Flying Blue starts to take away elite perks
Jul 31, 2019, 9:38 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: Flying Blue Platinum | Shangri La Jade |Hilton Gold | Marriott Gold | WY gold |
Posts: 106
Flying Blue starts to take away elite perks
When booking award tickets for family and friends the passengers used to travel with the FB level of the sponsor. Thus if a platinum member gives his son an award ticket, the son would enjoy, extra baggage, free seat choice, SKY PRIORITY etc.
NO MORE !
Without communicating to its members FB has removed this perk per 17 July 2019 and that works retrospectively.
So your beneficiary, unaware of the changes, will be in for a surprise at the airport. The extra suitcase has suddenly to be paid for, the reserved seat has gone, no SKY PRIORITY and denied access to the lounge.
Where AF/KL can of course take back any perk they give to their elite passengers, I fail to understand why this is not communicated in a timely manner and worse, why it also applies to tickets booked before 17 July, the holders of which having no idea which unpleasant surprises they will get flying KL/AF.
I have asked FB and in an email they confirmed the situation described above, but fortunately they do understand how disappointed this must be for us....
NO MORE !
Without communicating to its members FB has removed this perk per 17 July 2019 and that works retrospectively.
So your beneficiary, unaware of the changes, will be in for a surprise at the airport. The extra suitcase has suddenly to be paid for, the reserved seat has gone, no SKY PRIORITY and denied access to the lounge.
Where AF/KL can of course take back any perk they give to their elite passengers, I fail to understand why this is not communicated in a timely manner and worse, why it also applies to tickets booked before 17 July, the holders of which having no idea which unpleasant surprises they will get flying KL/AF.
I have asked FB and in an email they confirmed the situation described above, but fortunately they do understand how disappointed this must be for us....
Jul 31, 2019, 9:42 am
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Netherlands
Programs: KL Platinum; A3 Gold
Posts: 28,729
(Good to know that FB has perfected timetravel, and has gone back to remove free baggage and lounge access from passengers in the past. I look forward to a range of timetravel options in the next PromoAwards list!
)
Jul 31, 2019, 9:58 am
#3
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: AMS
Programs: FB Platinum, Hilton Gold, Hotels.com Silver,
Posts: 55
When booking award tickets for family and friends the passengers used to travel with the FB level of the sponsor. Thus if a platinum member gives his son an award ticket, the son would enjoy, extra baggage, free seat choice, SKY PRIORITY etc.
NO MORE !
Without communicating to its members FB has removed this perk per 17 July 2019 and that works retrospectively.
So your beneficiary, unaware of the changes, will be in for a surprise at the airport. The extra suitcase has suddenly to be paid for, the reserved seat has gone, no SKY PRIORITY and denied access to the lounge.
Where AF/KL can of course take back any perk they give to their elite passengers, I fail to understand why this is not communicated in a timely manner and worse, why it also applies to tickets booked before 17 July, the holders of which having no idea which unpleasant surprises they will get flying KL/AF.
I have asked FB and in an email, they confirmed the situation described above, but fortunately they do understand how disappointed this must be for us....
NO MORE !
Without communicating to its members FB has removed this perk per 17 July 2019 and that works retrospectively.
So your beneficiary, unaware of the changes, will be in for a surprise at the airport. The extra suitcase has suddenly to be paid for, the reserved seat has gone, no SKY PRIORITY and denied access to the lounge.
Where AF/KL can of course take back any perk they give to their elite passengers, I fail to understand why this is not communicated in a timely manner and worse, why it also applies to tickets booked before 17 July, the holders of which having no idea which unpleasant surprises they will get flying KL/AF.
I have asked FB and in an email, they confirmed the situation described above, but fortunately they do understand how disappointed this must be for us....
Jul 31, 2019, 11:22 am
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Montreux CH
Programs: FB Platinum, M&M FTL, BA Blue
Posts: 11,621
I didn't know any of this. So the person I booked award tickets for on 5th August (booked a month ago, does it depend when the ticket was booked?) could enjoy my elite benefits, such as lounge access? I would never have expected that.
Jul 31, 2019, 2:09 pm
#6
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: San Francisco, CA
Programs: Flying Blue Platinum, JetBlue Mosaic, Hyatt Globalist, Alaska MVP Gold.
Posts: 1,962
Very unfortunate to hear KLM will be using its time machine to take these benefits away and alter my cherished memories. Truly, their devaluation of Flying Blue knows no bounds — especially space and time...
Aug 1, 2019, 2:30 am
#8
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: DUS, BRU, POA
Programs: Skyteam E+ (FB PfL), Latam Black, LH MM, Iberia plus, HH: Diamond, Marriott Bonvoy: Plat
Posts: 1,124
To be honest, I always thought this was an IT glitch rather than an official perk. As others correctly stated, this benefit had never been officially published.
Aug 1, 2019, 2:40 am
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: Flying Blue Platinum | Shangri La Jade |Hilton Gold | Marriott Gold | WY gold |
Posts: 106
The relevance of your remark about time-travel is not immediate clear to me.
Aug 1, 2019, 2:44 am
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: Flying Blue Platinum | Shangri La Jade |Hilton Gold | Marriott Gold | WY gold |
Posts: 106
Could you share that email from KLM? I have just booked a ticket for my mother to fly with me to Portugal, ad on her booking she has my level, I was able to pick her seat (our tickets are on separate PNRs as I join her in Amsterdam, so want to make sure what to tell her to expect and what not to.
Aug 1, 2019, 3:33 am
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Netherlands
Programs: KL Platinum; A3 Gold
Posts: 28,729
I wasn't aware that Cygnific were now answering the phones for Flying Blue in the Netherlands in addition to handling reservations and queries for AFKL and DL revenue tickets.
You can't say that "it was sanctioned at the highest level within the company" - by your own admission, you were talking to a third-party agent.
This has long been viewed as a "quirk" rather than a perk, and is one I expected would eventually be fixed.
Can I ask you this: Does a Flying Blue reward ticket in economy still come with 1 free 23kg baggage allowance?
Last edited by irishguy28; Aug 1, 2019 at 7:31 am
Aug 1, 2019, 9:24 am
#14
Moderator: Flying Blue (Air France & KLM)
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Rotterdam, NL
Programs: Flying Blue (AF/KL)
Posts: 4,711
I think for most elite members who booked award tickets from their account, this perk was well known and used - even though this was not officially published to the members.
Pity it is gone though.
Pity it is gone though.
Aug 1, 2019, 10:48 am
#15
Join Date: Apr 2017
Programs: Flying Blue Silver
Posts: 123
I don't understand the malice the TO is facing at all - including the irrelevant time travel comments. It was clear that TO meant that even for award tickets booked before the deadline (17th July) but flying after the deadline the inofficial perks are removed.
While it was never communicated or advertised, it was still a nice perk / glitch, so it is a pity that is removed now.
While it was never communicated or advertised, it was still a nice perk / glitch, so it is a pity that is removed now.