FBplatinum

ON Delta flights, FB are AFTER SM Silver...
Your chance to get upgrade after ALL SM pax are very low...

Grouchy

Face it, AF-KLM is not offering or icc quit stingy with seats, (comp) upgrades and other benefits for their own FF's and as a consequence also for other FF's and doesn't have much to offer/bargaining power to begin with.
Comp upgrades on AF-KLM...eeeuh lol.
OPUP's on KLM operated flights: SM come after all FB FF (after FB Silver) and are treated as a ST(E)+ (as it should be imo).
The the icing on the cake for FB members in the past: OPUPs ex-AMS on a Delta operated flights. KLM agents following KLM protocol and upgrading FB gold members before Delta DM's. Luckily Delta has more control now in AMS.

FB Gold/silver members getting free EEC/C+ seats (closer to departure) on Delta. SM Gold/silver members still have to pay.
KLM blocks whole EC sections on certain planes for other FF's.
AF doesn't even offer EC/C+ on flights.

Yeah live isn't 'fair' for SM members on AF-KLM operated flights or FB members on Delta operated flights..they will come after the airlines own FF's, as it should be imo.
The NWA-KLM now that was a real JV.

Meneer Guggenheimer

I am working with an Delta Platinum colleague and we fly many sectors together. He is equal treated in status on KL flights and I am not equal on DL flights.

So hence the fact that I avoid Delta metal when I can and we actually fly more star alliance in the US as I have the feelling my gold status there is worth something. So in the end Delta just makes sure customers who notice just shop somewhere else. It is a free market.

BER Flyer

I don't get your point, sorry. Comp upgrades on delta for north american flights are an SKYMILES elite benefit, not an Skyteam benefit. So there should be no upgrades for FB members at all as you don't have Skymiles status. But ( very rarely indeed ) FB elite members get upgrades on DL flights after all Skymiles elites have been upgraded. There is no such benefit for Skymiles members when flying KL/AF within europe at all -so that is an ADVANTAGE for you! By your logic Skymiles members are AFTER ALL FB members - as there are no upgrades for them at all.
International: there are NO comp upgrades on DL when flying international, not even for their own 360° circle members. So you can't complain here either as nobody gets upgrades here.
Op-ups: EVERY airline upgrades their own elites on their own metal first, thats understandable ( and is handled that way by AF & KL too ). And these are "free" upgrades, there is no "priority" at all.
Within the TATL joint venture the "Skyteam" status priority is mostly ( yes, not always but in most cases ) enforced, so a FB Platinum is upgraded before an SM gold member.

FBplatinum

I have Platinum with both (FB & SM) in begin December (2017), now I reach diamond with SM.
I take a flight with AF in begin December (YUL-CDG-PVG), to reach diamond I ONLY give my SM account for this AF flight.
Because the flight is overbook, I have be upgrade (as SM platinum) BEFORE gold FB. This mean AF DID NOT give priority to FB members.
I have check with the PNC to be sure.
The same happen again in End december (on other flight).
The upgrade priority for FB are after all SM on Delta flight.
For SM on AF flight, the SM pax are NOT after all FB members , but "mix" with them. I can not say if SM platinum are after or equal (or even before) FB platinum, but one thing sure... SM Platinum are BEFORE FB gold and this is NOT the same for FB on Delta flight.
Also: as SM Platinum I can select (free) seat+ on AF and economy comfort on KLM on ALL flight. As FB platinum you CAN NOT select comfort+ (free) on ALL Delta flights (only on TATL flights).
To make it clear, SM are better on AF/KLM flights, than FB are on Delta flights.

rfrn

Yes Skymiles treats its members better but upgrades are hardly a way to prove this as AF/KL don't really offer any real upgrades at all. Op-ups extremely rarely sure but as FB Gold I've been upgraded once on an AF/KL flight and over 30 times on DL flights including on some east coast to california flights. Yes FB members are after SM members in priority but FB itself has no equivalent benefit to start with.

Marambio

Aerolíneas Argentinas treats FB Silver members as Sky Priority. SP doesn't show on the boarding pass but they will always put the priority yellow tag in my luggage (I never ask them to do so) and allow boarding with Business/Elite Plus members.

FB is listed below AR Plus on their system but they respect tiers, i.e. the upgrade order of preference would be AR Platino, Skyteam Elite Plus, AR Oro, Skyteam Elite. I have been moved up to domestic Business on a few occasions.

HalconBCN

That's a pretty cool benefit. I remember in 2015 flying Aerolineás domestically with three friends and all of us could use the SP checkin and fast track security using only my FB gold card, which was highly appreciated as we avoided some huge queues.

HalconBCN

Agreed. The fact that you can receive a complimentary, space-available upgrade on DL is a very valuable benefit. Of course it's pot luck whether you get it; depends on the route and the time of the day/year. I have been lucky several times with DL. I even got an upgrade last Oct on a fare class that was theoretically non-upgradable.

georgekelly

Thanks for sharing . . . . .

Marambio

Bumping this thread a bit -- I am flying Air Europa next month. Their website did not recognise my Skyteam Elite status, and since UX charges for advance seat selection, I contacted them through Facebook asking if there was any discount for Elite members. The very kind UX person told me advance seat selection is free for Elite members in standard seats (i.e., no first row, no emergency exit), and manually selected the seats I asked. Instants later I got a confirmation e-mail. A nice perk.

Mirk

Indeed and I managed to do so from the Air Europa mobile app if I remember correctly.
I also discovered that you can also get an exit row for free by asking at the check-in desk. At least in MAD, where after a little bit of thinking, I got my seat changed to an exit row for free as FB Plat.

Nico40

Not sure for Elite but for Elite plus what is advertised (and works well) is the following : any seat for free when booking until check-in opens (H-48), then theoretically for a fee.
However no lounge for domestic travel and they are really reluctant to honour the Skyteam same-day international flight if not all flights are on the same ticket. Mobile BP should feature the "VIP" mention for lounge access, if not that's easier to negociate with a paper one).
Also in my experience they will never upgrade anybody while there's availability at the back, even for a fee, but are happy to send Elite Plus at the front if the back is full, with a certain level of priority (while their own suma platinum members can enjoy unlimited upgrades on domestic and maybe also short-haul if I'm not mistaken).

HalconBCN

I discovered recently that I could get lounge access in MAD (Alcala lounge) when flying domestically becuase my BP had VIP written on it. The dragon must have assumed I was in transit and she did not ask to see any other BP. Not sure if this was a one-off stroke of luck, or maybe it's a glitch that can work in our favor 😉

Business class on UX is frankly awful and I cannot believe on my recent Mad-Bcn flight they asked for 250€ to sit in the one-row business class section where the meal usually consists of a packet of Lays crisps or an apple!

UX needs to up its game if it wants to woo the business traveler. On board the AVE train you are served a delicious hot meal and the connection is so much easier. Only reason to choose UX is price (sometimes cheaper in Y but always more expensive in C) or for a Skyteam connection. I will sacrifice the 2XP and take the train from now on.

canadavid

I just did it for my flights this weekend on UX.
As Elite+, I can get all seats for free (standard or XL - medium or longhaul).
As Elite, my wife can get standard seats for free and XL for a fee (40€ on longhaul - 16€ on mediumhaul)