While the Air France-KLM Group primarily consists of (you guessed it!) Air France and KLM, the company also has a low cost subsidiary, Transavia. That subsidiary has both a French and Dutch division, with the former operating primarily out of Paris Orly (ORY), and the latter operating primarily out of Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS).
Historically, Flying Blue elite members haven’t received any elite perks when flying on Transavia, though that’s finally changing as of today, which many flyers will no doubt be happy about. The timing of these new perks coincides with Air France ending flights at Orly Airport.
In this post:
New Flying Blue Platinum & Ultimate benefits on Transavia
Flying Blue is adding elite perks when flying on Transavia, though they’re specific to the French subsidiary, and therefore primarily for flights to and from Paris Orly. The new perks are for Flying Blue Platinum and Ultimate members, meaning that Silver and Gold members don’t get any upside here.
So, what are the new benefits, which are live as of March 29, 2026?
- Dedicated check-in, baggage drop-off, and fast track security, at Paris Orly
- Enhanced priority rebooking in the event of disruptions
- Access to partner lounges in Marseille (MRS), Montpellier (MPL), Nice (NCE), and Toulouse (TLS)
- Access to Transavia’s premium phone line
- Priority boarding and a complimentary cabin bag (exclusively for Ultimate members)
On top of that, Transavia will soon open a new lounge at Paris Orly, as Transavia is taking over the former Air France lounge. It’s my understanding that lounge access will be for elite members, plus those purchasing the carrier’s most expensive fare bundle.
Let me once again stress that these perks only apply to flights on Transavia’s French subsidiary (with airline code “TO”), and not flights on Transavia’s Dutch subsidiary (with airline code “HV”). Furthermore, elite perks are exclusive to those with Flying Blue elite status, so if you have SkyTeam Elite Plus status, you wouldn’t receive these perks (since Transavia isn’t in SkyTeam).
This is an excellent development for Flying Blue elites
I know that historically some Flying Blue elite members have been frustrated and confused by the lack of elite perks when traveling on Transavia, given the size of the carrier. After all, you’d think that the airline group would want to create an incentive to fly with the low cost carrier over a competitor like EasyJet or Ryanair.
The logic has been that Transavia generally has low fares, and the economics don’t make sense if you start giving away a bunch of perks to elite flyers, given the extent to which the business model is based on ancillary revenue and fees. I imagine that Flying Blue felt that offering a limited number of XPs for Transavia flights (the method for status qualification) was a sufficient incentive.
But the updated strategy from Flying Blue is a bit nuanced, as you can tell, based on the perks being specific to the French subsidiary, rather than the Dutch subsidiary. The logic here is presumably how the Air France vs. Transavia strategy has evolved over the years.
Keep in mind that Air France has consolidated its operations at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG), while Transavia has consolidated its operations at Paris Orly. There are a huge number of destinations served by both Air France and Transavia, and many Flying Blue elite members may strongly prefer to fly out of Paris Orly. For that matter, there’s more incentive to have a premium offering out of Paris Orly, given ultra low cost carrier competition at the airport.
It’s a bit different than the story of the Dutch subsidiary, where both KLM and Transavia operate out of Amsterdam Schiphol, and overlap on a limited number of routes. In Amsterdam, Transavia operates mostly on heavily leisure routes, so the airline isn’t trying to quite gain market share with the same strategy.
Bottom line
The Air France-KLM Flying Blue program is rolling out elite perks on Transavia, though only when flying on the French subsidiary, and not when flying on the Dutch subsidiary. Flying Blue Platinum and Ultimate members can expect priority airport services, and on top of that, Transavia is taking over Air France’s lounge.
What do you make of Flying Blue rolling out elite perks on Transavia?
Please use the exact wording : FB Platinum instead of Elite. Elite means Silver and above. Elite Plus means Gold and above.
Also, the lounge is only for Domestic Transavia flights at Orly 2 from mid May. Not to other destinations. You could also mention other domestic destinations are included (I’m told), for example Marseille to Brest.
So basically this is trying to keep some Air France elite on the south side of Paris flying within AF KLM since Air France consolidated all operations other than one route to Corsica to Roissy CDG
Are they actually renovating the old AF lounge at Orly, because it definitely doesn't look like that?
I get that this is all a way to try and smooth over pissed off elites who frequently travel between ORY-NCE or ORY-TLS, but these enhancements for Platinum members are lipstick on a pig: Transavia is still a crappy carrier, and absolutely nothing like Air France.
That said, once the CDG Express opens in 2027, I suspect the...
Are they actually renovating the old AF lounge at Orly, because it definitely doesn't look like that?
I get that this is all a way to try and smooth over pissed off elites who frequently travel between ORY-NCE or ORY-TLS, but these enhancements for Platinum members are lipstick on a pig: Transavia is still a crappy carrier, and absolutely nothing like Air France.
That said, once the CDG Express opens in 2027, I suspect the hassle of flying in/out of CDG will be reduced somewhat and Roissy will be more competitive with Orly for domestic itineraries.
Still, for Air France elite members in Nice and Toulouse, AF evacuating from Orly like the last Americans out of Saigon in 1975 is a stick in the eye.
Sadly, the CDG Express will operate from Gare de l'Est, which is incredibly inconvenient for many Parisians compared to Gare du Nord, and it will come at a steep cost (24€) not included in the monthly Navigo pass either, so I predict that RER B will still be the option of choice for most local travellers.
Again, though, for business travelers, €24 is nothing and easily reimbursable. Parisians are cheap, lol, this is faster and easier than a taxi that costs 3x as much!
As a Flying Blue Platinum customer, the least I expected was a complimentary checked piece of luggage.
AF's domestic and medium haul network is very modest compared TO and European major airlines, so that keeps being an issue for me as I have no point flying on TO.
Oof. Transavia is not my fav, but if they have a nonstop from AMS, etc. to where you need to go over a connection, fine. That like green is intense!
According to Transavia’s website, it’s only domestic flights that platinum and ultimate members have access to. Lounge is set to open in May.
https://www.transavia.com/aide/fr-be/chercher-et-reserver/salons/comment-reserver?fbclid=IwRlRTSAQ2O21leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeCFNw5W8YywJKES8bUkJs7SVqs8O0larMbmlbVhj6kkAlTnZiaJ0AhBUNNmI_aem_wD3iGP0iHc2mflb-LMIZ7w
Yes. This is intended to be a "remedy" for the discountinued AF routes, hence this policy. It's quite stupid when you think about it...
Well, since it is only for domestic flights within France, it appears to me that it is related to SNCF high speed train lounge access offered to eligible train passengers. They want to offer sort of a similar service.
I would gather that it’s actually just trying to offer a similar level of service as AF mainline prior to the migration to CDG. ORY is still the preferred airport for many business travelers and many prefer it - I think they are just trying to provide closer to the status quo.
@Andy - SNCF/TGV has been around for decades. It is no coincidence that these benefits are introduced at the same time as AF's withdrawal from Orly. It is meant to soften the blow for La Navette regulars and make them stick to Transavia rather than jumping the ship to easyJet.
Ben.- HV and KL do overlap on many routes, some I know of are AMS-BCN, AMS-VLC, AMS-AGP and AMS-ALC