Flying Blue (Air France, KLM, and Other Partners) - unpublished benefits for Elites. special recognition?

ok ... so we all know about the published benefits for FB Elite members ...

is there anything AF/KLM does for your that goes beyond? do you feel special?
I am thinking of special recognition, welcome, flowers, birthday cards, help on transfer/delay. what makes you feel special and where do you see these hidden advantages in being a FB Elite member?

post your story here and tell me what's important to you. where coud FB improve.

None whatsoever as far as I am concerned.

do you feel special?


No in the least, not ever...


post your story here and tell me what's important to you. where coud FB improve.

They could/should improve everywhere. My personal 'gold medal' favourite would be upgrades. This could come in many forms: complimentary upgrade certificates, complimentary oupgrades to Tempo C from Y or Business from TC or Europe Select from Y for flights within Europe (but of course I care far more about long haul), more classes of reservation elites and elite plus can upgrade from as compared to the very limited 'normal' full fare for others, special upgrade promotions ('buy a return between Europe and XXX, YYY, or ZZZ between a/b/2009 and c/d/2009 and you will fly in l'Espace/WBC on your return leg), etc.

I would give silver medal to bonus miles for both level and award miles as opposed to only award miles would also be nice.

Bronze medal would be some sort of birthday and xmas presents which could be taylored to your value and flying habits (here a free ticket, there a free upgrade, elsewhere a special invite, etc)

Needless to say that all these solutions correspond to things that actually exist elsewhere...

ok ... so we all know about the published benefits for FB Elite members ...

is there anything AF/KLM does for your that goes beyond? do you feel special?
I am thinking of special recognition, welcome, flowers, birthday cards, help on transfer/delay. what makes you feel special and where do you see these hidden advantages in being a FB Elite member?

post your story here and tell me what's important to you. where coud FB improve.

Well, for unpublished benefits, miles for delay, the amount of which is based on the FFP status.

I also very much like the personalized transfer process at CDG. Yesterday, we landed on time coming back from FRA. Standard announcements were made, while we were taxiing, for connecting passengers, but no specific information about looking for AF agents. When we disembarked, I noticed that ALL destinations except for the one with a connection from our arriving terminal (2D) had an agent assigned to it, taking care not only of passengers flying in the premium cabins but also of coach passengers.

Overall, yes, I do feel special when flying AF, and definitely enjoy the smile, courtesy and graciousness displayed by the crew. :) Thank you, Air France.

(Someone is going to say it so it might was well be me).

Best unpublished Flying Blue elite benefit: diamond club status match.

Is the 'soft landing' published these days or is that an unpublished benefit?

Other unpublished (I think) benefits:
- Drink voucher at LCY (AF only)
- Shoe shine voucher at LCY (AF only)
- GUARANTEED window or aisle seat on the Fokker 50 and Dornier 328
- Miles & Cash® rewards - give us lots of miles and pay us lots of cash :D

Not sure if it matches exactly the post but Club 2000 members and their family surely enjoy many benefits :p

A friend's father is a top exec at a defense aerospace firm, logging litteraly hundreds of thousends of miles per year on AF.

When his kids & wife are flying on those miles, they are almost always treated like royalty and upgraded (long/short hauls) upon availability even without their father. You have to watch the panicky look of the gate agent when the special mention appears on their screen.

Plus they usually go on tailor made vacation packages with those miles, going to destinations that are not part of the FB partners (charter flights, holiday packages in luxury hotels, etc.).

- Good priority on op-ups, which results in a decent op-up rate from coach (my experience on this is mostly restricted to tatl flights -- and I often target those flights which have a better chance of op-up). This, however, works mostly only out of CDG;
- On La Navette, an almost guaranteed seat in the first row -- more legroom and quick exit from the plane;
- Systematic 10% miles "loan" when short for a reward;
- Although I've always found the ground staff to be very courteous even before they identify my status, once they do so they sometimes go the extra mile on some occasions. One of the most brilliant examples was related here (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/air-france-frequence-plus/822890-af-recent-upgrade-experience-2.html#post9723955).
- No particular gifts, special invitations etc -- but I don't care for any.

This being said, as far as staff courtesy and graciousness are concerned, I think the customer's attitude goes a much longer way than any Elite card. When you greet the agents with a warm hello and display a cooperative (rather than demanding) attitude, they rarely disappoint.

Nothing happened yet.
Upgrades to higher class is the most important for me.

When I Fly longhaul I always ask at the lougne to block an empty seat next to me if possible. In my last flights the seat where already block when I asked and remained free upon boarding while the plane were in most case very full.
Free seat when available in coach would be a great benefit for elite I don't know in my case if it was luck or if they are trying to put it in place but it was pretty consistent.

