I am flying CDG to HKG with KL in J next week, and the price is 300 euros higher than CX, but I selected AFKL nevertheless. Obviously next time the choice will be different, especially since being Lifetime Plat I don't need to fly to keep the status.
The nonstop CDG-HKG is priced at 2750 (less than 3000 all included) on CX 747 with a flat bed with full privacy, huge screen with 100 movies, attentive service. Why fly AF lie-flat?
As mentioned above, BMI usually matches FB Plat with DC Gold and FB gold with DC Silver. It is fairly easy to earn OW sapphire status on BA. Saphire gives access to business lounges of all OW airlines and can be regarded as equivalent to FB Gold/Plat. Saphire carries different names according to the airline. With CX (asiamiles) it is Gold, with BA it is silver, but dont be mislead BA silver is broadly comparable in terms of benefits to FB gold/plat (with some pluses and some minuses). BA gold is "above" Plat as it gives access to F lounges of all airlines (i.e. JAL F lounge in Tokyo, QF in Sydney/Melbourne, or CX in HKG are great). If you are NOT a UK resident, you get silver status on BA for 400 status miles (800 for gold). If you fly business class on CX CDG-HKG-DPS (Bali), you earn 4x120=480 status miles for a cost of 3011€ all included. Not bad. Only constraint is to fly 4 qualiflying segments on BA per year.
The nonstop CDG-HKG is priced at 2750 (less than 3000 all included) on CX 747 with a flat bed with full privacy, huge screen with 100 movies, attentive service. Why fly AF lie-flat?
In fact I fly KL, as AF was even far more expensive thanKL (and CX obviously).
Why not fly CX ? Call this "mile-addiction" and "fidelity without thinking".
But AFKL has decided to cure me ! Would I have known about the reduced earnings in the Eco fares before booking this J flight, I would have selected CX. And this is certainly what I will do from now on!
Well since I left BEY I haven't credited any new miles to FB. So that says it all really, it was a good place for my MEA flights, and through flying enough AF and AZ (still hurts!) got myself to FB Platinum. Have burned most of the miles already, so just browsing what I can burn the last 100k on in the coming month or so.
Bye bye AF and thanks for helping me get the BD comp !
Fair point, Jouy, but we have to hit them where it hurts. I have been mildly peeved with FB for some time, but have valued their good points such as half-price OW awards in Europe, and the Promo Awards. Certainly, I use KLM because of their useful far reaching number of destinations in the UK. But there are alternatives. All you who have left, I can understand it. What we need are those hard core FB flyers out there to hit them where it hurts. Because if you do, they will eventually reconsider.
As opposed to KL, AF has discontinued its promo awards for numerous month. So ex-CDG flyers jave already lost that incentive.
As JOUY points out, the importance of FFP depends on travel patterns. I travel mostly long-haul and I take into account free tickets very seriously in my choice of airlines. If one can get a free longhaul J flight for every 4 longhaul J flight, it is a price discount of 20%. That enters the equation as much as ticket price and quality of the product. Frankly, the only advantage of the PE card is the front row of domestic leisure flights, as I allready have lounge acces on all my other flights in J or F. Having a free ticket in F, was a reward for all those paid flights spent in the not-so-good AF biz class. That is gone now.
Not leaving....."why not?" you all cry......here's why:
Pretty well all my mileage is UK-China, about 8 times a year, mix and match discounted J and discounted Y
The discounted Y fares offered by competitors are quite close on price but AF/KL discounted J is always cheaper, often by a large amount. So I checked all the alternatives, LH, BA, EK, CX etc etc....and in every case, whilst the miles earning/miles redeeming equation under new AF/KL rules was worse, it wasn't sufficiently worse to justify the extra cost each year of not flying them
I couldn't afford to hook up with, for example, BA and then find I need to travel at a time when their fare is Ģ2500+ and AF is doing Ģ1500. This is often the case
So unfortunately I won't earn as many miles in 2009 as I did in 2008. It will still be enough for Gold, maybe Plat at a push but there's no big difference anyway. Redemption rates are a pain but I would only go for the promo awards anyway which remain, even at higher rates, pretty good
I completely sympathise with those based in France, Netherlands etc who seem to have significantly less competitive discount J fares. If I was in the same posititon I would be looking elsewhere (probably status match with BMI). However, it's all down to ticket price differentials versus benefits and the reduction in FB benefits just isn't enough to justify moving to a fundamentally more expensive product
Personnally I used to favor AFKL in the past even if they were a bit more expensive for a selected route compare to other carriers in order to maintain my plat status and gather miles for free tickets that I used for vacation.
I flown on paid ticket AFKL 80% for my business on paid ticket by my company (SME where we have a bit of autonomy in our airline selection) and 20% on my own bucket for leasure.
In a way they are correct in the sens that with the economic situation and the travelling budget reduction travellers needs to shop arround to get the best deals. Thanks AF to remind me not to stay loyal and to save some cost you are all right time is at saving cost and not leisure.
Bottom lines:
- For my personnal ticket I will always look for the best deal and stop flying AF to gather a few extra miles
- For my business ticket I will us AFKL and others based on the best offer for the selected route.
- Will I leave FB : No yet as I am plat and can remain gold up to March 2010
- Will I fly AFKL : will depends on their price, I used to accept to pay more i won't anymore.
- Will I requalify to Plat this year: probably not At least I won't make any effort to do so.
Regardless of a Status Match or not, I for one am:
1. Sending a letter to FB;
2. Cancelling my FB American Express;
3. In the process of burning the rest of my 275K miles;
4. Have re-booked the one business trip I had for February on a *A carrier;
As soon as my partner and I have worked out and confirmed our Award travel, then I will formally cancel my FB membership.
All my travel will now be exclusively on *A (and future *A carriers = CO).
This is fairly the same decisions I will take. But I am not sending any letter to FB, what for? Have they sent any letter to me? No. This after 8 years of loyalty.
The other issue I will do in the meanwhile is to carefully study the FF programs of other airlines and by April/2009 I will make a decision on whether to join Star or OW and which airline. I will also send a letter to the selected airline for status match.
I can't believe that KL/AF haven't recognized the *A threat at BRU.
Brussels Airport has decided to lend *A a helping hand.
Starting March 1, they will be offering twice daily express bus services to and from Rotterdam, Utrecht and Breda. The schedule has been designed to fit in with longhaul arrivals and departures.
Brussels Airport has decided to lend *A a helping hand.
Starting March 1, they will be offering twice daily express bus services to and from Rotterdam, Utrecht and Breda. The schedule has been designed to fit in with longhaul arrivals and departures.
The monopolistic behavior of overpriced, out-of-touch Schiphol combined with the cynical cash-grab of the Dutch Tax Service towards originating traffic need to be put under increasing pressure.
*A seems to be an increasingly logical choice for many residents of the Netherlands
Programs: CSA OK+ Gold, BMI DC Gold, LH SEN, SAS EBS
Posts: 2,879
Quote:
Originally Posted by NightFly
Czech Airlines OK+ is for example giving 100% mileage even for KLMīs V-class. The question is for how long.
While OK+ is (so far) a great program they do not give 100% on KL V-class. On KLM you earn 200% in business class, 100% in economy class with exception for classes V & N which earn 25%.
On Air France you earn 300% in first, 200% in buiness, 100% in economy except L & N which earn 25%.
![changes on 4/1/09: Who is leaving and when [merged]](/forum/iconimages/flying-blue-air-france-klm/changes-4-1-09-who-leaving-when-merged_ltr.gif)
Great move!
