On November 6, Flying Blue announced anin-depth reformof its loyalty program. You couldfind on our site the details of this reform and the new functioning of the program.
Although the new rulestie mileage earning directly to the amount spenton each airline ticket, we still think this reform is fair.
Not only is it fair, but it is economically viablefor the Air France KLM group, which remains a business and not a charity.
As with any change, there are winners, losers, and members for whom it doesn’t change much. Overview.
I am Ultimate, I fy4 Flights per year in mini price on medium-haul
Many people are complaining about the new loyalty program rules on the forums, on avgeek groups. Some of them, travelling little, think they are losing money…
What is true, and I don’t think you’ll be surprised, is that an airline loyalty program rewards travelers who fly a lot. Just as a loyalty program in a supermarket rewards those who buy a lot, a hotel loyalty program rewards those who sleep a lot in the chain in question, etc.
We have to get away from the logic of saying “When I choose to fly, I fly Air France, so I’m entitled to benefits”. I refer you to Bertand’s excellent article on the subject: In any case, there is no way for an airline to check that a passenger is not flying on other airlines, and therefore it is strictly loyal to him.
And then there are the disgruntled ones who were already not very clear on how to earn their status by changing their mailing address so as not to be subject to the rules for French residents for example. These rules, in any case, disappear in the new Flying Blue program, finally!
Is Flying Blue Young coming to an end? Giving away 1,000 miles for a domestic segment paid €39 makes no economic sense, and does not really build loyalty among young people, for whom price is by far the most important criterion.
Mileage gain: Almost everyone loses!
The new system set up by Flying Blue for earning miles has the merit of being simple: a constant number of miles, directly multiple of the amount paid for the plane tickets.
This number of miles per euro spent varies depending on whether the customer is Ivory, Silver, Gold or Platinum.
Our friends at Flight-Report have proven it in the various articles they have devoted to this loyalty program: almost everyone loses out on earning miles.
A system that disadvantages our readers
For our readers on TravelGuys, i.e. those looking to travel at the best level of comfort and at the best price, thepain is huge: Passengers who will find very low fares in Premium, Business or First class will be strongly penalized. This is often the case for us.
On the other hand, people who book their tickets at the last minute, or passengers using Corporate fares, which are often very high, will earn a number of miles that is either close to, equal to, or greater than that earned today with the current system, which is actually a percentage of the distance traveled based on the reservation class.
What penalizes the gain, in reality, is that the basis of calculation is thepre-tax rate.
On shorter distances, the amount of taxes sometimes constitutes nearly 50% of the ticket price.The base is therefore often very low and even with a high multiplier when you are a Platinum, the gain in miles will sometimes be very low.
The gain of miles is catastrophic in economy, disastrous in business
First example on a Paris-Catania, sold 103,84€ round trip:
Of this amount, only 55 € constitutes the fare base:
Thus, the ticket will earn me 220 miles if I’m Ivory, 440 miles if I’m Platinum starting April 1.
Before April 1, it depends on the travel class:
And the Flying Blue simulator tells me that I will earn 203 miles one way, so 406 miles round trip if I am Ivory.
Almost double the new scale. Hard..
Second example, in Business this time, a Brussels-Dubai sold a little more than 1500 € round trip:
The amount before taxes is slightly above 1000 € at 1086 € :
Tomorrow, as a Platinum customer, this ticket will earn me 8688 miles.
Previously, these tickets peaked at 19,894 miles, as evidenced by my mileage record on this route last July:
The loss is therefore very significant for heavily discounted Business, First or Premium tickets, as these booking classes were previously very lucrative.
Status: The smart ones are doing well
In terms of status, the new loyalty program really rewards frequent travelers.
Those who spend a lot and travel little will no longer be rewarded. Currently, if one travels, even in economy class, on fairly high fares, it is possible to acquire status in very few trips, especially on long haul. From now on, the fare paid no longer counts towards acquiring status.
But who benefits from this? Well, those who buy discounted tickets, regardless of the booking class.
And, looking at the very favorable rates for front classes such as Business and First, those who have used advantageous fares via foreign stopovers and who therefore have additional flights compared to those departing from France,will have an easier status acquisition.
As far as domestic flights are concerned, no more constraints for French residents: all flights will be qualifying and will bring experience points. However, if you only fly domestically, the number of flights required to reach Platinum status is very high (in this case 150 if you do not have a season ticket and 75 if you have a France and Europe season ticket). But today, if you are a French resident, there is no real way to qualify apart from the number of miles accumulated.
Honestly, for those who travel in Europe and around the world, and using discounts and special offers, the program is quite advantageous. For French residents who only do domestic flights (excluding those who cheat on their main residence address), it’s about the same.
Conclusion: Beware the long road to Platinum status
Air France and KLM have really done some interesting work on this new loyalty program. Revenue Based allows them to control (and greatly reduce) the distribution of miles, and tie their debt to the revenue generated by customers. As far as statuses are concerned, it favors frequent travelers, regardless of the fare paid, and that’s ultimately what matters most to us TravelGuys. The program therefore remains attractive.
What we deplore, however, is that the acquisition of the status cannot be done at the Platinum level over the first twelve months: this is a scandal! No frequent flyer program on the market prevents this, whether it’s British Airways’ or Emirates’, both of which offer rolling 12-month qualification cycles.
We hope that Flying Blue will reconsider this measure and allow qualification to Platinum status from scratch for 300 XP as it allows for requalification for members who are already in Platinum status. It doesn’t make sense to ask for 580 XP (100 + 180 + 300) from an Ivory member at the beginning. This is discriminatory and prevents access to status!
Articles similaires
