Flying Blue: The Best Sweet Spots for Award Flights

Flying Blue is an attractive alternative frequent flyer program. In this article, we take a look at the sweet spots offered by the program of Air France and KLM.

Unless stated otherwise, the values listed in this article refer to one-way flights. It’s also important to note that Flying Blue prices award flights with its own airlines and selected partners on selected routes (e.g., Delta to North America) dynamically. Although award availability is almost unlimited, these flights can cost up to half a million miles, making such options unappealing and one of the reasons why most sweet spots relate to partner airlines.

Flying Blue Sweet Spots with Air France/KLM

First, let’s start with the sweet spots offered by the program’s main operating airlines: Air France and KLM.

Economy Class: Flights within Europe from 10,000 miles + €50

The cheapest redemptions for Air France/KLM flights are within Europe. These start from 10,000 miles depending on the route, and surprisingly, this mileage amount covers almost all of Europe. Whether heading to the Arctic Circle or the Mediterranean, you can explore various European destinations for 10,000 miles plus roughly €50–60 per direction. Comparable cash tickets with Air France/KLM including checked baggage often cost over €200.

Economy & Business Class: Flying Blue Promo Awards

The Flying Blue Promo Awards are comparable to the “Meilenschnäppchen” from Miles&More. The routes change monthly. Discounts are usually around 25%, although long-haul business class deals are not always available. When they are, the Promo Awards can be excellent value. Like regular Flying Blue awards, these can be cancelled or changed for €70.

Round trips across the Atlantic in economy class start at 37,500 Flying Blue miles. Surcharges are generally lower than with Miles&More, starting at just under €310 for flights to Canada. This can make economy awards worthwhile, especially for last-minute bookings.

Occasionally, there are also long-haul business class offers, starting at 45,000 miles to North America. Due to dynamic pricing, the price may vary slightly when including a feeder flight from elsewhere in Europe.

Flying Blue Promo Awards: Air France Business Class to Cotonou for 127,500 Miles + €582 r/t

Business Class: North America from 60,000 miles + €350

Another competitively priced option is business class flights to North America with Air France and KLM. Including feeder flights, these start from 60,000 miles plus €350 in surcharges. Various aircraft are used, including Air France’s Business Suite on some Boeing 777-300ER and Airbus A350-900 aircraft.

Both airlines serve a wide range of US destinations, though availability can vary significantly. Flights from the US back to Europe can be even cheaper, with surcharges starting at just €200.

Flying Blue Sweet Spots with Partner Airlines

Now we turn the page and look at what options you have thanks to other SkyTeam airlines.

Business Class: Air Europa transatlantic from 43,000 miles + €60

A real insider tip is award flights with Air Europa. The Madrid-based airline does not levy fuel surcharges, resulting in extremely low fees. A business class transatlantic flight from Madrid costs from 43,000 Flying Blue miles and only €60 in taxes and fees.

Flights to South America start at 60,000 miles and €39 one-way from Madrid.

These flights are even cheaper than those with Air France and KLM, both in mileage and surcharges. However, you must book your own positioning flight to Madrid. As flight time increases, mileage prices rise accordingly, but surcharges remain around €30 per direction.

Business Class: Vietnam Airlines from Germany from 64,000 miles + €316

Another sweet spot is Vietnam Airlines business class flights. These start from just 64,000 miles + €316 in taxes and fees from Germany. From Vietnam, flights start at 64,000 miles + €201. While the airline may not compete with top Asian carriers, the price is attractive enough to offset potential shortcomings.

Business Class: China Airlines to Taiwan from 57,500 miles + €210

Even more attractive in terms of miles are business class flights with China Airlines between Europe and Taiwan from 57,500 miles per direction. Flights from Europe start at around €210 in fees, and flights to Europe at €194.

Availability to Taipei is limited, though slightly better in the direction of Europe; but still not plentiful. Currently, availability seems limited to routes from/to Prague and Vienna. Other China Airlines destinations like London, Amsterdam, Rome, or Frankfurt appear too demand-heavy.

Economy Class: Flights within Africa from 5,000 miles + €110

There are also interesting options within Africa. Short Kenya Airways flights start at 5,000 Flying Blue miles. For example, Nairobi–Zanzibar costs 5,000 miles plus around €110 including 2×23 kg checked baggage. Although the surcharges look high at first glance, cash fares on this route often cost €220 per direction, giving you excellent value per mile.

Another attractive economy redemption is between Nairobi and Mahé in the Seychelles. These flights cost 12,500 miles with €85 in surcharges for a longer route.

Economy/Business: Flights within Asia from 6,000/15,000 miles + €15

Asia covers huge distances, and several SkyTeam airlines (Korean Air, Vietnam Airlines, China Airlines, China Eastern, Xiamen Air, and Garuda Indonesia) offer surprisingly attractive routes. The cheapest options start at 6,000 miles in economy class with around €15 in surcharges including checked baggage.

Longer routes are also excellent value. Examples include:

• 13,500 miles + €15 for Saigon–Seoul in economy
• 17,000 miles + €52 for Seoul–Bali
• Business class surcharges are often only €15 more than economy

Checked baggage is always included.

Economy Class: SAS flights in Europe from 5,000 miles + €35

Another sweet spot is short European routes with SAS. One-way flights start at 5,000 miles + €35 in taxes and fees, including 23 kg checked baggage. Prices rise with distance. Zurich–Copenhagen costs 5,300 miles; Zurich–Stockholm, 8,300 miles. Still cheaper than Air France/KLM flights, which start at 10,000 miles.

Business Class: Asia to Oceania from 35,500 miles + €85

Flying Blue also offers relatively cheap business class flights from Asia to Oceania. For example: Jakarta–Sydney costs 35,500 miles + €85. Not bad for a 7-hour flight.

Other SkyTeam partners also offer good value. For example: Taipei–Brisbane–Auckland with China Airlines for 57,500 miles + €85. About 12 hours of lie-flat business class time after subtracting the short Brisbane layover.

How to Find Availability

Finding Air France and KLM availability is not difficult, unless you want low prices. For that, the “best price search” on the Air France/KLM website is recommended: search for an award flight with flexible dates, and you’ll see a month-long calendar with the cheapest dates highlighted in green.

This also works for partner airlines, though partner awards are not always cheaper than Air France/KLM flights. For systematic searches, tools such as Seats.aero are very helpful, letting you filter by airline and route (with the Pro plan offering 12 months of availability instead of 60 days). While it often shows availability from partner programs like SkyMiles, Virgin Flying Club, or Etihad Guest, these usually match what Flying Blue also offers.

How to Earn Flying Blue Miles

Apart from flying, Revolut’s RevPoints offer another option, especially if you don’t have enough Flying Blue miles.

Conclusion

Despite ongoing devaluations and dynamic pricing, Flying Blue still has several worthwhile sweet spots. However, these increasingly concentrate on partner airline redemptions. It’s nice to see that there are also valuable economy options, since not everyone has hundreds of thousands of miles to spare.

Cover Picture: Ditmar Lange