Flying Blue (Air France, KLM, and Other Partners) - Flying Blue & "Partner" Airlines a Joke?!

Tell me I'm just too new to know how to make this work?

Wife and I are about to loose ~100,000 miles on FB after relocating back to the USA, so thought we might as well book a trip to use them up on Delta (a "partner" right?).

Was looking at Delta's site to find availability and number of miles needed but eventually realized I need to book through Flying Blue since that's where the miles are. KLM's site is showing no availability and is a pain to search so I called the service center. The lady explained to me that Delta only releases flights a few days in advance to them to book... so basically impossible to plan a trip in advance and use them.

Am I missing something or is the "partner" status really useless in my situation? We're in NYC area so seems I will need to use the miles on KLM or Airfrance directly if I want to actually get anywhere.

Thanks

I just did a quick search on airfrance.us for NYC-SFO and NYC-ORD in September and it's showing several dates. Some at low level and some at high level. As you stated yourself, don't use the Delta site as your miles are with Flying Blue. Just search using airfrance.us award engine as it is far superior to Delta's anyway.

I just did a quick search on airfrance.us for NYC-SFO and NYC-ORD in September and it's showing several dates. Some at low level and some at high level. As you stated yourself, don't use the Delta site as your miles are with Flying Blue. Just search using airfrance.us award engine as it is far superior to Delta's anyway.

Good point... I should have been more specific. I'm looking at NYC -> Caribbean or NYC -> Hawaii routes (or similar fun in the sun options) and VERY little is coming up despite availability on Delta's site if I had SkyTeam miles. So for certain routes, the inventory is very limited and difficult to search as I punch in different combinations of destination/dates trying to get lucky.

Is there another way to search it? Or perhaps just a call back to FB to say "Where can I go from here?"

The FB engine is rather bad at DL routing rules if you can't use non-stop flights. For instance, if you need to go via ATL to the Caribbean, look for the ATL-XXX bit first and then find NYC-ATL. Similarly for Hawaii. In terms of Hawaii, look at using Alaska instead of Delta. I think you'll have to call to do this, but anything you find at the supersaver level on alaskaair.com should be bookable with partner (i.e., FlyingBlue) miles. You could do EWR-SEA-Hawaii or EWR-SEA-(other west coast city)-Hawaii.

Since AF/KLM have better availability, especially for Flying Blue rather than SkyMiles members, why not use them for a nice trip to somewhere in Europe? Or think about using the miles for AF/KLM upgrades which should be more generous than SkyTeam upgrades on AF/KLM using DL miles. It would be better to take advantage of the fact that they are Flying Blue miles and try for something that you couldn't do, or couldn't do as easily, with DL miles.

Thanks folks. I ended up basically brute forcing it and trying tons of different combinations ans date ranges until finding one that worked ok. Ended up with a trip NYC -> Nassau Bahamas in Jan for 30k miles & $120 tax per person.

It really frustrates me that the airlines promote their "alliances" as being a really easy way to share rewards and book flights "within the network" but in practice the availability is limited and its mich more complicated than it seems.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

One final question. Anyone have experience using FB miles to get an upgrade on Delta when the ticket is award travel??? Now i'm really pushing my luck!

One final question. Anyone have experience using FB miles to get an upgrade on Delta when the ticket is award travel??? Now i'm really pushing my luck!

It's not possible to upgrade an award ticket. If there is availability in the upper class, you need to cancel the 1st ticket and book the new one. If you don't have enough miles, to do this at the same time, you need to wait to have the miles of the original ticket recredited on your account (it is usually very rapid but sometimes, it can take a few days).

Thanks folks. I ended up basically brute forcing it and trying tons of different combinations ans date ranges until finding one that worked ok. Ended up with a trip NYC -> Nassau Bahamas in Jan for 30k miles & $120 tax per person.

It really frustrates me that the airlines promote their "alliances" as being a really easy way to share rewards and book flights "within the network" but in practice the availability is limited and its mich more complicated than it seems.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

One final question. Anyone have experience using FB miles to get an upgrade on Delta when the ticket is award travel??? Now i'm really pushing my luck!
No, DL does not permit upgrades on award tickets, except for free upgrades of elites, IIRC not including FOs. If the ticket was an award using DL miles, you cannot combine these with FB miles, even after paying the $150 change fee (DM and PM are exempt), to get an upgraded award ticket.

I believe Delta's award availability for Flying Blue members is still pretty low..

I believe Delta's award availability for Flying Blue members is still pretty low..

DL's award inventory for the members of is own program is likewise pretty low. SkyMiles are the Zimbabwe Dollar of airline miles.

Have you tried with the FB engine some Aeromexico flights? I used some of my miles to go with my wife to CUN.

Just search using airfrance.us award engine as it is far superior to Delta's anyway.

Not really. Award itineraries on the Delta site let you hold the flights for 48 hours, giving you time to transfer the miles if you don't have enough, particularly from Amex rewards. AF is pot luck-- Last year I found the flights on AF I was looking for, only to have them disappear after I transferred my miles. Agents were helpless (or so they said) to do anything about this. A nice advantage using the Delta site!