In domestic flight on AF I almost always get the bulckhead seats assigned by default. Once during checkin a girl made a lots of call to get one of those seat open for me.

Breakfast or drink coupon in BOD when flying out of Terminal A on regional jets

Well, for unpublished benefits, miles for delay, the amount of which is based on the FFP status.



never seen any (miles I mean, not delays ;) ).

Can't see any unpublished benis; never seen agents escorting me or others to tight connecting flights.

Some theatre tickets (in Paris)

never seen agents escorting me or others to tight connecting flights.


It happened to me several time in CDG, my inbound flight was delayed and a staff was waiting for me at the arrival for short transfer. One check in girl told me that Elite status helps to get those kind of service after I guess it all depends on the availability locally to assign someone to pick you up; probably easy when there is only a few delay, impossible in case of major delays on all flights

Well, for unpublished benefits, miles for delay, the amount of which is based on the FFP status.

Are you sure it is? I was often late without getting anything automatically. Once when I was two hours late from LCY, I got 2000 miles (I am platinum) and so did my partner (gold), but then when my father and his partner arrived two hours late from ORY on a domestic flight the next week, they got 2000 miles as well (they are both ivory). So it is unclear to me if there is a status-based calculation (and if so, what it is) or if these things are just, as often, depending on who deals with your case either individually or as a group. I do agree the smiles are great, but again, they do not seem to me to be elite conditional - nor should they be in my humble opinion - smiles and courtesy have corresponded to a clear improvement (I know some people will be appalled by my comments and answer that they totally disagree! ;) ) of the AF attitude in the early 1990s and should be (and are being) shared equally amongst all passengers I guess! Same with the personalised transfer - I love it when it works but I don't think it is different for elite and non-elite passengers or is it?

When I Fly longhaul I always ask at the lougne to block an empty seat next to me if possible. In my last flights the seat where already block when I asked and remained free upon boarding while the plane were in most case very full.
Free seat when available in coach would be a great benefit for elite I don't know in my case if it was luck or if they are trying to put it in place but it was pretty consistent.

In domestic flight on AF I almost always get the bulckhead seats assigned by default. Once during checkin a girl made a lots of call to get one of those seat open for me.

Breakfast or drink coupon in BOD when flying out of Terminal A on regional jets

I definitely agree with this one. Yesterday I was lucky to get a whole row (DEF) on a fokker-100 and 737-300 for myself. The fokker-100 flight wasn't so full so not much surprise and probably more luck. However the 737-300 I asked to have my seats changed to one further up when I arrived in the lounge in AMS and they moved me 6 rows up. I didn't think more of it and could see that the plane was packed. However it seems they may have moved people for me. There were only 3 seats free in economy that I could see. My old seat (12C) and my new seat/row (6DEF). BA are quite good at blocking seats but this experience from KLM was great ^

Other benefits I value are of course actual upgrades, but unlike most here I realise that the fact that european carriers don't upgrade like us carriers is also the reason they're not going bankrupt like the us carriers! It's nice when it happens but I don't demand this benefit.

It would be nice however if they offered elites (perhaps only platinum or platinum and gold) access to the business class drinks for example. So rather than the red wine from Y u could get the one from C. Or you could actually get some water with a slice of lemon (BA give this in short haul Y anyway).

Also a better working priority boarding would be great. I never feel it works very well currently and often end up staying later in the lounge instead since I don't feel my status allows me any benefit at the gate anyway.

Are you sure it is? I was often late without getting anything automatically. Once when I was two hours late from LCY, I got 2000 miles (I am platinum) and so did my partner (gold), but then when my father and his partner arrived two hours late from ORY on a domestic flight the next week, they got 2000 miles as well (they are both ivory). So it is unclear to me if there is a status-based calculation (and if so, what it is) or if these things are just, as often, depending on who deals with your case either individually or as a group. I do agree the smiles are great, but again, they do not seem to me to be elite conditional - nor should they be in my humble opinion - smiles and courtesy have corresponded to a clear improvement (I know some people will be appalled by my comments and answer that they totally disagree! ;) ) of the AF attitude in the early 1990s and should be (and are being) shared equally amongst all passengers I guess! Same with the personalised transfer - I love it when it works but I don't think it is different for elite and non-elite passengers or is it?

Well, I wasn't the only one to experience it. ;)
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/air-france-frequence-plus/844414-wow-air-france-chapeau.html

well we'll see, 2 hrs late today

also no luggage. AF says it's still in CDG and they didn't have a chance to send it to MLH yet :mad:
I should get it tomorrow. Well, let's spend some money on behalf of AF tomorrow ;)

Never EVER had an upgrade
Never had anything "complimentary" (outside something from the lounge or a newspaper!)
Have been refused entry to a Lounge as an FB Gold
Have been refused a meal flying in TC (not enough to go round)
Do not feel valued as an elite passenger

I personally see nothing of added value in being a Platinum Elite member (it's also difficult to redeem the miles that I've worked so hard to earn!).

