Now here's something positive for all you whinging poor creatures to cheer you up

About a month ago, KLM seem to have introduced a new fare concept for European flights from UK. (Maybe this applies also to flights from outside UK.)

As far as I can see (I have not checked it systematically, I have to concede),
they have greatly improved the concept of semi-flexible Y fares (= "flexible Take Off" fare).

a) These Y fares are more flexible in the sense that they allow for circle trips and double open jaws (as long as you start and end in UK), which saves me quite some money;

b) changing date and time incurs a fee of only EUR 50 instead of EUR 75;

c) the semi-flexible fare band usually starts with the second lowest price available (unless there is a special promotion, in which case it is the third lowest price), so it's rather cheap, which saves me quite some money when I need this flexibility;

d) the semi-flexible fare band normally starts with the lowest fare that gives 100% miles, which implies that the old problem about booking the cheapest 100% fares has finally been solved;

e) the price differences between the cheapest Y fares and the semi-flexible fare band are such that, when taking into account the extra 75% miles, I have not come across a single case where flying the cheapest fare actually is cheaper than the semi-flexible fare. (This holds for someone like me, who values miles at GBP 0.01 per mile and who is a Plat customer.)

As a consequence of e), I now get the benefits of a), b), c), d) for free. Whenever I fly KLM.

What shall I say:

[For the sake of integrity, I would like to reiterate that I have not systematically checked all European fares from UK. This comment is based only on my personal experience in the past weeks and on my necessarily biased experiences with former fare systems in recent years. So please feel free to correct me where I'm wrong.]