by the beautiful Alps!
Now entering France and Savoy
The aperitif is served generously- he opens the bottle of Champagne for us and asks us to finish it ahah
The meal is then served but cold however tasty: Charolais beef.
Dessert was really good.
The rest of the journey goes smoothly, still with bubbles.
He looks at our routing with us and agrees with us that we won't make it to the lounge, so he gives us something to nibble on and a dozen refreshing wipes as we won't make it to the showers.
During the approach he shows us his tablet, he desmontrated us how they know about a passenger status and any comments and tells us that he hopes the next crew will see the comment he left…
In terms of entertainment, Air France still offers a magazine (digital copy on the app) or on paper available in lounge.
It was the first mention of the A220.
During the taxi, the flight leader details the next connections including he said "the flight at gate L33, for our love birds".
AT PARIS - CHARLES DE GAULLE AIRPORT
Triple 7…
Back at the 2G terminal
I guess you can imagine what the secret destination is going to be!
Et les stats FR24
Hi ChrisB and thanks a lot for the sharing ! Sorry i'm late 😂😂😂. However, I am once more the first to comment 😀.
Turin seems beautiful and it would be a great idea to travel there next year , even if I'm trying to take seasonal routes from regions with Air France, which are more and more rare. Except Nice London, there is no european route form another airport than CDG left. Your explanation about ticket prices were really interessting : I thought that pictures of Turin were a bonus at the end of your Flight Report 😂. About the flight itself, it's a quite classic AF flight with a good catering.
See you soon !
Thank you so much for the comment Yann!
you already read and comment it 2 years ago eheh
Yes Turin is a nice destination, I remember that there use to be flights from lyon back in the day, when Air France was offering a lot more routes from LYS.
My god I didn't realise it, so sad.