Well, that's quite a nice feature, but not one that Flying Blue has. You must have the miles in your account before you can make the booking. There's always the danger, as you found out, that by the time you get those miles in your account, the seats you wanted are taken. Actually, the FB way is probably fairer - there is no chance of seats being "reserved" for 2 days and in the end not being used - and showing as unavailable to everyone else in the meantime.

Not really. Award itineraries on the Delta site let you hold the flights for 48 hours, giving you time to transfer the miles if you don't have enough, particularly from Amex rewards. AF is pot luck-- Last year I found the flights on AF I was looking for, only to have them disappear after I transferred my miles. Agents were helpless (or so they said) to do anything about this. A nice advantage using the Delta site!
That's all well and good if you can find awards on DL.dumb at reasonable mileage rates. The best way to find them is generally using the flexible date search that FB provides. Now if we could just get KE inventory to appear somewhere… (Really, anywhere would be exciting. I'd love it to be the FB engine and thought that the fare class changes might lead to it happening, but so far, it doesn't seem to be.)

Well, you may have to use more miles at DL, but the fees are 1/5 of those charged by AF for award tix. Another benefit of Skymiles over FB.

Well, you may have to use more miles at DL, but the fees are 1/5 of those charged by AF for award tix. Another benefit of Skymiles over FB.

Actually you can book AM with FB and they will charge low fees (around 90dls). For example NYC - CUN 30k miles + 90dls

Actually you can book AM with FB and they will charge low fees (around 90dls). For example NYC - CUN 30k miles + 90dls

Same itinerary with Skymiles is about $28 in fees. Only about $70 in fees for NY-Europe/return. For whatever reason, the fees are geometrically higher on Af awards compared to DL awards.

Same itinerary with Skymiles is about $28 in fees. Only about $70 in fees for NY-Europe/return. For whatever reason, the fees are geometrically higher on Af awards compared to DL awards.

I thought $90 was low, comparing what one pays with AF/KLM flight in europe.

The same story repeats, excessive fees for award ticked :(

Same itinerary with Skymiles is about $28 in fees. Only about $70 in fees for NY-Europe/return. For whatever reason, the fees are geometrically higher on Af awards compared to DL awards.

Really, my wife booked a Cancun flight for her sister with Skymiles and it ended up costed her around a $100 bucks in fees/taxes through AM. It would have been around $75 if the flights would have been with DL. Unless of course you do a one way to Cancun and and the fees are like $40 but as we all know a one-way on Delta costs you same mileage as a R/T.

Really, my wife booked a Cancun flight for her sister with Skymiles and it ended up costed her around a $100 bucks in fees/taxes through AM. It would have been around $75 if the flights would have been with DL. Unless of course you do a one way to Cancun and and the fees are like $40 but as we all know a one-way on Delta costs you same mileage as a R/T.
Yeah, the Mexican tourist taxes seem to hit on departures like UK APD.

menton1 seems to be missing that the reason the fees are higher on most FB awards than DL awards is that FB collects fuel surcharges on award tickets. DL does this for some partners, but it only hits AF/KL flights booked with SkyMiles ex-Europe/Middle East.

menton1 seems to be missing that the reason the fees are higher on most FB awards than DL awards is that FB collects fuel surcharges on award tickets. DL does this for some partners, but it only hits AF/KL flights booked with SkyMiles ex-Europe/Middle East.

No, I understand that completely. Just disagreeing that using FB miles is a better deal than using Skymiles. IMO, for this and the other reasons I mentioned above, it's not.

Been trying to book a flight to BKK via NRT from ATL for the past 2-3 weeks for September.

Searching partners provides more options but at many times ($300 vs. $50 one-way) the taxes and fees.

Delta.com award search is slow, painful, and buggy. Unable to actually book anything with a stopover, have to call in.

Low availability is scant. Very frustrating--I don't understand how people can put up with this and stay so loyal to SkyTeam, I've been trying to extricate myself and burn my miles before they (as previous poster said, are like Zimbabwe dollars) become worth even less than they are now.

There is no such thing as a SkyTeam award ticket. You can have FB awards or DL awards. They work quite differently when it comes to award tickets. If you're searching DL.com I am assuming that you are using SkyPesos, not FB miles.

DL is pretty bad when it comes to awards. If you want a more sexy routing (especially with open jaw or a stopover), it gets even more complicated. TPAC availability is scarce. If you want a stopover in NRT then it makes it difficult to use partners (you could fly DL TPAC and then a partner NRT-BKK). You are searching pretty late (it's August and you want to book for September). You have LOTS of things going against you here.

Suggestions:
1. Be flexible when it comes to dates.
2. Try using KVS instead of DL.dumb.
3. Consider various partners (KE, CZ, CI)
4. It might be easier to find TPAC availability from a West Coast city (and work your way there from ATL).
5. If you want a stopover in Tokyo you should consider HND as well (you might get better availability).

Delta.com award search is slow, painful, and buggy. Unable to actually book anything with a stopover, have to call in.



The first sentence is true. The second is not. Open jaws and stopovers can be booked with the multi-city feature on delta.com. Some partner carriers can be booked online but not USA-Asia TPAC carriers other than DL itself.