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To cut to the chase, award tickets on Air France and KLM are about to become tiered in a bad way for everyone but Elite members. Starting September 8, the program will introduce Light, Standard, and Flex fares, with today’s award fares moving to the new Light tier.
If you want Standard benefits, which match what award tickets include today, expect to pay 25–30% more.
The headline to note is that Elite members retain full benefits, so being Air France Platinum/Ultimate is more valuable than ever before. Notably, benefits also extend to SkyTeam Elite Plus members, which you can buy your way into. If you have hotel status like Hilton Gold, you can match through Kenya Airways for $299 USD, which is about to become considerably more valuable in light of these changes.
Flying Blue’s Three New Tiers: Light, Standard, Flex
New bookings as of September 8 using Flying Blue miles on Air France and KLM metal will book into three new categories: Light, Standard, and Flex.
This applies to economy, premium economy, and business class awards. As an example, transatlantic business class flights on Air France and KLM cost 60,000 miles if you can find saver space, but it’ll now cost 75,000 miles if you want two checked bags, lounge access, and the ability to change/cancel for €70.
You can still pay the same 60,000 miles, but you’ll lose all of those inclusions. Well, technically, you still get one checked bag.
Today, redeem 60,000 miles for regular business class benefits
You can also choose to pay 110,000 miles for Flex, which includes free seat selection and free change/cancellation. According to other online sources, the fees also drop by half, from ~$608 USD to ~$303 USD. In my opinion, paying an extra 35,000 miles is not worth the difference from Standard to save ~$303 USD, but you might value flexibility differently.
Notably, Air France and KLM flights booked through a partner program, such as the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club or the Japan Mileage Bank (JMB), are not subject to tiered pricing and retain the usual business class inclusions, including checked baggage and lounge access. The change/cancellation policy depends on the ticketing airline (e.g., Virgin Atlantic or Japan Mileage Bank), as is typical.
Here’s how Flying Blue describes the new tiered options.
- Light: the essential option, ideal if you travel light and are looking for a streamlined experience.
- Standard: a balanced option offering a combination of comfort and flexibility.
- Flex: the most comprehensive experience, with full flexibility, included benefits and a lower mandatory cash contribution when booking your reward ticket.
The Full Inclusions & Exclusions
And here are the full inclusions and exclusions, as written by Flying Blue.
Swipe left or right to view all fare benefits on smaller screens.
| Cabin | Fare | Checked baggage |
Hand baggage |
Changes | Refunds | Advance seat selection |
SkyPriority | Lounge access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economy Cabin | ||||||||
| Economy | Light | None | 1 bag, total 12 kg | Not included | Not included | Available for an extra cost | Not included | Available for an extra cost |
| Economy | Standard | 1 bag, up to 23 kg | 1 bag, total 12 kg | €70 | €70 | Available for an extra cost | Not included | Available for an extra cost |
| Economy | Flex | 1 bag, up to 23 kg | 1 bag, total 12 kg | Included | Included | Included | Not included | Available for an extra cost |
| Premium (Comfort) Cabin | ||||||||
| Premium (Comfort) | Light | None | 2 bags, total 12 kg | Not included | Not included | Available for an extra cost | Included | Available for an extra cost |
| Premium (Comfort) | Standard | 2 bags, up to 23 kg each | 2 bags, total 12 kg | €70 | €70 | Available for an extra cost | Included | Available for an extra cost |
| Premium (Comfort) | Flex | 2 bags, up to 23 kg each | 2 bags, total 12 kg | Included | Included | Included | Included | Available for an extra cost |
| Business Cabin | ||||||||
| Business | Light Limited to O/Z fare classes |
1 bag, up to 32 kg | 2 bags, total 18 kg | Not included | Not included | Available for an extra cost | Included | Available for an extra cost |
| Business | Standard | 2 bags, up to 32 kg each | 2 bags, total 18 kg | €70 | €70 | Available for an extra cost | Included | Included |
| Business | Flex | 2 bags, up to 32 kg each | 2 bags, total 18 kg | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included |
Being Elite Matters
The biggest and clearest highlight is that being an Elite member is about to pay dividends. Elite benefits override any limitations of the booking class.
