jerry_greece

Hi all,

Recently matched from *A Gold to Freccia Alata on Alitalia.

Is that recognized as full Skyteam Elite Plus? Meaning that if i fly on KLM I will receive the necessary services? (lounge, luggage, priority?).

It's a bit confusing with the matches between Freccia Alata and Elite members...

exs2

On short, yes.

jerry_greece

What is the long version?!

irishguy28

http://www.skyteam.com/en/Frequent-F...-Flyer-Status/

IAN-UK

SkyTeam Benefits:

...Preferred Seating Based on availability, SkyTeam representatives will make every effort to accommodate your seating preference. As a SkyTeam Elite or Elite Plus passenger, you can reserve one of a number of select seats at the time of booking.


I'm scratching my head over this one. You were kind enough to explain why I couldn't book comfort seats for free - but what exactly are the "select seats" I can book?

irishguy28

Just click through for the answer:

Based on availability, SkyTeam representatives will make every effort to accommodate your seating preference. As a SkyTeam Elite or Elite Plus passenger, you can reserve one of a number of select seats at the time of booking. (3)


(3) Air France offers this benefit from France to North America, South America, Asia, Africa, the Middle East (except Israel), the Caribbean and the area of the Indian Ocean and in Business Class on flights to Europe. CSA Czech Airlines only offers this benefit in Business Class. Korean Air offers this benefit to all Elite and Elite Plus members and their companions. Not applicable for group passengers.

IAN-UK

Thanks - didn't see the footnote So I guess not much comfort on KL flights: AF options are friendlier. And Korean ...

IAN-UK

Sorry to hog this thread, but I wonder if anyone has history/advice to offer on getting MilleMiglia status to stick with partners.

I'm a month or so into my adventure with Alitalia, and about to take my first KLM journey in over 10 years. Sadly the MM number fails to register anything with KLM, and the airline hasn't got the physical card to me although it has shown up bright and shiny online for the past few weeks

The nice lady at KLM has put all sorts of notes in my reservation to ensure bags are checked in free: she says I might even get fast-track if i use my smart-phone version of the card, but expressed doubt about getting into lounges. The lounge thing is no fuss, except on one of the four flights, which has a 5 hour connection.

AZ/MM customer care responded to my email with the suggestion I contact ..... AZ/MM customer care by phone.

irishguy28

I travelled on KLM this weekend for the first time as a newly-minted AZ Freccia Alata.

I had already put my FB number in the booking, months ago at the time of booking. You can change rhe number during check-in. I did not do so; these KLM flights do not earn in MM, so it was just as well to leave my FB number in there. And, crucially, I have my physical card.

I was able to gain admission to the Priority check in area at AMS by flashing the Gold; I presented a bag for checkin which was no problem. The check-in agent proceeded to overwrite the FFP number; she did not say she was doing so, but it was obvious. But I did not say anything.

I had printed my boarding pass at home, and she did not reprint, so my BP still showed me as a lowly Ivory but that did not seem to matter. The priority security channel opened up to me when I scanned my boarding pass, which frankly surprised me.

On the return, I checked in online. The system remembered my new, AZ number, and the resultant boarding pass showed no indication of status. At the airport, I lined up in the Sky Priority line, but the agent initially insisted I would have to pay for my bag. However, I insisted that, despite no indication of status on the boarding pass, that my card shows that I have Skyteam Elite Plus status (they handily print this logo in Gold on the front of the card). That did the trick.

I am hoping that, on my next trip, the system will automatically see my status within the system. But, for now, I suspect you will struggle to obtain your alliance benefits without the proof of such status in your possession.

The first of the flights showed up in my MM account yesterday as a 0 earning flight; I then did a retro-claim in FB, merely typing in the eTicket number; the miles and segments for both flights instantly posted to my FB account, which was very impressive.

IAN-UK

I've printed out my Freccia Alata card: that should make everything run like clockwork ...

IAN-UK

... well of course it didn't run like clockwork. Alitalia were totally unresponsive (email, facebook, telephone); but KLM came up trumps, making sure check-in and lounges were helpful.

Got to say I was very impressed by just about every aspect of the KLM service: the dark spot being the lecture from an uptight cabin crew member when I asked for two beers - NOT the airline's policy (he told me, loudly ): although he was willing to make an exception in this case, I should not make the request again.

irishguy28

It's written in the Holland Herald (or, at least it used to be!), that drinks are served, one at a time, to passengers occupying their allotted seats.

Edit: It's still there! Page 99 of the current issue

IAN-UK

I can see I'm going to have to consult the inflight reading in future, to get used to the quirks of new (to me) carriers !

Clearly i've been led astray by British Airways, where they're known pass on two miniatures without even being asked .

abaca12

Hello everyone, I checked around the forum and while I'm still not sure if this thread is the right place for my question, the topic discussed here is close enough that maybe you might be able to assist me. Here's my situation:

I have an upcoming trip AUH-Americas with the following itinerary:

outbound:
(1) AUH-AMS: KLM-coded, operated by EY, connecting same day to:
(2) AMS-XYZ: KLM-coded, KLM-operated;

inbound:
(3) XYZ-CDG: AF-coded, AF-operated, connecting same day to:
(4) CDG-AUH: AF-coded, operated by EY;

The ticket is KLM plated (074...) and I'm Freccia Alata (matched from EYG Gold). I have both the KLM and the EY PNRs and was able to select seats in all flights online on each carrier's website using the respective booking references. So my understanding of my AZ/STE+ benefits for this reservation is:

Miles credit with AZ Millemiglia:
Flight (1): 0
Flight (2): fare class*distance + 50% elite bonus / counts for club requalification (status miles = distance flown?);
Flight (3): fare class*distance + 50% elite bonus / counts for club requalification (status miles = distance flown?);
Flight (4): 0

Preferred seating:
Flight (1): No
Flight (2): No
Flight (3): No? (assuming France-Americas only and not vice-versa)
Flight (4): No

Lounge access:
AUH: no access;
AMS: Crown lounge;
XYZ: Partner/contract lounge;
CDG: Air France lounge;

That being said here are my questions:

(a) Is my assessment correct? Is there anything I'm misunderstanding regarding the benefits?
(b) Regarding miles credit, for flights (1) and (4) if I introduce my EYG number instead (at check-in), will any miles be credited to EYG? I believe it used to be the case until recently (as seen in this post), does anyone have any recent experiences?
(c) Can I access the Etihad Premium lounge in CDG with my EYG Gold card/EYG number in the CDG-AUH segment instead of the AF lounge?

Many thanks in advance!

NickB

This depends in which particular inventory class your flights are booked. You only earn 100% of the distance on the more expensive economy classes (Y, U, B, M). The majority of economy booking classes on AF/KL only earn 50% in MM and a small number of booking classes earn nothing at all. If booked in business, you would earn 150% mileage on KL and 200% mileage on AF. You would earn elite qualliying miles as the same rate. Status bonus comes on top of that (and is not elite qualifying).

As to EY-operated AF/KL-coded flights, on paper you should not earn. What happens in practice I do not know and will leave others who have direct experience to comment.