Pretty abysmal really, considering that me getting to Plat cost somewhere in the region of 60k€.

And what would I like to see? Well, guaranteeing any of the above, that's to say adding a bit of value, would be a start!

Cheers

Sim

Never EVER had an upgrade
Never had anything "complimentary" (outside something from the lounge or a newspaper!)
Have been refused entry to a Lounge as an FB Gold
Have been refused a meal flying in TC (not enough to go round)
Do not feel valued as an elite passenger

I personally see nothing of added value in being a Platinum Elite member (it's also difficult to redeem the miles that I've worked so hard to earn!).

Pretty abysmal really, considering that me getting to Plat cost somewhere in the region of 60k€.

And what would I like to see? Well, guaranteeing any of the above, that's to say adding a bit of value, would be a start!

Cheers

Sim

wow, EUR60K to get to Platinum, where were you flying? My cheapest Platinum-achieving year was about EUR 4K (7 x Y to Far East), most expensive was this year, about EUR 9K (5 x J to Far East). Having said that, GBP1/EUR1 influences the stats ;)

Back on thread....best is a reasonable chance of op-ups. When I travelled a fair bit long-haul Y I got op-upped about 20% of the time

nickyboy

How about the following:

- Award tickets for PE when no awards are available anymore on the website
- Infrequent opups (5 this year out of 80 flights, all Y to ES though)
- 'Flexible interpretation' of rules like when bringing two guests into the lounge
- Slightly better treatment in case of cancellation (for example: Sheraton at AMS instead of Ibis Hotel, for PE)
- Better chance of getting a reply to e-mail queries/complaints
- Bagage on belt last (if you have a priority label)
- And of course more on board passenger surveys to fill in and free pens...

It's always nice to feel special, and given the vast amount of money airlines demand from us, their customers, these days - we should be well looked after. The more we fly, the more we expect to be 'looked after' by the company we have chosen (and paid) to take us to our destination. Silvers expect a nod and a smile, gold a bit more, and 'the platina' (my plural of platinum) live in a constant state of disgruntlement because 'we don't get anything'.

But look at the alternatives - I've almost never flown with BA for the past 10 years despite many years of 'metallic' cards before that, because they run their entire system based on frequent flyer class. You can book full fare business, yet if you are a lowly blue (equivalent to ivory) you'll be treated with distain by many of their cabin staff (but to be fair, not the good ones). You'll be sat at the back of your cabin unless you can over-ride their booking engine. And at some airports, you'll be denied business-class lounge access, even though you're traveling in paid business class, because 'only frequent flyers are allowed access to this lounge'. That's an example of an airline which lets frequent flyer status over-ride booked (and paid) class - and it can be really, really irritating. So although the upside of frequent-flyer status is pleasing, the other side of the coin is very, very irritating.

Techno

So although the upside of frequent-flyer status is pleasing, the other side of the coin is very, very irritating.


I could not agree more. However, the startegy currently in place @ AF is also somewhat non-existing : after 9 full yers of PE (or formely F+ rouge) what did I get as special recognition ?
- 2 P seats to NRT on award one year (regular price) when only 1 A seat was available on the KVS tools
- nothing else.

Now the question : Do I really need a special, unpublished, treatment ? No. And Do I ask for it ? Not really ;)
What I expect from my FFP is to be reliable (100% of my mileage posted correctly for the last 5 years), usefull (dedicated desk, fast-track checks, lounge access without headaches to understand the rules, etc..), and easy to use when comes time to redeem some miles. On every of these points, I am 100 % satisfied with FB.
Now, to go back to the original question (re: top tier status) what can I expect from a crew that deal with something like 10 or 15 PE or C2000 at each TATL flight ? As long as the journey is conform to my expectation (food ok, IFE working, warm attitude from the FA) I am happy.

Now just a stupide one : if unpublished rules are applying to some lucky travelers, why don't they publish them ?

I am not unhappy with AF because I get preferred seating advantage on domestic flights. I am faithful to BA because they treat their Gold quite well, especially preferred seating assignement on ALL flights. What I would like on AF:
1) preferrential availability of awards on all flights in ALL classes including First (like they do in J and Y for TATL).
2) preferental seating in ALL classes and all flights (as BA). I understand that non-elite complain, but that means that it is a true benefit of being elite.
3) Big efforts on priority-tagged luggage. It basically does not work. I understand that there is a big problem at ADP (and probably all French airports), but that is a poor excuse. If AF made it a priority to solve that problem, it could be solved. Other airlines do it, even out of Paris.

