Review of FlyOne flight from Paris to Chişinău in Economy

This trip report covers a short journey to discover Moldova—a destination that requires a bit of effort to reach by air.
The routing, selected in January, was originally as follows:

However, in early March, SkyUp cancelled our return flight.
Plan B looked like this:

But in mid-May, HiSky cancelled our return flight as well!
Our options were dwindling, especially since we couldn't delay our return by more than 24 hours due to other commitments.
We had to scrap the sightseeing in Chisinau planned for the morning of our departure; instead, we opted for the Wizz Air red-eye flight departing RMO at 6:30 AM and arriving at BVA- an airport I had managed to avoid until then (and one I have no desire to visit again—spoiler alert…). So here is Plan C:

Our outbound flight wasn't cancelled, delayed, etc.: FlyOne proved to be significantly more reliable than their competitors on this route!

The seat map, which was still nearly empty when I bought our tickets

While the fee for selecting a standard seat (non-exit row) was reasonable, the price of the onboard meal was excessive

Fast forward to checking in online day before the flight: FlyOne offers a range of options, including—once again—the meal priced at €33 and up. I didn't bother looking into the pricing for the other options.

We arrived at CDG-1 without a hitch via the RER suburban train, poorer by €14 each.

Non-Schengen flights this way.

Heading up through one of CDG1’s iconic tubes, which are becoming less and less transparent.

There are only three automated passport reading gates, but there was no wait to get through them. Security screening was well-organized and the process fairly quick.
We were airside 14 minutes after the previous picture.

Our flight was listed as on time. With 10 flights in 3 hours and 20 minutes—roughly one every 20 minutes—the afternoon was clearly no peak traffic time for Terminal 1.

This empty corridor, which goes under the taxiway to reach the non-Schengen satellite, illustrates this perfectly.

A look back at the walkway, decorated with photo montages of Paris.

While security usually requires me to put my laptop in a separate bin, the staff there had me put my liquids bag and fanny pack in a single one, and—for good measure—my jacket loose on top of everything else; the bins are then stacked so they come out together. It made the retrieval of one’s belongings quite efficient, though the process was initially somewhat disconcerting. Only three security lanes were open, but we were airside within fifteen minutes.

We also went through the duty-free area very quickly, as there is a straight corridor leading to the gates.

Pure coincidence: our gate was almost directly in front of the exit from the duty-free.

The seats are quite comfortable and equipped with power outlets and USB ports. There are plenty of them, despite the passengers' tendency to use one for their hand luggage.

Some plane spotting: arrival of an airBaltic A220-300

OK-FYC, a CSA A220-300

TF-IAB, an Icelandair A321LR

Arrival of an Egyptair A350-900

HZ-AR13, a Saudia B787-9

4X-AGV, an Arkia A320

But the main event was the arrival of ER-00003, the A321 that would operate our flight.
Five-digit aircraft registrations: Moldova has huge ambitions for its airline fleet!

There she is, taxiing toward the terminal

Reaching the gate

Front view

It was 2:26 PM: closing the gate at 2:55 PM seemed unlikely by then! There was not much action at the gate yet

In fact, boarding hadn't started yet at 2:47 PM.
There were no specific checks of the hand luggage at the gate (many passengers had multiple items in hand).

Door shot

Fuselage shot

Flyone is one of those airlines that doesn't have the superstition of skipping row 13

Non-woven fabric headrests

The window was properly aligned at our row

Was there perhaps a seat reclining button there which had been later removed?

At 29.5 cm, the seat pitch—measured from the edge of the seat cushion to the back of the seat in front - was exceptional for economy class.

This was largely due to the absence of a seatback pocket at the bottom of the seat, but for those with long legs, it’s the available space that counts.

There was actually nowhere to stow personal items, as the "in-flight literature" slot had hardly any space for anything else.

Well now, another clue as to the aircraft's age! This box housed the somewhat bulky electronics needed to broadcast audio channels—a technology which became obsolete in the era of mobile devices.

Standard armrest-to-armrest width for an A32x

A tiny coat hook

Safety card, both sides

The Buy-on-Board selection is minimal

A seat upgrade onboard costs €50!

The aircraft was equipped with under-seat USB ports which would not be powered during the entire flight.

