I am currently in the midst of planning a trip to Italy, Spain, and France with my husband, my kids, and my parents next year. It’s been fun to imagine how it will all play out, but it’s also been slightly stressful. While I was able to book a cruise we wanted out of Rome far ahead of time, it’s too far out to book one leg of our flights with American Airlines just yet.
The crazy thing is, it’s not too early to book flights with Air France/Flying Blue. Unlike American and other airlines that open their schedules around 11 months out from departures, Air France opens its calendar 12 months ahead of time. As a result, I’ve been digging around for one-way options either to Florence or home from Rome on the dates I’d like to travel. And so far, I’ve been happy with what I see.
Economy and Business Class Flights on Air France
When Air France announced it was going to stop using award chart not too long ago, I was pretty annoyed. However, I am thrilled so far with the pricing on their flights in miles — at least for flights I want to book.
While my family has paid 25,000 miles one-way for flights to Europe on Flying Blue several times, many of the flights I’m considering on Flying Blue actually cost only 21,500 miles in economy.
For one specific date I’m considering, I’m even finding up to four award flights in Business for 53,000 miles plus $234. While it could be fine to fly economy, I would love for my parents to have a lie-flat seat for our overnight leg since they are getting older and haven’t flown eight or nine hours at once for decades. The Air France flight I am looking at would be on a AirBus A330-200 with 40 angle flat seats that would give them plenty of room. At 53,000 miles each, this fare is also a steal.
The Bottom Line
I have been a huge fan of Air France/Flying Blue for a while now, mostly because I can almost always find award availability for four. And although I was happy when one-way economy flights to Europe clocked in at 25,000 miles, 21,500 for economy is a much better deal. Now that I know I can book Business for 53,000 miles on certain dates, that’s a real game-changer.
If you’re looking for a program to get to Europe, you should definitely consider Air France/Flying Blue. Not only is it easy to find award availability to many destinations, but it’s easy to earn miles in this program since it partners with Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and American Express Membership Rewards. With so many ways to rack up points, this loyalty program can help you earn enough miles for your dream trip in no time.
Do you earn miles with Air France/Flying Blue? Why or why not?
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Delta® Reserve for Business
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