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).
Continue reading: Flying Blue Adds Elite Perks On Low Cost Carrier Transavia, Plans New Lounge
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Ben.- HV and KL do overlap on many routes, some I know of are AMS-BCN, AMS-VLC, AMS-AGP and AMS-ALC
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.
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.
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!
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.
@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.
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!
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
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.