Ouch: Air France/KLM Hikes Fees on Award Tickets by 40%

Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles are beloved for how easy they are to earn, low award rates, amazing workarounds to book Delta and other partners, and reasonable taxes and fees. Those fees just jumped … by a lot. 

Without a word of warning, Air France and KLM just raised surcharges on award tickets by $60 or so for a roundtrip in economy. It's worse in business class: You'll now pay an extra $100 … each way. These increased costs were first highlighted in the r/awardtravel sub-Reddit. 

It's no big surprise, really. Major U.S. carriers have admitted they've already raised fares as jet fuel prices have soared in the last month – and perhaps more to come in the weeks and months ahead. We've seen it with award tickets too, especially on Cathay Pacific: The Hong Kong (HKG) airline announced a second surcharge increase in just two weeks will take effect on April 1.

Award surcharges have steadily inched up over the years with Air France and KLM, but this is a drastic jump. And unlike Cathay, Air France didn't announce this latest hike.

Take this roundtrip award from San Francisco (SFO) to Vienna (VIE), for example. We highlighted this deal for our Thrifty Traveler Premium members at the beginning of the March: Just 37,500 miles and $333 in taxes and fees to fly all the way from the West Coast to Europe in economy. 

While those fees were already fairly high for economy, it was still a solid deal for a trip to Europe and back. Now, you'll be on the hook for nearly $400 in fees for the exact same route – an overnight, unannounced increase of more than $60.

It's even worse if you're planning to fly in the pointy end of the plane. Flying Blue's cheapest business class awards price out at 60,000 miles from North America to Europe and previously came with $250 or so in taxes and fees.

Here's a look at a flight from Newark (EWR) to Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) for proof of what we were seeing just days ago. 

Now, you'll see those same 60,000-mile awards getting hit with a nearly $350 surcharge – an increase of $100. 

And it's even worse if you're planning to fly roundtrip. Europe is notorious for high taxes and fees in normal times, but these increased fuel surcharges make it almost unbearable. 

Take a look at this roundtrip business class award from Montreal (YUL) to Paris. What was already a lofty $700 (or so) cash component is now nearing $1,000 in taxes and fees. 

That's a ton of cash … but also a sign of the times. Given that jet fuel costs – one of airlines’ biggest expenses, second only to labor – have gone up 75% since the start of the war, it was only a matter of time before we saw increased fees on award tickets, too. 

And Flying Blue isn't alone in raising prices. Cathay Pacific has done the same and already has another hike scheduled to take effect on April 1. Now, the airline says it will reevaluate fuel surcharges every two weeks going forward and will revisit them when (and if) tensions in the Middle East subside. 

We've also seen airlines like British Airways, Iberia, Japan Airlines, and Qantas raise fees on some partner awards. The most concerning thing here is that even if this eventually blows over and fuel costs decrease to their pre-March levels, there's no guarantee the airlines will respond accordingly … or at the very least, they'll be slow to reduce surcharges.

So what can (and should) you do about it? Travelers planning trips later this year may want to consider locking in flights sooner rather than later – especially for summer travel. Booking flights with flexible change policies can give you the best of both worlds: locking in today’s prices while keeping the option to adjust your plans later if cheaper fares appear.

Whether it's a cash fare or an award ticket, price drops are still in the cards, so wait for an alert from Thrifty Traveler Premium or set a Google Flights price alert and wait for a sign that prices have decreased.

On the award side, this is a tailor-made time to redeem your points and miles. Most major U.S. airline programs use dynamic award pricing, where award rates follow the cash fare, so any fare increases would almost certainly mean spending more miles. But others with fixed award charts – like Air France/KLM Flying Blue, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, British Airways Avios, and countless more – could give you outsized value to book flights at lower rates, even as prices increase.

Airlines that don’t currently add fuel surcharges to award tickets aren’t likely to introduce them overnight – meaning award rates for airlines that currently publish an award chart could remain a relative sweet spot even if cash fares rise.

On the flip side, travelers booking award tickets may want to avoid programs that already charge hefty fuel surcharges (such as Air France/KLM and, especially, British Airways). As fuel costs rise, those airlines will likely adjust their fees to reflect higher costs in the months ahead.

Bottom Line

Flying Blue has quietly raised fees on award tickets, increasing out-of-pocket costs by $60 to $100-plus each way and pushing the cash cost of some roundtrip flights close to $1,000. The move reflects rising fuel prices and follows a broader trend of airlines hiking both cash fares and award costs.

Travelers should consider locking in flights now – ideally with flexible change policies – before prices climb even higher.