Last month, Flying Blue was devalued. The mileage increase was moderate. At the same time, it was confirmed that there would be increased award availability at the Saver Level. It appears the same is happening. I checked the India-Amsterdam/Paris mileage requirement using Seats Aero and saw multiple days on which the Saver Level Award was available. Here is What I found.
Last Month: Flying Blue Devalution
Last month, when Flying Blue was devalued, the mileage was increased by a moderate number of miles as below:
- Economy: 5000 Miles
- Premium Economy: 5000 to 10000 Miles
- Business Class: 10000 to 15000 Miles
So, an economy cabin flight between India and Europe now costs 30K miles instead of 25 K. However, the availability of seats at 25K miles was always an issue. I don’t have a data point for that, though. Most of the time, the award at 25K was not available, and business class pricing was insane. But things changed, at least for Economy and Premium & Premium Economy Cabins.
Economy Cabin Availability
The Economy Cabin availability is best from Europe to India. For the next year, you can book an Economy Cabin flight using Flying Blue from Amsterdam/Paris to India for 30K to 90K Miles. However, the 30K seats are available on 43% of the occasions. And under 40K miles, it is available for 50% of the occasions. However, for flights from India, the availability is less than 15% at 30K Miles. Flights under 40K are still okay at 26%.
Pro Tip: If you have Virgin Atlantic Points, you may also be able to book the flight for 15K, which is available at the Saver level.
Premium Economy Cabin Award Availability
The Premium Economy Cabin is either available at 50K miles or unavailable. Again, the best availability is from Paris/AMS. From India, the availability is limited.
From Paris/AMS, the premium economy is available on 33% of occasions, whereas from India, the availability is low at 13%.
Business Class Award Availability
The number of flying blue miles needed to book Air France-KLM Business-Class flights was always high if travelling from or to India. However, the situation has slightly improved if you travel from Amsterdam/Paris to India.
Pro Tip: Use Flying Blue Miles from AMS/CDG to India
Flight availability from Paris or Amsterdam is always better, so if you want to use Flying Blue miles for travelling between Europe and India, it is better to use them for flights from Europe to India as there is more availability.
Use a Stopover
Use their free stopover feature if you travel on an Air France-KLM award flight. It is also available on one-way flights. This is really useful if you are travelling to other parts of Europe. You will not have to spend extra miles.
You can book this stopover by calling them. I had once booked a stopover where my flight was from Madrid to Delhi via Amsterdam without any extra cost. However, the pricing may vary depending on availability.
Bottomline
Flying Blue Award Availability has improved after devaluation, specifically for Economy and Premium Economy Cabin Awards. Business Class Saver awards are also available; however, availability continues to be limited. I will continue to check this once in a while to see how the availability improves.
