Air France-KLM will begin collecting a fee for non-status passengers to pre-reserve seats in business class. While an unwelcome and customer-unfriendly move, the policy change is reasonable.
Air France-KLM Will Charge For Advance Seating In Business Class
As flagged by One Mile At A Time, Air France and KLM will begin to charge for advance seat assignments on longhaul routes starting on April 4, 2023 for travel on or After April 13, 2023. Seat assignments will remain free once online check-in opens 30 hours prior to flight departure.
Currently, North American routes are exempt (the joint venture relationship with Delta Air Lines, which sells many Air France-KLM codeshares and does not charge for seat assignments on its own flights, likely complicates this).
Passengers with FlyingBlue elite status (including Silver level) will be exempt from seat assignment fees and can continue to assign seats at no charge at booking.
Air France-KLM Business Class Seat Fees: Reasonable Or Unreasonable?
Let me start by saying this is a customer-unfriendly move and I do not support or celebrate it. Furthermore, I do believe that when charging such a premium for business class, a choice of seat should be available at time of booking…I don’t think it is good business to unbundle this from the fare of a full-service carrier.
However, I do consider the move reasonable. First, because British Airways has done this for years and Lufthansa certainly will once it rolls out its new Allegris business class product. Copying the competition is not how carriers lead or differentiate themselves, but it is reasonable in the context of the competitive landscape Air France-KLM finds itself in.
Second, I believe this is reasonable because this does incentivize elite status in the Flying Blue program and rewards flyers who are loyal to Air France and KLM. Sure, we hate paying for a seat on our 55K business class award ticket, but I can tell you that the additional surcharge will not impact my decision to fly on Air France or KLM. If we are honest, those who can be flexible with their travel continue to find outsized value in booking premium cabin award space via Flying Blue, especially when compared to SkyMiles and other SkyTeam loyalty programs.
Some have compared this to the nickel-and-diming of resort fees, but this is not a valid analogy. Resort fees cannot be turned down: they are obligatory. These seat assignment fees, while annoying, are not mandatory: if you do not want to pay, you can still assign a seat at no charge during check-in.
CONCLUSION
I will never celebrate an airline unbundling its business class product and seemingly nickel-and-diming its valuable customers, many of whom do not pay with miles but pay thousands of dollars in cash for their tickets. Even so, the move by Air France-KLM to charge for pre-reserving business class seats is reasonable in the context of the current competitive environment. Thankfully for North American flyers, the changes do not impact us yet.
Will this move by Air France & KLM impact your decision to fly them?
Having recently travelled on AF longhaul business class, I don’t see why anyone would pay to reserve a seat on these planes. All seats are the same, and all-aisle access means that there would not be any issues walking to a travelling companion for a chat. It’s not like Y where bagging an exit row can make a huge difference in comfort. (Not sure whether same applies to KLM, plus I am doing my best to avoid them after an encounter with a mouse in their non-Schengen lounge).
I think people are making a mountain out of a molehill here.
A lot of people prefer window seats, especially when traveling by themselves.
I do, too. The 1-2-1 configuration means that 50% of the seats in the cabin are by the windows, it’s extremely unlikely that you won’t be able to find one unless you check in at the very last minute.
Further proof the airline industry is un-investable.
They did this to try to make FB elite status more appealing. However, there are no real benefits of being FB Plat based in the US compared to FB Gold since they rarely even enforce the free middle seat rule on intra-Euro flights in Y and the US Plat line often goes to the call center in the Philippines.
Sure, KL and AF offer better service onboard compared to BA, but I usually fly premium cabins, and being a BA Gold, it’s nice to use the OW Emerald lounges where available or even use an AC before a domestic flight (STE+ can’t use DL’s SCs unless they’re flying an international flight).
I agree that it is reasonable, but it’s going to lead to a lot of flights where couples are separated and feel entitled to sit together because they “paid for business.” Boarding any old Club World flight to more regional destinations in the USA (AUS, MSY, PHX, etc) feels like a free for all. I feel bad for the FAs.
