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It’s now possible to redeem Qantas Frequent Flyer points for Air France and KLM flights across the two airlines’ entire networks. The new Air France/KLM partnership is great news for Qantas members as it opens up some unique new opportunities to use points.
Air France, based in Paris, and Amsterdam-based KLM both fly to many destinations across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. As well as most of the major global centres, Air France destinations include Papeete, Mauritius and Luanda. Air France also has a small network of flights around the Carribean.
Meanwhile, KLM flies to far-flung places like Quito, Xiamen, Windhoek and Muscat. KLM also operates five fifth-freedom routes including Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur and Santiago-Buenos Aires.
How many Qantas points do Classic Flight Rewards on Air France & KLM cost?
Qantas Classic Flight Rewards on Air France and KLM are priced according to the Partner Classic Flight Reward table. In addition, taxes and carrier charges are payable. Unfortunately, the carrier charges on some routes are quite high.
Short-haul flights of up to 600 miles, such as Amsterdam-London or Paris-Barcelona, cost 10,000 Qantas points one-way in Economy or 20,000 Qantas points for Business class, one-way.
On intra-Europe flights, it would rarely make sense to redeem points because you may pay more in taxes & carrier charges than the cost of a regular ticket. For example, Qantas is charging 20,000 frequent flyer points and €165.42 (~$268) in extra charges for a return KLM Classic Flight Reward booking from Amsterdam to Manchester:
Yet, the exact same flights are available for sale on the KLM website for just €109.42 (~$177). That’s $91 cheaper, and you won’t have to pay 20,000 Qantas points either!
Looking at the fare breakdown, the taxes payable on the Classic Flight Reward booking comprise of €106 (~$172) worth of airline-imposed carrier charges alone.
Using points for Business class within Europe may be better value, but keep in mind that KLM and Air France use the European Business class concept on their short-haul flights.
Redeeming Qantas points for long-haul flights is likely to provide the best value. On longer routes like Singapore-Amsterdam, you could expect to pay 45,000 Qantas points + around $246 in taxes & charges for an Economy ticket. Business class on this route costs 104,500 Qantas points, one-way.
KLM’s Boeing 777 fifth-freedom flight from Denpasar to Singapore costs 30,000 Qantas points and $43 in taxes for Business class.
The above Air France award from Paris to Montreal in Economy would cost 24,500 Qantas points and $288 in taxes & carrier charges.
What’s award availability like on Air France and KLM?
We’ve found many Air France and KLM flights with award availability in both Economy and Business class, across many short-haul and long-haul routes, including Kuala Lumpur-Amsterdam and Hong Kong-Amsterdam. However, there are some catches.
Firstly, we did find some flights where Expert Flyer showed award availability, but no seats were showing as available on the Qantas website. It also seems that Air France and KLM is releasing fewer award seats to Qantas Frequent Flyer members than they do for Flying Blue members. (This is fair enough – Qantas does the same thing for its own top-tier members.)
Secondly, it is not possible to redeem Qantas Frequent Flyer points for Premium Economy or First Class awards on Air France.
How to book Air France or KLM flights using Qantas points
You can book Classic Flight Reward tickets on Air France and KLM for most routes on the Qantas website.
For flights originating in a country that is not supported by the Qantas website, such as Oman, Mauritius, Seychelles, Namibia or Morocco, you’ll need to call Qantas to enquire about award availability or make a booking.
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Air France and KLM awards on the way?
Would you like help using your frequent flyer points?
Australian Frequent Flyer offers a personalised service that’s designed to take the hard work out of redeeming your frequent flyer points.
Frequent Flyer Concierge can help you to find the perfect flights using your points. Just let the team know how many points you have and where you would like to go, and they’ll prepare an itinerary for you.
