Like many established carriers, Air France is not ready to let new and nimbler 'budget airlines' eat its lunch.

Its latest initiative for those hopping around France (and some of Europe) is Hop! which actually combines 3 regional airline companies (Airlinair, Brit Air and Regional) from Air France group.

Starting at 55 Euros one way, prices are attractive.

At this point, a number of airports in this nascent network connect you only to 1 to 3 destinations.

From Agen for example you can only Hop to Paris.

Brest has Lyon and Nice within reach.

Strasbourg is luckier with Ajaccio, Bordeaux, Calvi, Figari, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Nantes (in France) and Rome, Venice and Vienna as options.

Paint is still fresh on Hop! initiative as travelers to-from Bologna, Florence, Milan, Naples, Rome and Venice (Italy) have to book their flights on Air France site until February 15, 2013.

We will have to wait and see if Hop! blooms.

(* Hop! visual from their Facebook page)

Maybe I will have the opportunity to test fly Hop! on my next visit to Europe.