Flying Blue is getting better and better: now you can book First Class on China Eastern and Garuda Indonesia
Regular readers of TFC know my fondness for the Flying Blue program; I firmly believe that the program [...]
China Eastern Airlines
SkyTeam
Regular readers of TFC know. my fondness for the Flying Blue program., I firmly believe that Franco-Dutch loyalty program is the best frequent flyer for Italian travelers And to make it perfect Only one thing is missing, a credit card that would allow all Italian travelers to accumulate points directly on their FB card. Fortunately, there is Mooncard for businesses, but it's not the same thing.
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I don't say this out of flattery or because I am the owner of the prestigious Club2000, the card that a lucky few in the world have (precisely 2000), but because it is a given and with the recent changes it becomes even better.
What are Skyteam's "first classes"
When it comes to the first-class cabin Skyteam is not the alliance that offers the most seats, in fact the opposite. Sure when you can boast La Premiere is enough, but the more choice the better.
Of all the Skyteam carriers the only ones that have first are Korean Air, Saudia, Garuda Indonesia and China Eastern. Of all of them the one I plan to try sooner or later is Korean's, the one that attracts me the least is definitely Saudia because of the Lack of alcohol on board.
It is very interesting, however, that through FB points you can book 3 of these 5 cabins, and maybe things will improve in the coming weeks/months.
How to Book China Eastern's First Class
For the past few weeks with FB points. you can book first class aboard China Eastern aircraft, the airline participating in the Skyteam alliance has opened its inventory by making the most exclusive seats available to Flying Blue members as well.
To search for places all one has to do is select the intention to book an award ticket from the HP of Air France's website and set La Premiere as the class of travel, calling itself the first class of AF is how one also searches the partner airline inventory.
It takes only 137k FB points plus 240 euros in taxes, for example, to fly first class from Shanghai to Paris. The airline that Until a few months ago he was also flying A380s, offers first class aboard the A777/300s it uses to fly to Europe (Paris, London, and Frankfurt) as well as the U.S. and a few other destinations around the world.
At the moment, it seems that first class is not available on all routes at this time. I was able to find it to/from Europe and Oceania, not to the United States.
The price of 137 thousand FB points is really interesting when you consider that a ticket in La Premiere never costs less than 300k points, unlike Air France's most exclusive cabin these tickets are available to all travelers not only to those with Platinum status.
How to book Garuda Indonesia's First Class
Bali and Indonesia is one of the most popular destinations for Italians, so here is the chance to fly to Jakarta in first class without paying is a remarkable opportunity that the Flying Blue program offers its members. The first class of Indonesia's national airline is (perhaps) the rarest in the world since it currently flies only one route the Jakarta Amsterdam.
The price is also jewel-like since we are almost at the prices of La Premiere. The lowest cost I could find is 275k FB points, honestly too many to fly with this company and in this cabin, considering that it costs almost as much as a round trip in F from Paris to China.
In conclusion
These two new features make the Flying Blue program even better. Not only is it the only one that allows you to book La Premiere, but it has access to a crazy inventory with all the Skyteam companies and now two of the other 4 First Class cabins. Let's see what the next news will be.
