To Krakow by SkyTeam
 

This is not a destination TR - for that see @JapesUK inaugural 'Krakow Kraziness' TR from 2023, or indeed several others on this forum. Instead, this is looking at AF (and one KLM) flights.

Who and Why? I'm a time-rich leisure traveller (no more work trips for me) who does some travel solo to maintain status and several holidays with Mrs T to make full use of that status. Now dipping my toe in the water of SkyTeam after several years in the BA and Oneworld comfort zone. Regular readers of FT will know what has driven this! Even before 30 Dec, I had done a match to SAS and a five flight trip extend EuroBonus Gold status. After 30 Dec, I applied for the Flying Blue match to Platinum (from BA GGL) and was lucky enough to get the FB Ultimate match.

When I mentioned the trip in passing on FT, I was 'asked' to provide an update on the travel experience. Not a good photographer (Mrs T does that) so this will be a photo-lite first TR from me.

Where and When? Over the weekend 15-16 Feb, the route was NCL-CDG-AMS-KRK on Saturday, and KRK-CDG-NCL on Sunday. Just a weekend because I had to fit it in between a BA holiday to Luxembourg (to get my last GUF1s) and a long-haul holiday to South America, starting our Avios burn.

What? A combination of E190/5 and an A321 short-haul flight in Eurobusiness, a few notes on the airports and lounges and some comparisons between the AF/KL and BA experience. I'll include basic information that I found helpful as a newbie to these airlines and alliance.

Mrs T dropped me off at NCL just before 9am for a 1055 departure. [Side tip 1 - a 200m walk from the short stay 2 car park where 15 minutes is free saves a £5 charge for the official drop-off in front of the terminal]

As I wasn't able to print/ download all the boarding passes, a quick trip to the AF check-in desk sorted that. It also meant I could check the seating status for my first flight. [Tech note 1 - With BA, ExpertFlyer will show the seat map all the way to departure with occupied and blocked seats easily identified. With AF the seat map errored out from about check-in, 30 hours before departure. On the AF app, I could see the seat next to me was unavailable to select, but was that occupied or blocked?] Check-in agent confirmed it was blocked - yes!

The Sky Priority logo on the BP gave me access to Fast Track and the Aspire lounge at NCL. Fast Track was totally empty, though my single overnight bag went to secondary for a quick Kindle swab, it was still a speedy process. Next, which bit of the Aspire lounge would I be directed to? There are three - basic, Luxe (which BA uses), and Suite (Emirates, I think). AF pay for Luxe - nice, as there's a bit of an airfield view. The food is ok, the staff are friendly and cheerful, and the fizz is free, though I stuck to coffee and juice with my bacon butty.

[Tech note 2 - I use a Google of the flight number and FR24 to check on flight and gate info (and the BA Wayfinder at LHR). AF departure times/ gate did not update on Google, so I used the AF app for gate info and FR24 to track the incoming aircraft.]

AF1059 NCL-CDG E190 1A
Planned: 1055-1340L
Actual: 1123-1336L
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...df07cfc714.jpg


Boarding priority was well-managed, then a short walk to the aircraft steps where we waited for 3-4 minutes for the cleaning staff to finish and exit. Embraer aircraft, like those used by BA from London City, are 2+2 seating. On this flight there were 2 rows of Eurobusiness - row 2 was fully occupied and row 1 had 1D occupied, 1B and C free.

The Purser (one silver stripe on the sleeve) welcomed me by name and each one in Business. Water bottles and drinks (Champagne, please) and then a cold light meal was provided (beef or cheese choice). He was helpful to all, but particularly to a couple on a post-Valentines-day trip to Paris.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...122eae8da6.jpg
Arrival at a bus gate, and driven to Terminal 2E for immigration control. First impressions of CDG - a huge area of real estate, about three times the size of LHR, and impressive design. Some travellators and working escalators would be useful on the transfer to Terminal 2F though!