A remembrance from the start of this aircraft's career with Niki exactly 10 years ago

Pushback

A7-BAG, a Qatar Airways 777-300ER in OneWorld livery

The Saudia B787-9 (HZ-AR13) again

Takeoff: Terminal 1 and the A1 motorway passing beneath the runway level

Air France maintenance hangars, west of Terminal 1

The largest of these hangars, beneath the wing, is a French Post Office parcel facility

Le Bourget Airport (LBG)

I need some image processing to have the Eiffel Tower (and the Montparnasse Tower on the left edge of the photo) stand out

The winglet in Flyone's colors

View of the cabin

The cabin crew came by to serve a glass of water

This flight was not going to be a quiet one for the passengers seated in the back; a very young child at row 34, i.e. right behind us, kept screaming at an ear-piercing pitch. There was of course nothing we could blame FlyOne about with it!

Air-to-air avec un 737 Ryanair dans le lointain

There was going to be a cloud cover during most of the flight. Košice (Slovakia), in the to left corner of the picture and its gigantic steel facturies in the center. They have been privatized and sold to US Steel, and are now the country's largest private employer.

It takes a great deal of imagination to spot the airport (KSC) in the middle of this sprawling area!

A rather distant air-to-air shot of a LOT 737 MAX

The plains of Romania near Satu Mare

A break in the clouds?

In the foreground, Sighetu Marmației (Romania), and on the other bank of the Tisa River, Solotvyno (Ukraine)

Șieu (left) and Ieud (at right)

Fălticeni (Romania) – it took me time to identify it thanks to its reservoir, but this town is what allowed me to identify the others.

Zoom (and heavy post-processing) on the town

Start of the descent into very cloudy skies

The plane is going to circle Chișinău, which I won't see being seated on the left. (thanks Flightradar24)

Roșcani (center) and part of the solar farm in Strășeni, northwest of Chișinău.

Sireți

After lining up on track 26: Chetrosu

Merenii Noi

St Dimitri Church of Chetrosu

Singera

Impossible to miss, 500 meters from the runway threshold, the Landing Church of Chișinău airport! A prayer on final approach, 30 seconds before touchdown can’t hurt!
https://static.flight-report.com/media/photos/38/1781172000MUYR/img_5616a.jpg
I don't know if there were many prayers on board, but there was hearty applause after touchdown.
https://static.flight-report.com/media/photos/38/1781172000MUYR/img_5617a.jpg
Taxiing away from the runway

ER-AZP, an An-24RV built in 1971; she ended her career with Skylink Arabia, an Emirati airline which ceased operations some time later, around 2010.

There is enough here to start a small museum dedicated to Moldovan aviation from the USSR era—provided one invests in a supply of paint. I saw at least four An-26s like this one.

ER-EMA, an Embraer 120 from the defunct Air Moldova, is the smartest-looking aircraft in this boneyard. There are two Tu-134s in the background, one in Air Moldova livery and the other in Aeroflot livery.

This was indeed Chișinău Airport

HA-LTK, a Wizz Air A321ceo; There were two others on the tarmac

Arriving at the parking stand: mobile stairs approach the rear door

There are no jet bridges at RMO; sitting at the very back of the plane means you can disembark just as quickly as if you were in the front rows

Unloading strollers and baby car seats

Passengers were packed tight standing in the shuttle bus, but this passenger kept a seat for her small hand luggage.

One last look at ER-00003 from the departing shuttle bus

The livery mimics the A321neo's "mask," but this is definitely an A321ceo

We went through immigration quickly and arrived landside, where several children and adults were waiting for female passengers, red roses in hand.

The car rental desks are right nearby. Morocco, Tunisia, and now Moldova: this was going to be the third time that the same international rental agency with an orange logo has provided us with a vehicle that had a badly under-inflated tire (0.9 bar!). I’m seriously thinking about adding a tire pressure gauge to the tape measure in my air travel kit!

Leaving the terminal and heading off on a shuttle bus to the rental agency, whose parking lot was located a few kilometers away.

It was raining and the lighting conditions were poor: my picture of the Tu-134A displayed alongside the short access road to the airport is very poor.

There she in good weather

Thanks for reading me!

Bonus: Moldova

This is a bonus feature on Moldova, a little-known country