I got the extra unpublished benefit last year; bottle of french wine delivered to my home address with the New Year greetings. I found that very nice and unexpected.

I've got a nice little KLM Desk Tidy on my desk that I actually use.
Then again I got this from Bluebiz.

Only thing I realy like and it's not part of being "Elite" is when a FA recognises me and will stop by again on the drinks run to see if I need "another" drink.
You can see the people round about wondering why I'm getting "special" treatment.

I'm sure if Johan was seated close by he would have me down as a friend of the crew. :D

I don't feel loved by AFKL... except in the "Vilkommen Dames an Herre..." script.

My wish list:

Less extortionate taxes on award travel
Better availability on award travel (F is a f'in joke - 220k miles now? For a ... product)
More recognition on board.. middle seat blocked maybe?
Some basic intelligence with regard to my profile.. why do I get a window when my profile says aisle? This is simple stuff..
KILLLLL KILL KILL the #&%"¤& TucTuc biscuits!
Better customer service at AMS.. less "it is not possible now peez off zir"
Real food in the KL Crowd Lounge
Control, or otherwise minimize the impact of nep-ups


All these are really simple to implement.. and would make a massive difference to the KL experience.

If they really want to be a market leading FF program.. some form of upgrade scheme would be greatly received. This could be vouchers, better MFU options or maybe even good old op-ups.. I don't care.. but maybe just once in 30 sectors it would be nice to be rescued from whY.

OttoMH

Now just a stupide one : if unpublished rules are applying to some lucky travelers, why don't they publish them ?

As you said, it applies to "some". Unpublished benefits are "benefits they're unable to enforce consistently enough so they can advertize it". Like blocking a courtesy seat.

AF luggage service just told me that one of my unpublished PE benis is: the delayed lugggage will be right away put on a taxi and delivered instead of aggregated and sent by van ... of course the 30hr delay is also part of the PE package :rolleyes:

AF luggage service just told me that one of my unpublished PE benis is: the delayed lugggage will be right away put on a taxi and delivered instead of aggregated and sent by van ... of course the 30hr delay is also part of the PE package :rolleyes:

Got the same experience last week...:td:
Benefits of Platinum status has meant absolutely nothing for me.. nothing.

Got the same experience last week...:td:
Benefits of Platinum status has meant absolutely nothing for me.. nothing.

just about to leave for some shopping ... they told me I could spend a bit ... will do ;)

wow, EUR60K to get to Platinum, where were you flying? My cheapest Platinum-achieving year was about EUR 4K (7 x Y to Far East), most expensive was this year, about EUR 9K (5 x J to Far East). Having said that, GBP1/EUR1 influences the stats ;)

Back on thread....best is a reasonable chance of op-ups. When I travelled a fair bit long-haul Y I got op-upped about 20% of the time

nickyboy

Sorry...this is a bit off thread but just to reply to nickyboy:

Every ticket I've taken this year has been full fare flex Y, short or medium haul. The price of each return has been in the region of 800€-1600€, usually and more often than not at the upper end of that. The only cheaper ones have been CDG-LHR-CDG and only a few of those. Applying the rough maths to that, 90 legs thus 45 returns (then not to include what I've done over that) you can see where the approx 60k€ comes from...:mad::mad::mad:

Joyeux Noël @ tous!

Sim.

My wish list:
[LIST]
Less extortionate taxes on award travel

Ahhh YES!

CDG-MUC-CDG in Feb with AF as an award ticket = a little over 260€ in taxes, plus a nice chunk of miles

CDG-MUC-CDG in feb with LH as a ticket purchase = 146€

Enough said!

Sim.

Ahhh YES!

CDG-MUC-CDG in Feb with AF as an award ticket = a little over 260€ in taxes, plus a nice chunk of miles

CDG-MUC-CDG in feb with LH as a ticket purchase = 146€

Enough said!

Sim.

And LH with miles would be ? (I don't have enough miles to check ...)

The price quoted by Simon78300 are not unusual for fully flexible fares. CDG-ATH (one of my usual routes) is usually around EUR 1,900 in Y, but, on the other hand, I have also had EUR 96 restricted fares, round trip, between CDG and FRA.

just about to leave for some shopping ... they told me I could spend a bit ... will do ;)


Plenty of opportunities to do some serious damage when it comes to shopping in Paris !! Have fun !

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Do I feel that my Plat status - and thus my loyalty - is rcognised and reflected in service level? The "written benefits", poor as they may be compared to some other FFPs, are always delivered. No complaints there, FB keeps its promise.



