SDQBound

I'm a Millennial, and I don't identify myself with the video. AF is having trouble understanding my generation's requirements.

They think all we are looking for is cheap flights and fun stuff, when we are actually luxury travel wannabes trying to snag cheap Business Class upgrades and a classy environment.

AlicorporateUK

That pretty much sums it up nicely for the the average FlyerTalk user but not for the average traveller, who either flies business for work/own choice or simply goes for the cheapest fare without losing their will to live looking for mileage runs or stressing about qualification time-frames

That aside and with my apologies if this has already been mentioned - I understand that IKA is getting axed (possibly just for W18) and this is one of those routes which had been 'assigned' to Joon.

G

Goldorak

AlicorporateUK

Merci

G

PeteM01

As a frequent W flyer (not by choice), I am not sure that I agree with all you say here. Despite the complaints about the shell seat, I have always found it good for day time flights, and acceptable for night flights (with some extra cushioning...). The noise-cancelling headphones and effectively unlimited free drinks before/during/after mealtimes have also been very welcome, particularly on long flights. To lose both of these perks (I have never had champagne offered on boarding in W) is a significant loss, perhaps not too serious on a 5 hour flight to Cairo, but certainly on 9-10 hour flight to Mumbai. Coupled with the loss of award miles generally (and no lie-flat J seats on Joon if I self-upgrade), the attraction of flying AF is diminished for me. I have a lot of flying lined up (somewhat unexpectedly) over the next few years, enough to build up a good banl of XP for PFL. I may choose to avoid Joon routes and try for status in another ariline and simply maintain Gold with AFKL. I will have to see how entranced I am by the white sneakers whenI get to fly W in Joon in July!

NickB

I struggle to understand the tendency on FT to genuflect at the offering of a glass of (cheap) champagne as if it were a major product component. This board is not as bad as the BA board on champagne obsession but still... Offering a glass of champagne on boarding does not strike me as a significant product offering. It is a minor detail, imo. Yes, PE is improved economy rather than business but an improved catering service, including complimentary alcoholic drinks in-flight, is a standard feature of that improvement. Do you know many PE products in which one has to pay for an aperitif? Even Norwegian, an explicitly low-cost airline, offers complimentary drinks throughout the flight on its premium economy product.

AlicorporateUK

+1.

G

MorganB

Thank you for the detailed trip report, photos and video! My family is traveling in Business to Cape Town in August from the US. The Joon flight offered a perfect connection time and an arrival a full day prior to the other connecting options (LHR or DXB). I had not heard of Joon when booking and as we are a group of 13 it took a bit of research before I was comfortable booking. It looks like it really is a nice refresh of the A340 even if the business class seat is not cutting edge.

mtdd

I simply don't get Joon. Air France flew a beautiful B787 CAI-CDG: it departed at a civilised hour, the seats were as close to divine as an airplane seat could get, and the onboard service was - IMHO - impeccable.AF became my airline of choice, even when flying to London.

Joon on the other hand: departs at a horrible 01.05, which means you don't go to bed the night before and you arrive at your destination dead to the world, having tried to sleep with your ankles locked and braced in a vain attempt to stop you sliding down an an angle flat bed on a venerable A340. The cabin crew are young and enthusiastic, to my mind perhaps just a little too enthusiastic. The catering was so-so, I won't slag it off too much. And for all this, it seems to me that the fares have gone up, despite an inferior offering.

As I said, I just don't get it.

I am giving the airline one more try, tomorrow, flying from Cairo to the F1 race in Monaco via CDG. If that doesn't provide me with a more mellow appreciation of Joon, it may have to be Royal Jordanian via Amman, which also doesn't have fully flat seats, but gives a very honest level of service on a daylight flight, where the bed is less required.

Goldorak

IIRC, the AF B787 was also departing CAI at that time.

mtdd

My last pre-Joon flight was in March, as follows:

AF0503 Cairo - Egypt, Cairo International Airport - Terminal 2 (CAI)21/03/2018 at 07:15 Paris - France, Aéroport Charles de Gaulle - Terminal 2E (CDG)

Goldorak

canadavid

San Gottardo

How was the champagne? And the selection of red wines?

NickB

Well, it has to be either "subliminally ecstatic as if one was in a dream" or "eminently forgettable, so much so that one literally does not remember drinking any" depending on the kind of perspective you want to adopt.