Air France & KLM Add Seat Fees In Business Class

This is a development that won’t be well received by most…

Air France & KLM expand advance seat reservation fees

Air France and KLM will soon start charging for advance seat assignments in business class, in what’s being referred to as the Advance Seat Reservation (ASR) scheme. This is the same policy that Air France and KLM currently have in economy.

Here are some of the details:

• This applies as of April 4, 2023, for travel as of April 13, 2023
• This will apply on long haul routes, though not initially to & from North America (presumably due to the joint venture with Delta, which would complicate matters)
• The fee varies between €70 and €90 per flight
• Flying Blue Silver, Gold, and Platinum members, as well as corporate customers (excluding bluebiz) will be exempt from these fees
• Business class passengers will continue to be able to select seats of their choice at no fee at the check-in window

My take on this policy change from Air France & KLM

“I love paying extra for seat assignments in business class”… said no one ever. Obviously this is a change that virtually everyone except Flying Blue elites won’t like (elites might like having access to more good seats until closer to departure).

Air France and KLM are following in British Airways’ footsteps here, as the airline has been charging for business class seat assignments for years. Air France and KLM have been nicely investing in their premium experience and have been going upmarket, so it’s disappointing to see this move, which is decidedly not premium.

Presumably the logic here is as follows (I’m not saying I agree with it):

• One of the biggest competitors of Air France-KLM is doing this
• This is an opportunity to generate additional revenue
• People aren’t not going to book with Air France-KLM because of seat assignment fees, if the airline otherwise has the most compelling flight (price, schedule, product)

The reality is that a vast majority of airlines invest in their premium products in some areas, and then try to cut costs and increase revenue in other areas. This is a pretty clear example of that.

Does it leave a bad taste in a customer’s mouth to be asked to shell out for a seat assignment on a $5K ticket? Of course. But among the major European airlines, who else are you going to fly with? British Airways does the same, while Lufthansa doesn’t even have direct aisle access in business class from a vast majority of its long haul jets.

Soon enough we’ll probably see seat assignment fees at all major long haul European carriers. With Lufthansa’s new Allegris business class featuring seven different kinds of seating options, you can bet that the airline will have different price points for each seat type. SWISS will also introduce its own version of this product, known as SWISS Senses.

Bottom line

As of April 2023, Air France and KLM will start charging for seat assignments in business class in many long haul markets (excluding North America). The fee will be between €70 and €90 per flight. It goes without saying that this is a pretty customer unfriendly change.

What do you make of Air France and KLM adding business class seat assignment fees?