As for unwritten benefits: only once in many many years. When my seat neighbour on TXL-CDG got unruly and shouted some pretty bad insults at me (he was drunk), the FAs intervened and re-seated me. Verbatim: "we are really sorry this happens to you as one of our best customers". Upon arrival, I was ferried off with a short connex pax in a separate van to the terminal.



Other than that, I as a customer very often feel that on the ground staff are more preoccupied with not stretchin themselves too much, whilst on board special attention is given primarily to FAs' buddies.

I'm quite shocked by the number of people claiming to be 100% satisfied, that FB delivers and keeps its promise.

I don't need any unpublished benefits. I just expect the things in the book to actually work and be provided 100% of the time.

- Award booking engine that actually works
- Reasonable availability of awards
- Awards that represent a good value (see also: stupid F rates, laughable taxes)
- Competent and timely reply to inquiries
- Consistent publication and application of all benefits and rules, e.g., lounge access, bonus miles

That's all I ask. It's a sad state that I would be thrilled to experience, on a consistent basis, those five points above. And as soon as they sort it out (and lose the middle seat in ES), I'll be happy to try AFKL again.

Whatever low-level funcionary in Ivry who decided my intra-Europe business flights just don't get 200% miles this time a year ago was the last straw. 11 TATLs in business this year went to *A thanks to them.

And LH with miles would be ? (I don't have enough miles to check ...)


LH CDG-MUC-CDG Y award in Feb 2009

28,000 Miles + €103.67 taxes and fees or
38,000 Miles + €0.00 taxes and fees

AF CDG-MUC-CDG Y award in Feb 2009
20,000 Miles + €105.67 taxes and fees

So the amount of taxes on AF is EUR 106, not EUR 260 as quoted earlier ?

So the amount of taxes on AF is EUR 106, not EUR 260 as quoted earlier ?

For a trip in Feb (out Feb 6 - return Feb 9 to be precise) for my wife to fly out and accompany me for a long w/e in MUC the AF site quoted me 20,000 miles plus 260€ in taxes, for an economy ticket. 30,000 (taxes unknown, I did not look) if I chose Business.....

And I am assuming that the cheaper of the two is in "X", back of the bus Tempo Prole, not "Y", TC.

I'm quite shocked by the number of people claiming to be 100% satisfied, that FB delivers and keeps its promise.

I don't need any unpublished benefits. I just expect the things in the book to actually work and be provided 100% of the time.

- Award booking engine that actually works
- Reasonable availability of awards
- Awards that represent a good value (see also: stupid F rates, laughable taxes)
- Competent and timely reply to inquiries
- Consistent publication and application of all benefits and rules, e.g., lounge access, bonus miles

That's all I ask. It's a sad state that I would be thrilled to experience, on a consistent basis, those five points above. And as soon as they sort it out (and lose the middle seat in ES), I'll be happy to try AFKL again.

I definitely agree with you that the key to keeping me happy with FB is for them to be more consistent and sort out the basics. Higher award costs (taxes and miles), is definitely not the way! However the thread was about the unpublished benefits. These would definitely be a nice addition and I think they're a much needed recognition as especially Platinum members are generally feeling rather unloved with little distinction between Platinum and Gold.

my best unpublished benefit would be a free upgrade when places are available in a higher class. When I was with Northwest WP, I got this upgrade a number of times. Then when I moved to the Middle East, I was transferred to KLM Flying Dutchman, and the upgrades stopped.

And I am assuming that the cheaper of the two is in "X", back of the bus Tempo Prole, not "Y", TC.

This has been my experience. :(

Unpublished benefits I received:

I usually receive a small gift from AF at the end of the year: date book, chocolates etc... They sent me a metal luggage tag for my birthday last month (the same that AF employees usually use for their bags). It does not mention status but is probably more recognized by AF staff than the Platinum member luggage tags.

Another unpublished benefit: I was flying BCN-CDG in Tempo Challenge 3 months ago and the purser was actually quite nice to me on that flight, greeting me by name when I boarded for instance. She came 3 times during the flight to ask me if I needed another drink or anything else. The pax around me were talking about the special treatment they had just witnessed and wondering who I was. Eventhough I don't like the idea of being treated differently than other pax for I don't consider myself to be better or deserve better than them, I must say it actually felt nice to be treated that way...

Besides that, what I would like from AF is first of all to deliver what they advertise: priority luggage delivery for instance.

What would be a nice add-on: more frequent complimentary upgrades, feel that their staff really try and do their best to solve a problem whenever one occurs etc...

Unpublished benefits I received:

I usually receive a small gift from AF at the end of the year: date book, chocolates etc... They sent me a metal luggage tag for my birthday last month (the same that AF employees usually use for their bags). It does not mention status but is probably more recognized by AF staff than the Platinum member luggage tags.

