The frequent flyer program Flying Blue has raised the prices for numerous award flights without prior notice. In many cases, award tickets now cost between 15% and 25% more than before. The primary increases affect flights with KLM and Air France, while those with other airlines are more moderate.
The price increase is most evident at the lowest entry-level prices, which are not guaranteed. Due to the dynamic pricing model, there is essentially no upper limit. Tickets costing more than 500,000 miles per direction remain possible.
Below is a brief comparison of prices before and after the latest devaluation in January 2025:
- From Europe to the Middle East (with Air France & KLM):
- Economy Class: 25,000 miles instead of 20,000 (+25%) + ~€50 fuel surcharge
- Business Class: 57,500 miles instead of 50,000 (+15%) + ~€110 fuel surcharge
- From Europe to North America (with Air France & KLM):
- Economy Class: 25,000 miles instead of 20,000 (+25%) + ~€70 fuel surcharge
- Premium Economy: 40,000 miles instead of 35,000 (+14%) + ~€120 fuel surcharge
- Business Class: 60,000 miles instead of 50,000 (+20%) + ~€210 fuel surcharge
- From Europe to South America & Asia (with Air France & KLM):
- Economy Class: 30,000 miles instead of 25,000 (+20%) + ~€80 fuel surcharge
- Premium Economy: 50,000 miles instead of 40,000 (+25%) + ~€120 fuel surcharge
- Business Class: 85,000 miles instead of 70,000 (+21%) + ~€190 fuel surcharge
- Other Examples with Partner Airlines:
- Etihad Business Class Abu Dhabi → Seoul: 55,500 miles instead of 51,500 (+8%) + ~€170 surcharge
- Delta Economy Toronto → New York: 7,500 miles instead of 7,000 (+7%), no fuel surcharge
- SAS Economy Hamburg → Copenhagen: Unchanged at 5,000 miles, no fuel surcharge
(already increased in December)
All the prices listed here are just the tip of the iceberg. The availability of business award flights at the lowest prices is poor on many routes. For instance, there are entire months when a one-way business class flight to Japan costs at least 250,000 miles.
Conclusion
Flying Blue has never been particularly appealing for redeeming miles, but it improved somewhat in October 2023, when redemption values were standardized and reduced in many cases. Unfortunately, this did not last long.
Even before, you had to be very flexible to find award flights at low prices. With the higher mileage requirements and significant fuel surcharges, Flying Blue has now sunk back into the realm of average frequent flyer programs. The only redeeming features are the status system and the benefits with Delta and other partners, which remain somewhat attractive.
Sources: Flyertalk, One Mile at a Time, and Meilenoptimieren