Crete: coming back to our first holidays
Hello all,
You might be surprised but besides aviation, I am also in love with my +1 and I could be romantic..! I organised a nice trip to where we spent our first holidays about 5 years ago, I thought it would be nice to refresh our memories and going back on the roots of what we became :-)
Passed this non-aviation introduction, today will the first day I fly Transavia… I haven't flown low-cost in a while, but the airline is part of AF/KLM so I thought of trying it, and also because it was the only company offering:
a) a direct flight
b) at convienent times where you don't take off at 6am nor land at midnight..
The fare was really acceptable for the distance : 89Euros…Now let's see if it worth it…
Even though I am a gold skyteam member, this doesn't give you any freebes that you normally get: free seat selection, luggage checked in in the hull, lounges etc…
Flying blue Miles earned with this flight: 250
Status earned: 0 XP
Why? oYu don't get XP with TO with a light fare..
Flight routing
- 1Transavia LYS - Heraklion
- 2
- 3
The app is easy to use but lacks of information and menus, unlike the parent company.
It was also impossible to check in on the app, but possible on the website and from there recover the boarding passess..
One fun thing at checkin is that there is a small animation of the plane and the background…
AT LYON - SAINT EXUPÉRY AIRPORT
We arrived at the airport dropped by my parents..
Terminal 1 is as busy as pre-covid
I really like the architecture of the TGV - High Speed Train service station.
We arrived at the checkin counter and were greeted by a lady who - not only was professional - but seemed to be in a superb mood - even cracking jokes. Is that the sunny day effect or an instruction of AF?KLM?
In case there is still some clarification needed, Air France is almost the only airline operating from Terminal 2… I let you guess which screen is T1 and which is T2!!
Easyjet still seems to be operating from the low-cost building extension of T1: T3…
The hall of Lumieres, usually packed… Or else it was privatised today?
And we were heading towards the C gates, where you need to pass passport controls again.. Today two B737-800s of Transavia… I looked on flight radar and they seem to be based at Lyon.
The problem with the new T1 at departure level is that it is almost designed to be mean for Avgeeks and spotters!
However the good thing with this terminal is that the waiting areas next to the gates are really well designed I find.
A tentative to see our bird…
Again you can't see much, even on the jetway… Is it to try and keep the place cool to limit sun exposure? Or just to be in the long tradition of "no photos!!"
onboard the B737-800
Hello pilots!!
Aircraft: Boeing 737-8K2
Registration: F-GZHR
Engines: 2x CFM56
Age: 6 Years
Layout: Y189
Observation: Fitted with mood lighting like the vast majority of B737s of Transavia.
And push back started, after a funny announce made by the captain - I didn't hear what he said but the whole cabin laughed… unless they were making fun of me? XD
Speaking of the very green cabin… You can see it is still very fresh (and curly on the foreground), the seats are actually ok but the pitch a bit too small. The enlarged luggage racks, coming from the B777, and the mood lighting are a real plus.
And after the safety demonstrations done by the cabin crew, we were off taxiing… This was concluded reminding everyone Transavia is a member of Air France KLM group… This was surely placed a few times…
The safety card… You notice than in a case of an emergency, the tobogans will inflate only on a nice green grass…
Align…
and take off!
Over the Alps, when the seat belts sign got switched off..
Alright then, how much is it?
I want to take this opporunity that I heavily condemn By on Board food, because this is another hidden way of making an extra source of income, and the argument that you can skip, you don't have to buy food is ridiculous : of course you are going to want to eat onboard… It is just like saying you can go to a restaurant but just order a coffee. Come on let's be serious!
In the case of transavia, I will be a bit more indulgeant because it has never pretented to be a Major airline but shame on the legacies going this way … Yes IB, BA and LH I am talking about you!
I must say the price was fairly reasonnable so a good point for Transavia… In comparison BA charges for more for not as good.
And here is my selection… Together for us both, we were charged 13 euros so not as bad as expected.
See How I was reasonable? Fruits and soft drinks… I knew I was going to stuff myself with some great food and wine a few hours later!!
And now the discovery of the magasines… Which was the only entertainment available for the next 2h30 of flight.. With again another mention that this airline is part of AIrFranceKLM… In case you haven't followed!
It is unfortunate but there is a lot of advs in this magasine…
And some more about the onboard boutique..
Interestingly this article explains how you can collect miles: 0 or +5euros fee for a light fare and more and more miles with the upper tariffs. You can even get XPs with the Max tarif. What the article didn't mention though is why you can collect miles and XP but why the Skyteam/Flyingblue priorities don't apply!!
The fleet page… not very diverse (that is the principle of a low-cost airline mind you!)
And how transavia has litteraly canibalised Hop!
Hello Italy
And Tuscany
A few hours later the approach on beautiful Crete..
Align…
Approach…
Getting closer to the water…
And phew here is the runway!
at heraklion - Nikos Kazantzakis airport
And leaving the runway
We desembarked from the rear door, we were closer to it and what a beautiful picture of this tail!
We had a paxbus to transfer to the arrivals, so while waiting for it, here is a last shot of our plane
At arrival, just a policeman vaguely checked our vaccination paper, but not really the Passenger Locater Form asked by the Hellenic government.
At luggage reclaim…
And the next mroning breakfast…
Cool report on a unique route! I've never had the opportunity to fly Transavia and I can't say I've made much effort to try as I'm not a huge fan of LCCs; however, I will say that these kinds of routes are very appealing. Certainly much more convenient to have a nonstop flight rather than connecting at CDG or AMS...especially from LYS, where that would entail back-tracking!
Overall looks like a pretty decent BOB offer and seat comfort. But like you say, tight pitch and no IFE at all for a 3h flight isn't super pleasant. It would really be nice if Transavia installed a streaming IFE service...even if it were for a small fee, as is often the case on LCCs.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Kevin!
Thanks for your comment!
There used to be a time where I was more budget-constrained and so like most of us I was flying a lot LCC, and since I became gold member with Flying Blue, I must admit this was the first time in 4 years I think I flew LCC! Even to the point to be seen like a "snob" when the crew stood there awaiting for me to get my credit car out after giving us food XD
Yes the IFE would be a plus, or at least some sort of Streaming on your device like Air Canada Rouge or former Joon used to offer... Overall I was nicely surprised by TO, I wasn't expecting as bad as RYR (SkyWest for you!) but I found that TO is even better than U2..
Another Criticim I have for TO is that you can claim miles, and even XP on the higher fare but your flying blue status isn't of any use on this flight...
Thanks again!
Chris