In essence, Platinum and Ultimate Elite members can (and should) book Light fares with limited repercussions, as their Elite status entitles them to checked bags, lounge access, seat selection, and free changes and cancellations.
Elite benefits apply to everyone on the same booking, so if your Platinum Elite friend books two Business Class Light fares for you, both of you would get all checked bags, free seat selection, lounge access, and free changes/cancellations.
Flying Blue Platinum and Ultimate members get the best deal here, but SkyTeam Elite Plus (alliance-wide status) is treated as equivalent to Flying Blue Gold. That means SkyTeam Elite Plus members retain lounge access, free seat selection 72 hours before departure, and one extra free checked bag. That undoes most of the damage with Light fares, though your ticket remains non-refundable and non-changeable.
Flying Blue Platinum and Ultimate members are winning with these new changes
My take here is if you plan to redeem Flying Blue miles for Air France or KLM even once, paying $299 USD to status match to SkyTeam Elite Plus through Kenya Airways is more than worthwhile because you’ll save the difference in miles between Light and Standard. Sure, 15,000 miles may not be worth the entire $299 USD, but it’s worth at least most of that, and then there’s the incremental value of having SkyTeam Elite Plus when you fly other SkyTeam airlines, especially in economy, where you’ll now have checked bags and lounge access, including when flying Delta domestically.
If you’re booking for multiple passengers, saving tens of thousands of miles per ticket and having Elite benefits apply to everyone make it a no-brainer.
Partner Awards are Not Tiered
Honestly, my biggest takeaway from this announcement is that partner awards are not being tiered and will remain the same. Between Flying Blue’s increased fees on Air France and KLM awards and now requiring more miles to receive essentially the same experience you get today (otherwise known as a devalution), I’m increasingly convinced that the best use of Flying Blue miles is on partner awards.
In our blog post about Flying Blue sweet spots, we highlighted redemptions on Delta, WestJet, and China Airlines. Flying Blue also offers tremendous value on China Eastern and Aeromexico. I just booked a 9-hour business class flight from Mexico City (MEX) to Buenos Aires (EZE) for only 55,500 miles + $99 USD.
Book 9+ hours of business class flying for 55,500 miles
Short-haul flights on WestJet start at just 5,000 miles, with Montreal (YUL)–Toronto (YYZ) as one example.
Book WestJet flights with Flying Blue
Better yet, many Flying Blue partner awards come with no or very minimal fuel surcharges.
Takeaway
Flying Blue’s new award tiers are a devaluation for anyone redeeming miles on Air France or KLM without Elite status. You can still book the same saver awards at today’s mileage rates, but you’ll give up benefits that previously came standard, while paying 25–30% more restores roughly the experience you get today.
At the same time, these changes continue Flying Blue’s push to make Elite status more valuable. We’ve already seen increased availability of saver awards for Elite members, while La Premiere awards remain exclusive to Platinum and Ultimate members. Now, Elite benefits can largely negate the downsides of booking a Light award, with SkyTeam Elite Plus also becoming considerably more useful.
If booking Air France or KLM with Flying Blue, my preferred course of action would be to redeem for Light and pay for a status match to SkyTeam Elite Plus (through Kenya Airways) to get most benefits I care about, albeit with no change/cancellation allowed.
However, the vast majority of my Flying Blue miles are redeemed on partner airlines like WestJet, Delta, China Airlines, China Eastern, Aeromexico, and even Aerolineas Argentinas. My recommendation is that you do the same and look to partner awards first; economy awards around North America on WestJet and Delta offer tremendous value. They’re unaffected by the new tiers, often have minimal surcharges, and continue to be where I see the most value in Flying Blue.
Featured Image Credit: Air France
