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We're getting tired of airlines using “greater flexibility” as the slogan for nuking a
Here's everything to know about Flying Blue's new award fares.
Flying Blue Announces New Fare Bundles
Flying Blue announced a new award ticket structure for all fare classes apart from La Premiere. Now, you'll need to choose between light, standard, and flex fares on all Air France- and KLM-operated flights. These changes don't apply to standalone partner flights, and on joint tickets, only standard fares will be available.
These changes will take effect on September 8, 2026, so you still have time to lock in current award pricing.
Here are the new fare bundles:
- Light: No changes or refunds, advanced seat selection, or lounge access. Economy and premium economy don't get checked bags.
- Standard: Probably the most similar option to what is currently available — changes or refunds are subject to a fee, but still no seat selection.
- Flex: Complimentary changes or refunds, seat selection, and more.
Fortunately, any tickets booked before September 8 will be grandfathered into the current benefits. You might want to prebook some of your travel for the end of this year or beginning of 2027 before these changes take effect.
In the Q&A, something interesting stuck out:
“The new structure also further differentiates the value of Flying Blue status benefits, such as complimentary checked baggage for Silver members and enhanced flexibility benefits available to higher-tier members.”
Flying Blue elite members will retain their elite perks regardless of their fare bundle. So, if you get additional baggage, waived fees, or lounge access through your elite status, you could book a light fare. If you don't already have elite status, you could consider taking advantage of the Flying Blue elite status match, which lets you match up to Gold for U.S. and Canada residents or up to Platinum for residents of select other countries.
It appears that Flying Blue is aiming to make elite status that much more worthwhile. However, if that's the goal, it would be nice if Flying Blue added perks for elite members rather than stripping down award tickets to force passengers into paying more miles for the same perks.
Related: Best Flying Blue Redemptions on Air France, KLM & Partners
New Fare Bundles
Today, when you book an award ticket, you know what to expect:
| Perk | Economy | Premium Economy | Business |
|---|---|---|---|
| Checked bags | 1, up to 23 kg | 2, up to 23 kg each | 2, up to 32 kg each |
| Hand baggage | 1, up to 12 kg total | 2, up to 12 kg total | 2, up to 18 kg total |
| Changes | Subject to a €70 fee | Subject to a €70 fee | Subject to a €70 fee |
| Refunds | Subject to a €70 fee | Subject to a €70 fee | Subject to a €70 fee |
| Seat selection | Free at check-in | Free at check-in | Free at check-in |
| SkyPriority benefits | Not included | Not included | Included |
| Lounge Access | Available at an extra cost | Available at an extra cost | Included |
Starting September 8, here are your options for booking an economy award, including the new restrictions to be aware of:
| Perk | Economy Light | Economy Standard | Economy Flex |
|---|---|---|---|
| Checked bags | None | One, up to 23 kg | One, up to 23 kg |
| Hand baggage | One, up to 12 kg | One, up to 12 kg | One, up to 12 kg |
| Changes | Not allowed | Subject to a €70 fee | Included |
| Refunds | Not allowed | Subject to a €70 fee | Included |
| Seat selection | Available at an extra cost | Available at an extra cost | Included |
| SkyPriority benefits | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| Lounge Access | Available at an extra cost | Available at an extra cost | Available at an extra cost |
And here are the premium economy fare bundles:
| Perk | Premium Economy Light | Premium Economy Standard | Premium Economy Flex |
|---|---|---|---|
| Checked bags | None | 2, up to 23 kg each | 2, up to 23 kg each |
| Hand baggage | 2, up to 12 kg total | 2, up to 12 kg total | 2, up to 12 kg total |
| Changes | Not allowed | Subject to a €70 fee | Included |
| Refunds | Not allowed | Subject to a €70 fee | Included |
| Seat selection | Available at an extra cost | Available at an extra cost | Included |
| SkyPriority benefits | Included | Included | Included |
| Lounge Access | Available at an extra cost | Available at an extra cost | Available at an extra cost |
Finally, here are the new business fare bundles:
| Perk | Business Light | Business Standard | Business Flex |
|---|---|---|---|
| Checked bags | One, up to 32 kg | 2, up to 32 kg each | 2, up to 32 kg each |
| Hand baggage | 2, up to 18 kg total | 2, up to 18 kg total | 2, up to 18 kg total |
| Changes | Not allowed | Subject to a €70 fee | Included |
| Refunds | Not allowed | Subject to a €70 fee | Included |
| Seat selection | Available at an extra cost | Available at an extra cost | Included |
| SkyPriority benefits | Included | Included | Included |
| Lounge Access | Available at an extra cost | Included | Included |
That's right — your Business Light fare will not include lounge access.