CDG Terminal 2F Lounge

A huge lounge, but as I surveyed the area for somewhere to sit, one of the lounge staff came over, probably prompted by my BP scan, to ask if I would like to use the Ulti lounge. This is a long rectangle room with PIN code entry, drinks, snacks and a la carte food. For toilets you need to exit into the main lounge and remember the code. I tried the sweet and sour pork, with a 2016 St Emilion.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4a273a22c1.jpg
AF1440 CDG-AMS A321 3A
Planned: 1815-1935L
Actual: 1834-1916L

This was the busiest flight when I booked (about 12 days before) with 5 rows of Eurobusiness in an A321 standard 3+3 with middle seat blocked. Another cold light meal - I don't remember any option offered, maybe gone by row 3? I chatted with the lady in the aisle seat, who was a KLM regular. She said the KL long haul dining was preferable (didn't say anything about short haul...). A young man in the row in front heard our chat, and was interested in my travels. If I had got to the lounge we would no doubt have swapped some stories, and as he was on the same Krakow flight I hoped we would have a chance then. He would be on the 0600 return, my return flight was a bit more leisurely!
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b8294f98ea.jpg

AMS B gates

Poor signage and poor phone GPS signal decided for me that heading for the gates was the best option. The B gates (B for Bus?) were a human crush though, and not helped by a late notified change of gate. There was no sign of management by the gate staff. Little has improved in terms of ambience or management in the 20 years since I last flew from Schiphol.

KL1329 E195 AMS-KRK 1A
Planned: 2110-2300L
Actual: 2137-2306L

A full flight, five rows of Eurobusiness with all row 1 seats taken. So no chance to talk with the young man in 1D. I'm not sure if it is a KLM fit or standard to E195, but the row 1 position had greater legroom at the expense of poor window positioning for those who like to look out. The choice was a long lean forward or full 90 degree neck strain to look out of the second window which was aligned with the seat back - not pleasant, but at least this was a night flight, so not much to see. Oddly, I was welcomed by name and given a bottle of water while the others around me were virtually ignored.

I tried the boxed meal - the hot bread roll, nuts and macarons were nice... oh, and the pickled onions from the main dish!
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e0dd8fac41.jpg

Arrival at KRK was to a remote stand and bus to the terminal.

Airport hotel overnight.

There are two Hilton brand hotels at the airport. The Hilton Garden Inn is closest, immediately across the road from the terminal. The Hampton by Hilton is about 10-15 minutes walk (turn right out of the terminal and at the end, turn left - the Hampton logo is visible in the distance and a good footpath passing one roundabout gets you there). Prices were about £108 for the HGI against £75 for the Hampton, but the decider for me was a 1100 checkout against a 1200 checkout, so I booked the Hampton. Breakfast was basic (as expected) and a bit of a zoo with the staff unable to keep up with the number of customers.

I would of course have gone into Krakow itself if this was anything other than a trial of airlines and the SkyTeam alliance - I'm planning a later holiday.

On return to the airport, security was quick and painless, and the lounge was comfortable enough. Divided into relaxation and dining areas, I found a booth seat in the dining area. I tried a Hungarian goulash, the other hot choice was a lasagne. The usual drinks were available - of the two red wines, the Primitivo was much more drinkable.

AF1879 E190 KRK-CDG 1A
Planned: 1535-1755L
Actual: 1605-1804L

The aircraft arrived at the airbridge gate, but unfortunately underneath rather than attached to it! After a hold at the bottom of the gate stairs, it was a walk to the aircraft steps as tiny flakes of snow began to fall. A friendly greeting by name and bottle of water once on board. Row 1 was full again. The meal offered was standard, like those above (for comparison, BA would provide a hot meal choice on a flight of this length). When I declined the meal, I was offered a chicken or cheese brioche bun as an alternative - so it was chicken bun and Champagne for afternoon tea.

Arrival at CDG Terminal 2G it was stairs and walk to the building, then a bus to Terminal 2F, exit border control to Terminal 2E.

CDG Terminal 2E Lounge

A large lounge similar to 2F, I was again guided to the Ulti private room. This was smaller than that in 2F, and I was warned that it was a little warm, and that an adjacent alcove was also available. It was T-shirt hot! A different a la carte menu was available and I asked for a small portion of Tartiflette. If that was a small portion, the full serving would be enormous (forgot to take a picture)!

A message popped up from the AF app that boarding was about to begin at gate L31, so I made to leave. [Side tip 2 - the lounge exit is separate from the entrance by about 100m. There are 'Sortie' signs along the path following the entrance, but who looks at them on entry?]

