How to Book Air France-KLM Flying Blue Awards

Flying Blue awards are reward tickets, reward upgrades and other rewards bought with Flying Blue Miles on Air France, KLM and Airline Partners [3]. Members request them online or by telephone and name the person who will travel at the time of the request [3]. Miles pay for the reward itself, while taxes, fees and carrier charges are paid separately [2] [3].

Facts checked: 18 October 2026

Flying Blue awards
Programme	Flying Blue, owned and operated by Air France and KLM [3]
Also called	Reward ticket, Airline Reward, Promo Rewards / Promotional Offers [2] [3]
How to request	Online or by telephone, naming a beneficiary [3]
Taxes and carrier charges	Paid separately, not with Miles [2] [3]
Ticket validity	12 months from issuance, with exceptions [3]
Data source	Official programme pages

Flying Blue programme

Key takeaways

A member with enough Miles can request a reward online or by telephone, for themselves or for a person they name at the time of the request, and the Miles are debited once the request is processed at the scale in force on that date [3].
Miles do not cover everything: taxes and carrier charges on a reward ticket have to be paid separately at booking, and the member or beneficiary is responsible for taxes, fees, levies and surcharges linked to issuing, changing, cancelling or using a reward [2] [3].
Availability is not guaranteed, because Air France, KLM or their partners may restrict the number of rewards on offer, and blackout dates and local restrictions may apply [3].
Reward tickets are valid for 12 months from issuance with some exceptions, and a voluntary change means the original ticket is cancelled and a new one is issued [3].

Requesting a reward

When a member has earned a sufficient number of Miles, the reward is requested online or by telephone, naming the beneficiary, following the procedures set out in Flying Blue Communication [3]. Only the member may request a reward, either for themselves or for any other person designated at the time the reward is requested [3]. Once the request has been processed, the Miles required are debited from the account according to the scale in force on the application date, and Miles and rewards have no cash value and can never be exchanged for cash [3].

Availability is the part members cannot control. Air France, KLM or their partners may unilaterally restrict the amount of available rewards, and the terms state directly that a member may find no availability on a given flight or that a particular reward is not available [3]. All rewards and benefits are subject to change and availability, including blackout dates listed in Flying Blue Communication, and local restrictions or amendments may apply [3].

Depending on the reward, an airline reward is either sent by e-mail or collected at selected airports or city ticket offices authorised to issue reward tickets [3]. Where a ticket is issued by an Air France or KLM office, the member must present their card; if somebody else collects it, that person must bring the member's card or a copy, proof of the member's identity and a signed affidavit authorising collection [3].

Partner flights and airline rules

An Airline Reward is any reward available on Air France, KLM and Airline Partners, and an Airline Partner is any airline, whether or not it belongs to SkyTeam, for which XP can be gained or Miles earned or spent as specified in Flying Blue Communication [3]. All Airline Rewards must be taken on routes operated by Air France, KLM and Airline Partners, and they may be limited to selected Air France or KLM code-share flights [3].

Reward tickets are non-endorsable: they cannot be used on an airline other than the airline whose designated code is shown on the ticket, unless that airline decides otherwise at its reasonable discretion, and they remain subject to changes in air traffic rights or airline decisions [3]. Air France first-class rewards are reserved for selected member levels as specified in Flying Blue Communication [3]. Because rewards are subject to the general terms of the partner providing the service, the member is treated as having accepted those partner terms at the moment the service is requested or Miles are spent [3].

Taxes, fees and Cash & Miles

KLM states that Miles cannot be used to pay the taxes and carrier charges on a reward ticket, and that these must be paid separately at the time of booking [2]. The Air France terms place the same costs on the member or the beneficiary: all applicable taxes, sale and after-sale fees, levies and surcharges associated with issuing, changing, cancelling or using a reward, including carrier surcharges where applicable [3].

Mixing Miles and cash is a separate option. KLM's Cash & Miles lets a member pay with a combination of Miles and cash on a regular ticket or on a reward ticket, with cash allowed for up to 25% of a reward ticket, and Miles allowed for up to 25% of a regular flight ticket, in which case Miles are earned only on the cash part [2]. KLM also describes gifting Miles to another Flying Blue member, with the transfer completed within 72 hours and a fee that depends on the number of Miles transferred and is shown when that number is selected [2].

Exceptions and limits

Validity. Reward tickets are valid for 12 months from the date of issuance, with exceptions such as special Promotional Offers or tickets offered exclusively in specific regions [3].
Cancellation. Subject to applicable conditions, a member may cancel a reward ticket in full before departure of the first flight segment; after travel has started, only unused future flights may be cancelled, subject to a refund of the ticket, and these provisions do not apply to a no-show or to Promotional Offers [3]. In a no-show, the rules of Air France, KLM or the partner apply [3]. If an unused reward ticket has expired, the member or beneficiary may claim reimbursement of the taxes and airport charges connected to actual boarding, through Flying Blue Customer Service [3].
Irreversible items. Lost, stolen or expired rewards are not refunded, replaced or extended, a change of beneficiary is not possible, and a voluntary travel modification cancels the original ticket and issues a new one [3].
Upgrades and extras. A reward upgrade requires a confirmed, not waitlisted, issued ticket on an airline offering that reward, and only a single one-cabin upgrade is possible per flight per passenger; extra options such as extra baggage are subject to the airline's conditions and vary by route, airline, aircraft configuration and availability [3].
Family and children. Miles cannot normally be transferred or combined, except within a Flying Blue Family, which may hold up to eight people including the leader, with at most two adults and six children, and whose leader may move members' Miles into their own account, after which those Miles are no longer available in the member's account [3]. An infant under two travelling with an adult on a reward ticket needs a reservation made with the airline issuing the ticket at its applicable tariff rates, and a child reduction lowers the Miles required while travel-category reductions such as student or senior fares do not, unless stated otherwise [3].
Market scope. The Air France terms checked are the version published for France and state that they apply from 28 March 2022 onwards, with local restrictions and amendments possible, while the KLM spending page checked is KLM's own information page [2] [3]. Promo dates, partner access and fee amounts can therefore differ by market and route [3].

Sources

Sources accessed on 18 October 2026.

KLM, Spending Flying Blue Miles on tickets and upgrades, checked 18 October 2026
Air France, General terms and conditions of the Flying Blue Programme, checked 18 October 2026