With AF 1-2-1 it’s doubtful that the couples will be separated. I have rarely ever seen, other than honeymoon seats on some carriers, where there are a lack of two middles together. In fact, a few of those are usually the last to go. Regardless, we both know most of these couples are not “paying for business.” If it’s so important they can cough up another 140 euros to assure it. Anyway, it’s not even being applied on flights to the U.S. at this point.
I find this perfectly acceptable. It’s not an exorbitant amount and protects the integrity of their loyalty program and those who actually spend on AF. It even extends all the way to Silver, which is generous. I would fully expect that this will also be eventually implemented for top tier Sky Team elites. Just as BA does for Emerald.
I would venture to say that most who are complaining about this are people who rarely ever pay for an AF ticket, primarily redeem points, and don’t even use Sky Team. Amazing at times the entitlement at expecting they should be given the exact same priority as AF’s most coveted flyers. If a loyalty program is to be just that, about loyalty, then this should reflect in how they reward these people. I applaud the move.
Let me add, and I say this as a OW Emerald and a Star Gold. that I have no love coming to me on Sky Team. Thus, when I redeem on AF occasionally I am perfectly fine in either accepting a lower spot on the love totem or paying a small extra to assure early what I feel I need. Honestly, I am just happy to get a cheap redemption on them and a lie flat seat to where I need to go.
Better yet this implementation should be only for those passengers flying on award ticket classes (except AF/KL elites). If you pay the cash fare for a ticket you should still be able to assign your seat for free. My take on this.
I think this is ridiculous. So you are charging over $7k for a business class seat and will have to pay extra to chose the seat? Why not add that fee on the cost of the ticket and stop with this extra fee? The same goes to hotels, just add the stupid resort fee into the cost of the room and let me decide if I want to pay for it or not.
@Santastico. At first I had exactly the same thought but it now I see it allows two ways to adjust the ticket price. Ridiculous. Just the optics tarnish the cachet of business class. Like watching a once beautiful home fall into ruin. Bit by bit
“Why not add that fee on the cost of the ticket and stop with this extra fee?”
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It’s actually a bogus fee, anyway. What does it really cost an airline to give you a seat?
This hurts me, but is very reasonable.
Loyal AF travelers (elites), as a generalization, purchase much closer-in than folks transferring points for an award or booking that one-off trip. It seems a reasonable perk of loyalty to have better access to your choice of seats. United, for e.g., does this with staggered access timing to E+ seats for domestic US travel.
Of course there’s a money grab here as well – but it’s not as simple as that.
When paying a business class fare and then I am nickle’d and dime’d to boot I simply will not go! That’s why I love the Palm Beach resorts like the Four Seasons, the Breakers and Eau Palm Beach. NO RESORT FEES!
No bloggers ever call this cheap and capricious airline out for their never ending money grubbing and cheap penny pinching. Like France itself, overrated and pretentious. Sorry chumps, but you ain’t all that.
Wow, that’s harsh.
I don’t think I was defending Air France here…
The entire point of AF is that it’s not as bad as its main competitors – BA is a complete disgrace on virtually every level, and LH may generally be rather consistent and reliable but tends to deliver an underwhelming level of service across the board – whether it’s pay-for-everything in European Y, middle seats in long haul C, or even fruit flies having a little party in the LHR Senator lounge (yeah, I know some people rave about its first class, but it’s still the same lousy experience if you have to connect from/to short haul).
I am not a massive fan of AF, indeed I think that Flying Blue is diabolical, but they do seem to get the basics right most of the time. Not enough for me to consider switching my bread-and-butter European flights away from Star Alliance, but certainly worth keeping an eye on their long haul offers and maintaining a FB account for stray SkyTeam flights and double dipping on Accor stays.
People who have paid the highest fares, I think this is entirely too much to add-on. I can understand it if people are on an award ticket though.
I do find this egregious. I hope people will book away.
Yes, the 55k award ticket in J is a bargain, but you didn’t mention the ~$500 fuel surcharge that AF/KLM tacks onto the award. And now on top of that, they want a seat assignment fee? The only saving grace is that US routes are unaffected. Although, I’m sure the heads at DL and Flying Blue will sit down and figure out a way change that.