In September 2023, Air France-KLM & Etihad Airways announced plans to expand their partnership. There’s now a major update, as both airline groups have rolled out frequent flyer reciprocity, giving flyers the opportunity to earn and redeem miles for travel on the other airline group. This has major implications for passengers.
Air France-KLM & Etihad launch new customer initiatives
Air France-KLM and Etihad have had a partnership dating back to 2012, though it historically hasn’t been that close. It included an interline agreement plus a limited codeshare arrangement, but that has now been expanded.
The carriers are enhancing collaboration opportunities across passenger operations, loyalty programs, talent development, and maintenance. This expanded partnership includes the following:
- The codeshare agreement between the airlines has been expanded significantly, to cover 40 new routes across Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, and Australia
- We’ve now seen the introduction of frequent flyer reciprocity for Air France-KLM Flying Blue members and Etihad Guest members, allowing members of both programs to earn and redeem miles on Air France, KLM, and Etihad
- The airlines are also exploring terminal co-location, reciprocal lounge access and ground handling, and more; we’re told that this development will be coming soon
Etihad currently flies to both Amsterdam (AMS) and Paris (CDG), and as of October 2023, Air France started flying to Abu Dhabi (AUH).
Details of Air France-KLM & Etihad frequent flyer reciprocity
If you ask me, the most exciting aspect of this expanded partnership is frequent flyer reciprocity, and we now have the details of what that will look like.
When it comes to earning miles, Etihad Guest members can earn the following number of miles for travel on Air France:
Meanwhile Etihad Guest members can earn the following number of miles on KLM:
When it comes to redeeming Etihad Guest miles, redemptions on Air France-KLM will follow the standard partner award chart:
Air France-KLM Flying Blue members can earn the following number of miles on Etihad (though can’t earn XPs, which is what you need to earn status):
The real value with this partnership is the ability to redeem Air France-KLM Flying Blue miles for travel on Etihad, and I’ll cover that in more detail in a separate post, since I’m excited about this opportunity.
This expanded partnership is great for passengers
Often there are concerns about what new partnerships mean for passengers. I’d say this partnership is entirely good news for frequent flyers.
My concern with airline partnerships is when we see joint ventures, where airlines coordinate fares and schedules, and it’s the equivalent of a competitor in a market being eliminated. That’s not the case here. Instead we’re seeing a codeshare agreement and more reciprocity, all of which is good for frequent flyers.
For Etihad, this is positive in terms of more connectivity beyond Amsterdam and Paris. For Air France-KLM, this is good in terms of being able to get passengers to long haul destinations that the airline doesn’t directly serve. Passengers could fly Air France to Abu Dhabi, and then connect onto an Etihad flight to Ho Chi Minh City, Sydney, etc.
It’s always fascinating to see how partnership with Gulf carriers evolve over time. The major US and European global carriers obviously view the Gulf carriers as being major competition, given their extensive networks. However, at some point you realize that you’re better off working with them rather than against them.
I mean, at this point American has a strategic alliance with Qatar Airways, Air Canada and United have a partnership with Emirates, Qatar Airways owns a major stake in IAG (the parent company of British Airways), etc. In fairness, Air France-KLM was never the most anti-Gulf company out there, as the airline group has partnered with Etihad for over a decade now.
Bottom line
Air France-KLM and Etihad have expanded their partnership. In addition to increasing their codeshare agreement, the carriers have introduced frequent flyer reciprocity, and even plan to co-locate in terminals and offer reciprocal lounge access.
This is a great development, and it’s awesome to have another opportunity for redeeming Etihad awards.
What do you make of the new Air France-KLM and Etihad partnership?
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