None of this is all that surprising, especially after SkyTeam partner Delta Air Lines rolled out unbundled travel experiences and introduced a Basic Business ticket earlier this year.
However, it's a troubling trend — rather than a standard devaluation where award prices go up across the board, you have to decide whether you want to spend the same amount of miles and receive fewer benefits or spend more miles for the same terms you're used to. Neither option is all that enticing.
The one silver lining is that award tickets don't appear to be getting more expensive, and Flying Blue Promo
Bottom Line
It seems that over and over again, we're having to pay more miles to receive the same benefits in the name of flexibility and customization. This update isn't one that any Flying Blue member asked for, but it's one that members will need to get used to. Starting September 8, 2026, you'll have nine award fare types to choose from when you're booking an Air France or KLM flight through Flying Blue.
I’d have more faith in this extremely customer-unfriendly move except for a few things:
FB actually tries to pretend with a straight face that this is somehow better for us. If they just were going to screw us, say so and stop acting like this is in any universe better than what we have now. Trying to pretend a load of manure is a load of gold doesn’t cut it.
Remember a year ago when FB regretfully announced that they were increasing business saver award prices between Europe and the USA from 50,000 miles to 60,000 so that they could offer lots more availability? Simply put, I’m absolutely not seeing that vaunted availability. Instead when I look I’m seeing rates from 100,000+ to 400,000 miles per seat. In short, it looks a lot like they lied to us.
The notice – while notice is always nice – is pretty short at a couple of weeks.
The business lite fare is just gruesome. No changes? No seat selection? No lounge access? Nonrefundable? Enough said.
When you step back and look at these points (and others) in sum you see that Flying Blue is determined to both soak the USA market by selling them miles then clearly offering lousy value for those miles, while being disingenuous at best about their policies. I’m reluctantly okay with doing either of those but in tandem it comes across as a big middle finger to loyalty members. Now I’ll be urgently trying to find a way to use my six figure stash of FB miles with some decent value. I’m not optimistic.
Nice to try but I’m not seeing much saver space at all even as far out as the schedule permits. Also (and I know I’m an outlier here), I still think 75,000 points is great value for AF J. The difference between 60,000 and 75,000 is trivial given that Flying Blue is a transfer partner of practically every bank card and you can easily earn 15,000 points in a month without too much effort. I think 75,000 points and $608 is still a bargain for a ticket that can sell for $5000.
As for the “light” option, the lose of lounge access isn’t that big a deal. Sure I enjoy the lounge but often have access to other lounges. Worst case have a drink and some food in a restaurant as the lounge access alone isn’t worth, IMHO, spending more miles or cash. However, I would never book an award ticket that was non-refundable and I couldn’t change. Therefore, my baseline is the 75,000 point option going forward.
For those that bemoan this (and all other “devaluations”) understand the business model has changed and will continue to change. Things will never go back to the “good old days”. I’ve been flying heavily since the 80s and my AA and DL frequent flyer accounts date back to then. If you want to really drive yourself crazy go back and look at the awards available in the 80s and 90s. On the other hand, those miles were strictly airline travel based. Now you can generate miles in many ways. BTW, that is also part of the problem. Inflation in miles with SUBs and bonus categories, more people in the “game” and chasing a fixed number of seats. Simple supply/demand.
Why don’t they just change their policy to we hate you and your points.
It’s also possible, I suspect, that award flights might show up in some of the new buckets, but not others. In other words, you could see a redemption show up in ONLY the light category, and not in standard or flex, or only in flex. But new light rate might equal standard rate before these changes.