Air France – KLM has genuinely enhanced its Flying Blue program by allowing stopovers on award tickets without any additional cost than taxes/fees.
For now, the free stopover is only available for Air France and KLM itineraries, and you need to call it in, but these will eventually be available online and include partner airlines.
You can access Air France – KLM’s page for the announcement here.
Remember that Flying Blue is not only the frequent flier program for Air France and KLM but also Air Calin, Kenya Airways, and Tarom + Transavia (LCC).
Flying Blue Partner Airlines:
Flying Blue has an eclectic mix of airlines that have partnered with, and several are outside of the SkyTeam alliance:
- Air Corsica
- Air Mauritius
- China Southern
- Copa
- GOL
- Japan Airlines
- Qantas
- Virgin Atlantic (joins SkyTeam next year)
- WestJet
- airBaltic
Flying Blue’s Email:
Flying Blue’s Award Chart:
Flying Blue has now released a reward chart that shows the minimum number of miles required for Economy, Premium Economy, and Business awards.
There are also examples of various city pairs.
You can also check what countries below to which regions
Full PDF:
Rewards Map
A new Rewards Map application allows you to check where your miles may take you. It comes in handy, but I believe that it only shows Air France, KLM, Air Calin, Keny Airways, and Tarom destinations.
Award Searches
New Delhi – Panama
The lowest number of miles required for business is 95K, and you could have a stopover in Amsterdam.
Johannesburg – Sao Paulo
The miles requirement here is the same.
Conclusion
Many programs have removed complimentary stopovers, Singapore Airlines being the latest.
I am somewhat surprised that Flying Blue has decided to reintroduce them, although this doesn’t cost them anything and makes the program more competitive.
It is very challenging to find Flying Blue award availability at the lowest level, but the mileage requirements are reasonable, although you need to pay a significant “penalty” (read fuel/carrier surcharges) for these rewards.
I wish they would introduce an online booking capability soon because I would rather book without having to call in.
