Long-Haul Flying Blue Promo Awards Are Back (For Select Regions)

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Flying Blue Promo Awards are the monthly deals that Air France & KLM publish which offer discounts (sometimes fantastic discounts) on award bookings between Europe and various regions of the world. As trips don’t have to originate in Europe to qualify for Promo Awards they’re universally popular, but Flying Blue stopped offering them shortly after the current crisis hit.

In September, Flying Blue published its first set of Promo Awards since March but disappointingly, they were restricted to flights within Europe. A new set of Promo Awards has now been published and this time we’re being offered deals on flights within Europe AND to a limited number of select long haul destinations offered by Air France & KLM.

Flying Blue Promo Awards October 2020

As usual, I’m going to focus on the long-haul Promo Awards on offer for travel in the premium cabins. If you’re looking for more information on short-haul or Economy Class awards, you’ll find everything you need on this webpage.

These awards are on sale through 31 October 2020 and are for travel through 31 March 2021 (the longest period we’ve ever seen a single set of Promo Awards offered) to/from Paris CDG.

Asia-Pacific Promo Awards

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Ok, there’s no way to sugarcoat this. This set of options (such as they are!) is a bust.

Even if we leave aside the fact that 165,000 miles for Roundtrip Business Class (+ surcharges) or 132,000 miles for roundtrip Premium Economy (+ surcharges) aren’t particularly good deals, the fact that Tahiti currently has some pretty strict entry requirements leaves me wondering why Flying Blue has bothered with this offer.

The Tahitian authorities are currently requiring visitors to prove that entry is for “urgent family or work reasons” and visitors are expected to fill in a travel certificate (available here) and provide proof. In addition, all travelers will need to undertake a Covid-19 within 72 hours of departure and will need to show proof of a negative result before they’ll be allowed to board.

How many people does Flying Blue think will be traveling under these restrictions?

Caribbean/Indian Ocean Promo Awards

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The good news here is that there’s a little more choice with this set of Promo Awards. The bad news is that a lot of people reading this won’t know where any of these destinations are! For anyone in the dark, here’s a map:

a map of the world with red lines

This set of Promo Awards look a lot more promising as 67,500 miles (+ surcharges) for roundtrip Business Class travel between Europe and Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, or Reunion Island is not a bad deal at all. 54,000 miles (+ surcharges) for roundtrip travel to/from the same destinations is great too although I would probably do my best to scrape together enough points for a Business Class trip (13,500 miles more for Business Class in both directions looks good value to me).

Disappointingly, however, travel to/from French Guiana isn’t really an option for most people as the local authorities have followed in Tahiti’s footsteps in declaring that only travelers who can prove that entry is for urgent family/work reasons will be allowed to enter. A negative Covid test is also required.

The news for the other three destinations is better:

Martinique

There are no major restrictions on visiting Martinique right now but, as for all French overseas territories, visitors will need to complete a travel certificate. There are different certificates for travel from mainland France to French overseas territories or international travel from abroad to French overseas territories.

Guadeloupe

All travelers over the age of 11 must take a Covid-19 test within 72 hours of departure for Guadeloupe. The test is mandatory and the traveler must show proof of a negative result before boarding.

Travelers must also provide a self-certified document stating that they have no Covid symptoms and that to their knowledge they have not been in contact with any person confirmed positive within the last 14 days.

Reunion

All travelers over the age of 11 must take a Covid-19 test within 72 hours of departure for Réunion. The test is mandatory and the traveler must show proof of a negative result before boarding.

Travelers must also provide a self-certified document stating that they have no Covid symptoms and that to their knowledge they have not been in contact with any person confirmed positive within the last 14 days.

Bottom Line

Given the state of transatlantic travel right now it’s not really a surprise to see that there aren’t any North American destinations included in this set of Promo Awards, and given the state of global travel as a whole, it’s not really surprising that we’re not being offered a much wider range of options…but this is a start and it’s better than nothing!

Martinique and Guadeloupe are looking very tempting right now but don’t forget that even if you don’t have issues entering these countries, your own home country may impose restrictions on you upon your return if it considers those destinations to be “high-risk” – make sure you check the rules carefully before you make any firm plans.