AF1558 E190 CDG-NCL 1A
Planned: 2140-2220L
Actual: 2155-2207L

I arrived at the gate - there were plenty of passengers, no seats and no gate staff. They arrived about 15 minutes later, and boarding commenced about 15 minutes after that. The gate lines were well managed, but we ended up with a familiar 'boarding-not-boarding' queue on the airbridge for a few minutes. I was the only occupant of the one row business cabin and there was a pillow, bottle of water and a hand-written welcome card from the crew at my seat. I managed the cheese from the meal with a glass of wine, followed by a liqueur (dredging my memory for 'digestif'). Arriving at the same stand as we had departed the day before at NCL, it was down the stairs, through a lengthy border control zig-zag and out into the terminal, where I waited for a message from Mrs T that she was at the car park. (Taxi and other services are of course an alternative).

First thoughts

BA Eurobusiness in Airbus A3nn aircraft with the middle seat blocked (in all except unusual IRROPS circumstances) is far more comfortable than the Embraer lottery of seatmates for a solo traveller.

BA also appear to have a better short-haul meal offer, but to be honest for sectors up to about 2-3 hours it is better to eat in a lounge. The wines on AF are (as expected) better than those on BA.

With the exception of AMS, ground handling was as good as, and sometimes better than BA. Flight times felt to be more punctual than BA (CDG ground ops less congested, despite long taxy, than LHR?)

While absorbing the experience, and still deciding on my strategy 'going forward', my first trip on AF Eurobusiness was a positive one.

I hope this is useful for SkyTeam newbies, and particularly for BA 'refugees'.

AF is going to be revamping its E-jet cabins and introducing 1-1 biz seating in progress. KLM unfortunately to stay with 2-2.

The food situation in BA J is best around. AFKL not only no hot options (even on 3h flights) but also no choice - your choice in the first flight I think was just that there were leftovers from the inbound...

Look at you flexing your Ulti :D. Us mere plats bow our heads ;)

Great report, always interesting to see another viewpoint , and I am going to shamelessly plagiarise you title in a couple of minutes time

Thanks Tocsin . These multi-hop shorthaul J routes are potentially useful for VS status (re)qualification too; out of interest how much was your ticket? £600 or thereabouts?

Good report, thanks for writing it.

I was a KLM regular for a while after the BA “densification” and strikes malarkey; only in economy, as per company policy. I enjoyed the Embraers, even though it meant being bussed to the Embraer Enclosure at Schipol (formerly known as the Fokker Farm). Covid and early retirement put a stop to all that. Yet to fly with Air France.

Can you explain this one? I’ve almost a full year to worry about VS but time passes quickly!

40 VS TP per leg in AFKL shorthaul biz. So if you could do that for (just under) 600GPB, that's 240TP per return, or about a quarter of VS Gold requirement. (and half of FB Gold requirement)

Except... the cheap AFKL J is in O class, which is not earning in VS Flying Club. Only Z and up.

Thank so much for the info. I am also a BA refugee having status matched my silver to FB gold and I am flying EDI-CDG-AMS-KRK on 28th Feb returning 1st March by the reverse route. Cost was £621 and having never flown a Tier point run before have done so to 1) Get halfway to retaining FB gold with 90 tier points and 2) status match has no soft landing so will probably need to repeat or similar next winter.

I am staying at the Hilton at the airport as I am due to arrive at 16.30and depart the following day at 11.50. Hope to meet any other Tier point runners if they are on board.

Apologies for the delay in replying (I may be time-rich, but also a Grandad - been away minding three youngsters with Mrs T :) ).

The ticket was £635 in total, which I thought wasn't bad for a booking less than two weeks from departure. I also speculated on a SAF contribution, extra to that.

Kind of sucked in to the AFKL environment now :) - this trip should give 75 (5x15) UXP and another 19 for the SAF, if that works.

Not sure how the VS FFP version relates, so I hope that info helps.

Thanks - moving to a guaranteed 1-1 would be a huge benefit - the E19n aircraft are fine, but the 50% strike rate on seatmates was not!

Just checked my eTicket - outbound flights were Z, inbound were O - hope that helps those working other FFP calculations.