Another unpublished benefit: I was flying BCN-CDG in Tempo Challenge 3 months ago and the purser was actually quite nice to me on that flight, greeting me by name when I boarded for instance. She came 3 times during the flight to ask me if I needed another drink or anything else. The pax around me were talking about the special treatment they had just witnessed and wondering who I was. Eventhough I don't like the idea of being treated differently than other pax for I don't consider myself to be better or deserve better than them, I must say it actually felt nice to be treated that way...



in 3/4 years as a Platinum, never received a present and never have been greeted by name.
Very likely I am a cheap plat. :(

Unpublished benefits I received:

I usually receive a small gift from AF at the end of the year: date book, chocolates etc... They sent me a metal luggage tag for my birthday last month (the same that AF employees usually use for their bags). It does not mention status but is probably more recognized by AF staff than the Platinum member luggage tags.

Another unpublished benefit: I was flying BCN-CDG in Tempo Challenge 3 months ago and the purser was actually quite nice to me on that flight, greeting me by name when I boarded for instance. She came 3 times during the flight to ask me if I needed another drink or anything else. The pax around me were talking about the special treatment they had just witnessed and wondering who I was. Eventhough I don't like the idea of being treated differently than other pax for I don't consider myself to be better or deserve better than them, I must say it actually felt nice to be treated that way...

Besides that, what I would like from AF is first of all to deliver what they advertise: priority luggage delivery for instance.

What would be a nice add-on: more frequent complimentary upgrades, feel that their staff really try and do their best to solve a problem whenever one occurs etc...

Those gifts must be rare. Never received one and never heard of any other plats getting one.

I also received at the beginning of 2008, a 10% discount Printemps (department stores in France) VIP card valid until december 2008. I get a 10% discount on every purchase made there during 2008.

Considering that I am a cheap FB Plat, I believe that I get these gifts solely because I'm based in Brazil (where the Printemps VIP card would be useless btw)

I'm Platinum for 3 years.
Unpublished benefits? What? Birthday presents? Wine, chocolates? Are you kidding? Maybe this is only for European elites. I've never gotten anything from AF.
Extra mileage for delayed flights? Huh? Never heard of it. Priority baggage? Sure I get the little yellow sticker, but they still lose my bags one flight in 5 and it still takes 24 hours to get them back.

The staff/crew is always very polite and pleasant (with the exception of one Napoleon-complex agent at the LAX desk). And once in coach, the purser came twice to see how I was doing. Well, I was doing lousy being in coach. Other than that it was just a worthless pleasantry, though not her fault.

I have been escorted to a connecting flight at CDG, but only when I was flying in Affaires. Tight connection traveling in coach? You're on your own baby!

Oh yes, I got one upgrade in two years and 12 AF flights. So, as I stated in another thread, I'm considering abandoning FB and trying for elite on DL. I believe that though US based FB's have lower mileage thresholds for elite status, most of these perks people have mentioned seem to fall to Europe based members.

in 3/4 years as a Platinum, never received a present and never have been greeted by name.
Very likely I am a cheap plat. :(

5 years plat, also never received any gift, birthday card, christmas wishes email...nothing

In probably 120 AF/KLM flights I have NEVER been greeted by name (not that I care about that at all).Conversely, flying CZ they ALWAYS do this, and give me a drink even though I always fly Y with them

nickyboy

Greeted once by name this year- on a CDG BOM - in Affaires - Thanked both me, and the person beside me for our loyalty to Air France. Both of us were platinum, and joked that neither had ever recieved the holy grail of a J to F upgrade.

DL are very good at saying hello to all passengers by name in J class.

Still waiting to see the difference between Platinum and Gold in Flying Blue.

One excellent perk for Plat would be to stay at the Sheraton if a connection was missed, rather than a hotel that felt like it was half way to Reims (via 2FG, D, B, Roissypole and terminal 1).

One excellent perk for Plat would be to stay at the Sheraton if a connection was missed, rather than a hotel that felt like it was half way to Reims (via 2FG, D, B, Roissypole and terminal 1).

This is true. I have tried to tell both AF and KL staff this when rebooking me. Last time the KL staff tried to tell me that the Holiday Inn they put me in was a luxury hotel, I looked puzzled at her and decided to not argue with her (obviously only comparing it to the Ibis they offered everyone else).

