While I’m flying Premium Economy class to Dallas, there is no PE cabin on domestic and short-haul inter-Europe flights. Therefore, my initial Air France from VIE-CDG has just business and economy classes available. It’s not as exciting as my next plane, but perfectly passable for a short hop.

Check-in and Boarding

We are used to machines at check-in counters. While they are a bit finicky to use, it has consistently been quicker for me that waiting for an agent to complete the full process. But no such machines existed in Vienna, especially for those checking a bag like I did this trip. (Just another one of many reasons I don’t check a bag when I travel).

Staying at the Moxy Vienna airport was very convenient. A short 5 minutes walk brought me right into the terminal check-in area. Unfortunately, I arrived just as check-in for the flight to Amsterdam opened up, which departed 30 minutes after my flight. I waited a total of 30 minutes just to check my bag, right before the deadline.

Clearing security at Vienna airport was very similar to my experience at Lyon during my inbound journey. Lines were long, slow, and very inefficient. I arrived at the gate right as boarding started, and walked right onto the plane without having to wait around at all.

The Seat

The Air France economy seat is rather similar to most other configurations. Legroom/pitch is a little shorter than US carriers at about 30 inches. The seats were a little bit narrow, but nowhere near as narrow as the snug United B777-300 economy seats…

These seats are not the slimline seats that some other carriers use to save space. There is extra cushioning which makes the seat overall more comfortable. It does reduce legroom slightly.

Same as the Austrian Airlines plane, business class is just a few economy seats with middle seats blocked off. The two cabins are divided with a set of curtains. At least this time, the curtains stretched all the way to the floor.

We pushed back from the gate about 15 minutes late due to slot restrictions in Paris. We didn’t deice, which was a little surprising given the conditions outside. However, we did have a longer taxi than normal, also about 15 minutes long. Therefore, we didn’t get airborne until about 6:45, 30 minutes after scheduled departure.

Inflight Service

The flight crew came around shortly after takeoff and served a selection of soft drinks and a butter cookie. You know you’re on Air France when they serve butter cookies as their snack…

I didn’t get a chance to visit the lounge and get some breakfast, so I was naturally very hungry. That probably wasn’t the best move once I realized how many calories were in that one single cookie.

Regardless, service went without a hitch and we were well on our way to Paris. The sunrise this morning was absolutely stunning:

The rest of the flight was rather uneventful. I spent the next hour planning for what movies I was going to watch on my Premium Economy flight to Dallas. The IFE was responsive and the number of titles were rather impressive.

But my connection experience at CDG is a completely different story…

Final Thoughts

A short hop in economy between European destinations is perfectly serviceable. The seats were a bit short on legroom but still comfortable. Service was fine with a beverage and a snack service. There were no problems whatsoever but the flight also wasn’t the most memorable for that reason.