As Timothy and I felt like taking a weekend break to end the year, we decided to go for a weekend in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana. Getting there wasn’t the easiest, it’s too far to go by train for just a weekend so we needed to find suitable flights. Direct flights from Brussels where rather expensive and had an unattractive schedule, so we opted for flights leaving from Amsterdam in the early morning.

After Arriving from Amsterdam by KLM at Terminal 2F in Paris Charles De Gaulle airport we first had to make the transfer to Terminal 2G from where HOP! by Air France flights depart.

As this terminal is not connected nor located close to the other buildings composing terminal 2, there was a shuttle bus operating in between terminals 2F and 2G. This bus is airside, so no need to clear security a second time. The bus leaves from the ground level of the terminal 2F main building and it is clearly signposted. The ride across the airfield takes about 15 minutes and deposed us at terminal 2G just beyond the security check from where you follow along the departure route up the blue coloured escalator into the main waiting area.

The entire terminal has the look and feel of a temporary warehouse building. You are forced to wait in the main terminal building where there is plenty of seating and a number of shops and food outlets to spend your time and euros. Gate numbers are only posted 30 minutes before departure as there is not much waiting space around the gates.

When the time is come a glass walkway takes you down towards your boarding area, providing you with a panoramic view of the aircraft parked on the apron. The gate area itself is another warehouse like structure and you have to walk down a flight of stairs from the corridor towards the boarding pen. The pink coloured windows provide for some special light effects inside.

Boarding is just a simple walk across the apron as the plane is parked in front of the building.

Flight AF1036
From Paris Charles De Gaulle (CDG) 10:00 to Ljubljana (LJU) 11:45
Flight Time 1 hour and 45 minutes
Embraer 170 F-HBXF
Delivered to Air France Regional in August 2009

After walking up the stairs we were welcomed by the cabin crew and took our seats. The plane is configured in a 2-2 configuration with leather seats. The legroom was quite spacious for a regional plane in economy class. As there was only limited space in the overhead lockers, bigger items of hand luggage had to be gate-checked and loaded in the hold but our backpacks fit without problems.

The flight itself was another uneventful flight, taking us over the Alps most of the way. As it was mostly clouded there was not much to see.

The service during this flight was rather basic, just a drinks service (I ordered an apple juice) and a choice of either some olive crackers or butter cookies. Having come from a shorter KLM flight providing a full snack box, this was quite a disappointment to have on this longer flight.

The arrival into Ljubljana was rather spectacular, as soon as we exited the clouds we could see the valley in which Ljubljana was located, surrounded by mountains. This provided us with a nice scenic approach into the city.

After landing there was only a short taxi to the small terminal, parked on the apron where a couple of aircraft from the now defunct Slovenian national carrier Adria Airways, it’s always sad to see a scene like this.

HOP! By Air France provided a nice on time flight, the seating comfort was ok but overall the entire experience was just average. Catering could be better on a 1h30 minutes flight, especially as the flights aren’t exactly cheap either. I would fly them again if they have the best offer but I wouldn’t select them over any other airline.

What are your experiences with HOP! And what do you think of them? Let us know in the comments below!