Today's journey begins at Paris Charles de Gaulle.
Specifically, Terminal 2G where many Air France HOP! flights depart from.
Terminal 2G is very small in size and feels very similar to the likes of London City (LCY) airport.
There's conventional check-in desks manned by Air France staff, or self-service kiosks - whichever you prefer to use. But there was no queuing at all and the airport was very quiet when I arrived.
There's also plenty of seating areas and eateries inside.
Dodge the cleaning robots! These move at speed.
Now, Air France does have a business class lounge in Terminal 2G. I had an offer to upgrade within the app for a fixed price but just wanted to use the lounge. I entered and asked the gentleman if it was possible to pay to enter. He shrugged his shoulders and was quite rude, simply telling me no. I've since found out this is possible and even Air France confirmed this to me in a later email. Good to know and the cost is €75.00.
So it was a dinner for one in EXKI for me. I opted for a lemon, olive oil and cheese pasta (which was great!), a chocolate mousse (also excellent) and a bottle of Orangina.
Then came the news my flight was delayed until 21:10. No further announcements were given.
Don't these Air France HOP! Embraer E190's look good? I think the simple design really stands out.
The gate was announced and we were told boarding would commence shortly by group number, following Air France's standard Sky Priority boarding processes.
At 21:20, we were still waiting. No announcements or further information was given, despite an Air France representative standing constantly at the gate. The communication was poor.
Finally, we were able to board our aircraft. Tonight I'm aboard F-HBLM, which was delivered to Air France HOP! in August of 2019.
And here's my seat in Economy. 6A for this quick HOP! up to Frankfurt.
Negatives regarding the communication and delay over, I must admit, this is a super comfortable seat and beautifully designed cabin. The headrests are awesome, there's charging ports in the seat backs and reasonable legroom for a route of this length.
The seat next to me also remained empty. A bonus!
I can't describe just how comfortably supportive these headrests are. Great job, AF!
The seats also recline, too.
Delay growing, we eventually got airborne.
Everything about this HOP! cabin is great. I love the lighting, and the entire feel of the design.
An announcement then drew all passengers attention to the fact that SpaceX Starlink Wi-Fi was available on this flight. Time to put it to the test!
474.57mbps download. This really is a GAME CHANGER! Air France HOP! are revolutionising the regional flight experience with an offering like this and I imagine most people travelling on business will actively pay a little more for this USP alone.
Then, imagine my surprise, when the complimentary service began. We were served a sourdough sandwich (cream cheese and cucumber) and a drink of our choice. I opted for a Coca-Cola Zero. Great job from Air France here. The sandwich was great.
Turbulent skies over Germany.
And after around 45 mins in the air, we were told we'd started our descent into Frankfurt.
And with that we were down, into a very foggy Frankfurt. Delays and poor communication notwithstanding, this was a great experience and the on-board product from Air France HOP! is really good. I highly recommend it.
Thanks for reading/watching as always. I'll catch you in the next one!
