A Carte bleu debit card works. Just did it. true I forgot that I got a free bag.

No doubt that many factors affect a decision. In my case, I prefer Easyjet onboard service. But the intention of my post was broader than this simple routine case. After looking at many fares, I have three general conclusions for the general public (not the few FB status holders):

- Two years ago, AF family flex was, on average, cheaper than EZ if you traveled with children or booked shortly before departure. Now it is MUCH more expensive. The family fares (family, senior) have been doubled in the past year or two. There has been extensive discussion on this aspect. That's a business decision and I respect it but it is bound to have medium term implications.

- MiNi fares are not competitive with EZ fares, who have not lowered their own fares. To some of the "wealthy" posters here who fly business class, a difference of 20 or 30 euros (meaning some 30 to 50%) might seem negligible, but the success of AF new policy will not be determined by those.

- To me, Easyjet is on par with AF regarding service, actually even better. I can preassign seats, order real food on board of decent quality, have a better seat. Punctuality is good. I am educated enough to compute an all-in cost. And I do not find AF competitive. For the true LCCs the difference becomes huge in terms of prices. I am thinking of Ryanair and all the LCCs that fly British, Germans, Scandinavians,.. to NCE. Many pax are price conscious, and even more in the current economic environment. The experience shows that Mini and HOP fail to offer attractive prices. Upon the announcement, I thought that AF would truly offer lower prices than before, but they don't. So what is the point? Do they think that they will fool all pax?