These changes basically indicate that AF has decided to fully pursue the BA model: i.e. go for the premium passengers and forget about the rest. We will see how this works out for them in the next few years. Bearing in mind (1) whether this strategy has worked for BA is highly debatable; (2) whichever way you look at it, Paris is NOT London when it comes to sheer volumes of business O-D traffic (which is essentially what is being targeted); etc.
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PNC aux portes; armement des toboggans; vérification de la porte opposée.
To add insult to injury - am I right in assuming that we now have to pay 15% more miles for an award ticket to access the bucket which was until now reserved for elites as an unpublished - and free - benefit?
Programs: BA Gold, BD Gold, VS Silver, AF/KL Plat, HH Gold, Marriott Gold, SPG Gold
Posts: 370
Well I shall definitely be writing an angry email/letter to FB this weekend. This is absolutely shocking devaluation of the programme. This is definitely making me evaluate dropping AFKL altogether, I'm sure OW or *A would gladly take the 60-70 flights I put towards ST last year. I like the idea of being Top Tier with every alliance, but there seems to be less and less point in having any status with ST!
And to think that my company (a large multinational Pharmaceutical - i.e. a large part of AF's revenue) recently issued a new Travel Policy.
Myself and a few colleagues had found a few loopholes to allow us to continue chasing status with AF - after all, only two years to go until Life, I thought.
Now, economic crisis or no economic crisis, AF se f****e de nos geules and is telling us that our efforts to try and fly with them (instead of generally cheaper competitors) are not appreciated at all.
Basically they are saying not to bother trying to fly with them!
Er is een duidelijker verband tussen het aantal te sparen Miles, het tickettarief en de ticketvoorwaarden. Zo wordt het Flying Blue-aanbod eerlijker.
• Bijvoorbeeld: een full fare Economy Class ticket biedt zeer flexibele reisvoorwaarden (wijzigen van het ticket toegestaan). Daar staat het verdienen van het volle aantal Award Miles tegenover, dus 100 procent van de afgelegde afstand.
• Bij een Economy Class ticket, geboekt tegen een lager tarief en minder flexibelere ticketvoorwaarden (zoals een toeslag voor het wijzigen van het ticket), kunnen deelnemers tussen de 25 en 75 procent van de afgelegde afstand aan Award Miles sparen.
Actually following this logic to its extreme, FB mileage should be earned when paying penalties to change cheaper economy tickets. Otherwise, it is not FAIR.
These changes basically indicate that AF has decided to fully pursue the BA model: i.e. go for the premium passengers and forget about the rest. We will see how this works out for them in the next few years. Bearing in mind (1) whether this strategy has worked for BA is highly debatable; (2) whichever way you look at it, Paris is NOT London when it comes to sheer volumes of business O-D traffic (which is essentially what is being targeted); etc.
Of course, BA actually has a premium class strategy where with AFKL it is simply an afterthought that is economized into ridiculousness.
Even if you book now (i.e. before the April 1 changes are said to take effect), the miles requirement for Europe-Asia awards in C have increased from 60K miles O/W to 80K miles O/W for travel booked for October 25 and onwards. So it seems that AFKL is not waiting for April changes to raise the miles requirement on new award bookings.
When is AF-KL also going to a 3-tier pricing award chart implementation (3 price levels for coach seats and 3 price levels for business seats on every given sector) like DL-NW has in play?
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This game is not as much fun as it used to be: 2008/2009 Frequent Flyer Program Fleecing Award goes to Delta Airlines
Well, F+/FB has never really been very customer-friendly, though F+ (and FB at the very beginning, perhaps) had a few nice enough features.
Changes such as these were feared (and expected, given some of the changes in FF programs of other large carriers), but what is really pitiful is their feeble attempt to "sell" the new program restrictions as enhancements ... the one that makes me laugh the most is the "Primes Spéciales Elite", where you can spend 115% of your miles for the same exact thing as you got before at 100%. The extra legroom "garantie gratuite" for elites is another beauty ... they do seem to take their customers for fools.
If they were truly clever, I would hope to see some mileage promos in the future, along the lines of Y fares below K earning 100% miles on long haul flights between such and such dates .... they are going to be needing to fill up seats.
Programs: FB Gold, DC Gold, Hyatt GP Plat, HH Blue, SPG
Posts: 67
Funny enough, when booking a flight after April 1, the online booking system still gives you the old mileages. I wonder whether if booked now, they will change it when you actually fly.....
Well, as a former FB elite having been a member of FD almost since inception, and one who flew only for pleasure!, I havent been on a KLM/AF or even Skyteam Plane since January 2008.
As almost all my travel since has been in Europe I have flown with that awful flying bus, Ryanair : Admittedly not 1 of my tickets has been over £10 roundtrip (taxes included).
I havent actually missed KLM at all really, and see no point in even continuing my membership of FB.
Hope these changes are good for AF-KL, but I do wonder !
__________________ Lying Poo - Generous By Accident™.
*a QF here and an IB there, here a AA, there a BA, everywhere a effing o...w..?
Programs: BMI DC gold, flying blue platinum, priority club platinum, nectar purple :)
Posts: 168
I'm gutted. I have just two more years to reach Plat for life, having spent the last two years taking inconvenient flights to keep up my points earning as most of my projects have been in Europe.
Who is the best carrier to approach for a status match ?
Wow.. FB is really getting from bad to worst, I thought that they started realizing that we customers were valuable income for them.. but it seems i am totally wrong.
By having these separate earnings in economy is really one of the last straw.. though it could be difficult for me when travel is allowed again from my company since they only book us on KLM.. or AF (big fat commission) they maybe getting.
But I will seriously think of moving over to either *A or OW if they don't change. They do offer much better product and recognition compared to the FB prog. Luckily I can use this year to choose.. since I am at the highest status with all 3 alliance.. though changing from the Amex FB to another could be difficult.. if I am lucky might even change that to the Visa card from LH which is more acceptable in Europe compared to Amex.
I will surely drop my protest to the management.. am wondering who decided all this.. especially in such economic times.. they must love playing with fire
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