I have been Platinum for only 6 months, I have never felt anything different from booking until flying when comparing to while I was a Gold member. However, last month, I made a complaint to Customer Care in Bangkok through FB email about my seat (economy class, upper deck) from CDG-BKK, flight was full, could not be reseated. They gave me 10K miles saying they apologized for the inconvenience and how much they appreciated my Platinum status (said in the letter). The whole process took only one week from the date I sent a complaint to the date the mile was posted. ^

One time this year (would not say when), requested a mileage upgrade (successfully) but FB forgot to deduct miles. ^:cool:

Key words being 'last month' .AF (along with many other carriers) are doing some particuarly heavy brown nosing to retain as many frequent flyers as possible in these increasing tough economic times.But,...,is 10000 miles any big deal? I suggest no.First step-get those 1000s of f-king dogsbody AF staff,relatives,pals..... out of our OPUP seats.That is the obvious first no-brainer gesture.

About the only memorable unpublished benefit I must say is the op-up, which I have been pretty lucky with over all my years with AF FP Rouge, and the 1 or 2 years I was FB Plat. I just requalified for FB Gold in November '08, and had a nice surprise on New Year's Eve from CDG to JFK, when I was moved to seat 1L when the machine beeped loudly after they scanned my original boarding pass (seat 4A). I was on an FB Award ticket in J but because Y was quite oversold (and J and F were wide open) they started bumping Y to J, and J to P.

On a side note, those AF P seats on the 777-200ER are beginning to show their age, with dulled and chipped wood paneling, fraying seat cover, pen marks here and there....

This is true. I have tried to tell both AF and KL staff this when rebooking me. Last time the KL staff tried to tell me that the Holiday Inn they put me in was a luxury hotel, I looked puzzled at her and decided to not argue with her (obviously only comparing it to the Ibis they offered everyone else).

It's a hole.. it's half way to Belgium, the "full-board" is stale sandwiches and cupasoup-esque-beef-flavor-broth.

I used my 10EUR voucher at the bar in the airport to numb the pain.

(and that's the Holiday Inn!!)

When I inserted my PE card into a self-service check-in machine at CPH a short while ago, the following message appeared on the screen:

This type of card is currently not recognized

Maybe I should have tried with an Ivory card?

Johan

When I inserted my PE card into a self-service check-in machine at CPH a short while ago, the following message appeared on the screen:

This type of card is currently not recognized

Maybe I should have tried with an Ivory card?

Johan

Classic. Nice job KLM :D

When I inserted my PE card into a self-service check-in machine at CPH a short while ago, the following message appeared on the screen:

This type of card is currently not recognized


Perhaps it thought you wanted an upgrade.

When I inserted my PE card into a self-service check-in machine at CPH a short while ago, the following message appeared on the screen:

This type of card is currently not recognized

Maybe I should have tried with an Ivory card?

Johan

A little while ago, at LCY, I put my FB Platinum card in the AF check-in robot; after much ado about which of my booked flights I wanted to check-in for (I would have thought the one from the airport I was in on the day I was there would have been a good guess ... eventually, I needed to type in my e-ticket number), the robot produced a boarding card for me that proudly anounced that I was FB Gold! Why?

Still, these sort of things just add to the fun!:rolleyes:

And, as someone who works in the IT/Internet business, I can sympathize with/tolerate a certain level of operational errors on websites and computers - so long as the job gets done in the end!

-- Henry

A little while ago, at LCY, I put my FB Platinum card in the AF check-in robot; after much ado about which of my booked flights I wanted to check-in for (I would have thought the one from the airport I was in on the day I was there would have been a good guess ... eventually, I needed to type in my e-ticket number), the robot produced a boarding card for me that proudly anounced that I was FB Gold! Why?

Still, these sort of things just add to the fun!:rolleyes:

And, as someone who works in the IT/Internet business, I can sympathize with/tolerate a certain level of operational errors on websites and computers - so long as the job gets done in the end!

-- Henry

I have had in the past where a booking that was booked while I was at a lower level still contained that status level despite having a higher level at the time of the flight. It has to be a serious glitch in their system, since I have seen it with both KL and AF. I had them remove the FB number and put it back onto the booking and it worked. The reservation agents were really surprised and had at first told me it wouldn't work (I work in IT and I told them so to convince them to try). Still it shouldn't really happen as the bookings should always use the most current status, otherwise you could theoretically do the other way around as well, book a lot of flights as gold or platinum and then loose status yet still be displayed as gold/platinum in the system. Again I think AF/KL IT systems in general could use a loving hand.

Three years of Plat and nothing. Not a card, not a phone call, not a single recognition by name by any crew AF, KL or otherwise. Not one single OpUp long-haul. FB is simply a money-making tool that has nothing whatsoever to do with AFKL and that's how they like it I assume. Here is a short list of things they could do to give Plats a bigger incentive to continue flying AF:

1. Comped upgrades short-haul and long-haul based on a plateau. Perhaps 2 one-class s/h upgrades for making gold and then an additional 2 one-class s/h upgrades plus 1 one-class l/h upgrade for making Plat. Then an additional 2 one-class s/h upgrades and 1 one-class l/h upgrade for every 10,000 or 15,000 level miles over Plat. These upgrades are confirmable at time of ticketing from any published fare.

