Nightmare (during) Christmas: Flying Blue devalues prize tickets with partners on Christmas night
Update Dec. 27. It was NOT an intended devaluation: here's what happened. At Christmas you expect presents, not the [...]
KLM
Air France
Oneworld
Update December 27. It was NOT an intended devaluation: that's what happened.
In this article:
At Christmas you expect presents, not coal, that should come along with the Epiphany and instead it really seems that Flying Blue, the loyalty program of Air France KLM has chosen this day to make a very bad surprise to all its admirers and serial accumulators: the Christmas devaluation.
Flying Blue doesn't stop even at Christmas
On forums and in insiders' blogs, it's all anyone talks about, yesterday users around the world began to notice an increase in the cost of partner award tickets, i.e., those redeemed to fly non-air France KLM.
The devaluation is that situation in which points lose value due to an increase in the cost, in miles, of tickets. Making the pill even more bitter is the lack of notification of the change; indeed, no news was given about it.
Online, "Lying Blue" is definitely a trending topic with users unleashed against management guilty of failing to give alun notice and continuing a pejorative campaign (no XP for flights made With non-Skyteam carriers, no more endless XP rollovers and worsened customer service). In part I agree that these are pejorative changes, but it is true that in other respects things have improved in the last 12 months (Multiple bookable partners such as Etihad, Oman Air or AirCalin, award ticket prices often discounted and lots of first class bookable).
More expensive partner tickets
The change may still be in progress, and it will take a couple of days for the new rates to stabilize. Currently double award tickets in Australia for those who want to fly with Qantas On domestic routes. As well as for intra-Asia flights aboard Malaysian Airlines, now for a KUL/BKK 10k FB points are asked while before it started from 6k.
More difficult to digest, however, are the on-board increases at Delta and Aeromexico, two airlines with close ties to the Franco-Dutch carrier.
Increases also for Etihad tickets, for example before for an AUH/MCT it took 6 thousand miles now 10k, but on the other hand fees seem to have come down a little bit. However, it seems to me much less worse than projected, yes the increase is there but at the moment it would seem to be localized on short to medium haul routes, not the long haul.
In conclusion
If in the end it will be this kind of devaluation. I say we can still count ourselves lucky, certainly a little notice to the community would have kept trust intact for what is undoubtedly, despite this devaluation, the best program around.
