Millennial airline Joon takes flight, unveils new destinations

The millennial baby of Air France, Joon, officially took to the skies in the past few days, in addition to unveiling a host of new destinations to entice travellers.

Last week, Joon launched for the first time its flights to Barcelona, Berlin, Lisbon and Porto. Meanwhile, it’s new destinations – all seven of them – included medium and long-haul destinations of Rome, Naples, Oslo, Istanbul, Cairo, Cape Town and Tehran, all departing from the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.

Of these new routes, the following will be available from March 2018, from prices as low as 39 euros, including tax:

• Istanbul (Turkey): 7 weekly flights
• Naples (Italy): 14 weekly flights
• Oslo (Norway): 18 weekly flights
• Rome (Italy): 49 weekly flights

On departure from Paris-CDG, Joon will fly to its medium-haul destinations by Airbus A320 (174 seats) and A321 (212 seats).

In Business class, Joon offers a free meal, snacks and beverages, while back in Economy, customers choose from a free selection of beverages at any time of the day.

During the flight, the company’s customers have free access to YouJoon, the in-flight streaming system on their own smartphone, tablet or laptop.

And these three will be in the air by European spring 2018:

• Cairo (Egypt): 7 weekly flights as from 25 March 2018 starting at €149 including tax
• Cape Town (South Africa): 3 weekly flights as from 1^st April 2018 starting at €279 including tax
• Tehran (Iran): 3 weekly flights as from 2 April 2018 starting at €149 including tax

On departure from Paris-CDG, Business, Premium Economy and Economy customers will experience new cabins on board the Airbus A340s equipped with advanced tech touch-screens.

Joon’s Business customers will enjoy a free catering offer, from starter to dessert, including snacks. In Premium Economy and Economy class, one or even two meals will be offered on the longest flights. In addition, Joon will offer a selection of gourmet products as a paid option.

Naturally, conditions apply on all the rates displayed.

In total, for the 2018 summer season, Joon will fly to 13 destinations with 228 flights a week from Paris-CDG – Barcelona, Berlin, Istanbul, Lisbon, Naples, Oslo, Porto and Rome on the medium-haul network and Fortaleza, Cairo, Cape Town, Mahé and Tehran on the long-haul network.

The airline, which claims to be specifically designed for millennials, and promises a completely new style of flying for younger travellers, attracted criticism for excluding older passengers, and taking the experience too far.

According to Air France, the new brand has been “entirely designed to meet their requirements and aspirations, with an authentic and connected offering that stands out in the world of air transport”.

Flight attendants will wear fun, youthful clothing that’s less formal than traditional hosties. The colour scheme is an electric blue, with sneakers and funky designs.

“We started with our target customer segment, the millennials, to create this new brand that means something to them,” said Caroline Fontaine, VP Brand at Air France.

“THIS GENERATION HAS INSPIRED US A LOT: EPICUREAN AND CONNECTED, THEY ARE OPPORTUNISTIC IN A POSITIVE SENSE OF THE WORD AS THEY KNOW HOW TO ENJOY EVERY MOMENT AND ARE IN SEARCH OF QUALITY EXPERIENCES THAT THEY WANT TO SHARE WITH OTHERS. JOON IS A BRAND THAT CARRIES THESE VALUES.

Its most recent marketing tactics of calling itself a bunch of things that a plane or airline just can’t be, also copped a bit of mockery.

Joon defined itself as ” a fashion brand, a rooftop bar, an entertainment channel, a personal assistant … and Joon does flying too!” You can read more into this bizarre definition here.

And while it assures travellers it’s not a low cost carrier, Joon has promised to shave operating costs so the prices remain competitive. What this means in terms of wages for staff, and ancillary charges, for example, remains unclear.

According to Bloomberg though, pilots on Joon will earn as much as on the main Air France brand. But the other cabin crew will allegedly cop the brunt of these cheap rates, with wages as much as 40 per cent below their Air France counterparts.