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Flying Blue so as to add free stopovers: Here is why this might make your miles much more beneficial

Flying Blue so as to add free stopovers: Here is why this might make your miles much more beneficial

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There’s large information from Flying Blue, the loyalty program for Air France and KLM. Flying Blue might be including free stopovers to award tickets on Air France and KLM steel within the coming days, as first reported by One Mile at a Time.

The information was introduced Monday in a webinar by Flying Blue’s Ben Lipsey, senior vice chairman of buyer loyalty. “Now, you are in a position cease over for no further cost for as much as a yr.”

Presently, suppose you might be reserving an itinerary from Los Angeles Worldwide Airport (LAX) to Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport (FCO) through Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS). In that case, Flying Blue’s layover guidelines mean you can keep for a most of 23 hours and 59 minutes in Amsterdam. If you wish to keep in Amsterdam for longer, it’s important to ebook two one-way tickets: LAX to AMS after which AMS to FCO.

The free stopover will mean you can keep in Amsterdam for as much as 12 months at no further price. Per the webinar, Flying Blue’s free stopover might be legitimate on flights connecting Air France to Air France, KLM to KLM, Air France to KLM and KLM to Air France steel.

For instance, for those who’re touring from Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) to Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) on Air France, passengers will be capable of cease for as much as 12 months in Singapore earlier than persevering with on KLM’s fifth-freedom flight from Singapore to Bali’s Ngurah Rai Worldwide Airport (DPS). In idea, this itinerary would price the identical variety of miles as touring immediately from Paris to Bali.

Likewise, you would fly from John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol on KLM, keep for just a few days, after which proceed to Prague Václav Havel Airport (PRG) for a similar worth as a ticket from New York to Prague.

Lipsey additionally stated that, as of now, the free stopover supply will solely apply to flights on Air France and KLM steel, so prospects who’re connecting from Delta to KLM, as an example, will be unable to benefit from the free stopover.

TPG’s favourite applications that presently enable stopovers are Air Canada Aeroplan, Alaska Airways Mileage Plan and Singapore Airways KrisFlyer. Every of those applications has a unique tackle stopovers. Aeroplan costs 5,000 miles per stopover, however you may add stopovers to associate tickets. In the meantime, Alaska permits you to add a stopover on associate tickets, however you can not combine companions and might solely cease over within the airline’s hub. Singapore solely permits stopovers by itself tickets.

Associated: The whole information to maximizing stopovers and open jaws on award tickets

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What free Flying Blue stopovers might imply for vacationers

Air France is launching a brand new business-class cabin. PHOTO BY ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY

Within the webinar, Lipsey confirmed that the free Flying Blue stopovers will enable prospects to remain for as much as 12 months on a stopover earlier than persevering with to their ultimate vacation spot.

Paris and Amsterdam are seemingly the 2 cities that can see probably the most stopovers, as virtually all of Air France’s and KLM’s flights originate or terminate of their hubs. Free stopovers will give vacationers one other metropolis to go to at no further miles or mean you can break up two lengthy flights with a 24-hour-plus hiatus.

When touring from San Francisco Worldwide Airport (SFO) to South Africa earlier this yr, a few days in Amsterdam or Paris would have been ultimate for breaking apart the 2 back-to-back 10-hour red-eyes and acclimating to the time zone.

With as much as 12 months to interrupt up layovers, vacationers might be strategic about how they need to ebook their connecting flights. For instance, college students learning overseas in Europe can ebook Amsterdam or Paris as a stopover metropolis and one other European metropolis as a ultimate vacation spot for a few weeks down the street. That is the right case for a weekend journey.

In fact, many questions stay. Will free stopovers be legitimate on one-way tickets? How about inter-Europe short-haul flights? Whereas we’ve not been given the small print but, we’ll be sure you maintain you posted once we study extra.

Associated: Doorways, wi-fi charging and 4K video: A primary take a look at Air France’s new Boeing 777 enterprise class

However web site enhancements should be made first

Air France and KLM have technical points that needs to be prioritized. AIRFRANCE.US

We love the thought of Flying Blue including stopovers, however there might be hurdles that Flying Blue wants to beat in regard to its web site.

Proper now, each Air France and KLM have difficult-to-use web sites, notably with regards to looking for award availability.

To verify for award availability, it’s important to go to both airline’s web site and log in to your Flying Blue account. After choosing “E-book with miles,” you may enter your origin, vacation spot, journey dates, variety of passengers and desired cabin. You may see a preview of every week’s price of dates and their respective mileage costs. In our exams, the preview costs do not at all times match the precise costs once you click on on a given date.

However most frustratingly, after that first search, Air France and KLM each have a technical glitch that does not mean you can run one other search in that session. If you wish to verify one other metropolis pair or alter the variety of vacationers, you will want to shut your tab, clear your cookies and log again in earlier than getting into all of your search particulars for an additional search.

These points make Flying Blue awards time-consuming and tough to seek for. Frankly, it is exhausting to think about including a stopover on-line could be a nice expertise if these points persist, so we would wish to see Flying Blue dedicate its sources to a steady reserving software first.

Associated: The last word information to incomes and redeeming with Air France/KLM Flying Blue

Backside line

In the end, we’re very excited to see Flying Blue launch free stopovers, and we’ll be sure you maintain you posted on methods to maximise them. Though this system makes use of a risky dynamic pricing mannequin, we’re optimistic that free stopovers will enhance Flying Blue’s buyer worth proposition.

As a reminder, Flying Blue miles are transferrable at a 1:1 ratio from American Categorical Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One miles, Citi ThankYou and Chase Final Rewards.

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