2. On short-haul flights, unlimited one class-upgrades for Plats travelling on Full Y and B (for AF) and S and X (for KL) fares. Upgrades being done at 72 hours prior to flight departure. Option to upgrade 1 companion on same flight at the airport day of departure.

3. When flying Y or TC, blocking the middle seat.

4. NW-style contests that award loyalty and encouraging others to fly AFKL.

I think the issue with AF is that they offer an Elite level, but they don't believe in elitist treatment of their best passengers. Never ever any special treatment for me. Which is commercially stupid, since I live in Germany - Lufthansa's heartland. Why does AF offer cheap connecting J fares from Germany, but does not spoil LH customers with non-financial goodies instead (like upgrades)? This would be much more effective, at least for me.

So when for me the choice is between AF that does not show any appreciation for my business and LH that runs its Elite programs (SEN, HON) really well - guess who I give my business?

2. On short-haul flights, unlimited one class-upgrades for Plats travelling on Full Y and B (for AF) and S and X (for KL) fares. Upgrades being done at 72 hours prior to flight departure. Option to upgrade 1 companion on same flight at the airport day of departure.

3. When flying Y or TC, blocking the middle seat.


TC with blocked middle seat for elites plus = business class (except for longer short hauls like IST, TLV...)

The Op-ups are getting more and more infrequent. (I'm still remembering the good time of Fréquence PLus Rouge).
I was also greeted by name several times in J and Y class on AF. Never occurred on KL. Usually, I find it very embarrassing to be greeted by name and to be thanked for my loyalty to AF, especially for the neighbourhood. I remember once, it was on a long haul flight, I was flying economic. The purser came to me, introduced her-self, greeted by name, thanked me because "I fly a lot with AF". She came to me every 30mins to check if everything was fine, if I needed something. I don't really know what was the feeling of the people near by me, but they were looking at me strangely...

One of the most surprising experience I got was in december 2008. My wife and I were flying CDG-SFO on a business award ticket. We were seated in the left row of the aircraft. I figured out that during the boarding, 2 AF GPs (AF employees) were op-uped in J (which is very common nowadays...). Grrrrr...
Around half an hour after take-off, the chief purser came to us:
"Hi Mrs and Mr Dauphine. welcome on the flight. We first would like to thank you for your loyalty to AF. You are a platinum member, we have high consideration to very good customer like. We also noticed that the left row seats have troubles with the IFE, so you won't be able to use it fully and comfortably. Would you mind to move the seats (where the 2 GPs were seated) on the right row?"
Innocently, I told her we could not fairly accept, we were very embarassed to switch our seats with them as they also have business tickets (even if I knew the truth...). She answered us that those people were GPs.
Finally we switched our seats.
We got one of my most pleasant flight. The crew was very professionnal, courtly, attentive, proposing every half our to refill glass, to propose some snacks...
Just before landing, we got a very friendly discussion with the chief purser.
A great experience.

No special recognition in my opinion: I asked for blocking a middle seat on an AF 77W, the - kind of expected - answer: That's not possible! Flying with my wife and both being Gold, this is just disappointing in my opinion.

On a side note, those AF P seats on the 777-200ER are beginning to show their age, with dulled and chipped wood paneling, fraying seat cover, pen marks here and there....

I agree. They look more like old furniture in a dentist's waiting room in the banlieu than a first class cabin IMO. On my last flight the table also kept releasing and flying in the air as well. Perfect for 'only elites' to splash out on 400K miles of "luxury".

On my last flight the table also kept releasing and flying in the air as well.Aaah, I too noticed that 2 years ago. Not fixed yet? Would love to hear some feedback from safety experts...

ok ... so we all know about the published benefits for FB Elite members ...

is there anything AF/KLM does for your that goes beyond? do you feel special?
I am thinking of special recognition, welcome, flowers, birthday cards, help on transfer/delay. what makes you feel special and where do you see these hidden advantages in being a FB Elite member?

post your story here and tell me what's important to you. where coud FB improve.

FDF-ORY-BOD 3 years ago. The FDF-ORY flight diverted to NTE due to fog in Paris. Aircraft was standing at the gate in NTE for unknown time but passengers were not allowed to deplane. Called the Elite line, asked of the possibility to deplane and to be rerouted on a NTE-BOD. Everything went fine in 15 minutes after captain's aggreement. Of course, no checked-in bag.