Flying Blue Promo Awards December 2016, For travel Feb-Mar 2017.
The Flying Blue Promo Awards December 2016 list is out now for travel between 1st February – 31st March 2017.
You will need to book your flights by 31st December 2016. Below is the full list of available routes.
Flying Blue Promo Awards routes December 2016
| Route | Airline | Class | One Way miles | Round Trip miles | Booking Dates | Travel Dates |
| Europe – Bremen (and v.v.) | KLM | Economy | 6,800 | 13,600 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Dresden (and v.v.) | KLM | Economy | 6,800 | 13,600 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Edinburgh (and v.v.) | Air France | Economy | 6,800 | 13,600 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Hanover (and v.v.) | Air France | Economy | 6,800 | 13,600 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Montpellier (and v.v.) | KLM | Economy | 6,800 | 13,600 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Paris-Orly – Perpignan (and v.v.) | Air France | Economy | 5,100 | 10,200 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Gothenburg (and v.v.) | KLM | Economy | 8,400 | 16,800 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Turin (and v.v.) | Air France | Economy | 8,400 | 16,800 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Bucharest (and v.v.) | Air France | Economy | 10,000 | 20,000 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Kiev (and v.v.) | KLM | Economy | 10,000 | 20,000 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Warsaw (and v.v.) | KLM | Economy | 10,000 | 20,000 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Copenhagen (and v.v.) | Air France | Economy | 8,400 | 16,800 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Mexico (and v.v.) | Air France | Economy | 18,750 | 37,500 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/03/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Toronto (and v.v.) | Air France /KLM | Business Class | 46,875 | 93,750 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Saint Denis (and v.v.) | Air France | Economy | 22,500 | 45,000 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Saint Denis (and v.v.) | Air France | Premium Economy | 45,000 | 90,000 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Cayenne (and v.v.) | Air France | Economy | 15,000 | 30,000 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Cayenne (and v.v.) | Air France | Business Class | 56,250 | 112,500 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Havana (and v.v.) | Air France | Premium Economy | 45,000 | 90,000 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Punta Cana (and v.v.) | Air France | Premium Economy | 45,000 | 90,000 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Aruba (and v.v.) | KLM | Economy | 12,500 | 25,000 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Bonaire (and v.v.) | KLM | Economy | 12,500 | 25,000 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Paramaribo (and v.v.) | KLM | Economy | 12,500 | 25,000 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Accra (and v.v.) | Air France | Economy | 12,500 | 25,000 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Cotonou (and v.v.) | Air France | Economy | 18,750 | 37,500 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Ouagadougou (and v.v.) | Air France | Economy | 12,500 | 25,000 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Dakar (and v.v.) | Air France | Economy | 18,750 | 37,500 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/03/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Beijing (and v.v.) | Air France/KLM | Business Class | 75,000 | 150,000 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 28/02/17 |
| Europe – Guangzhou (and v.v.) | Air France | Business Class | 75,000 | 150,000 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 28/02/17 |
| Europe – Chengdu (and v.v.) | KLM | World Business Class | 75,000 | 150,000 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Wuhan (and v.v.) | Air France | Economy | 20,000 | 40,000 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Xiamen (and v.v.) | KLM | Economy | 20,000 | 40,000 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Djibouti (and v.v.) | Air France | Economy | 10,000 | 20,000 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
| Europe – Doha (and v.v.) | KLM | Economy | 10,000 | 20,000 | 01/12/16 – 31/12/16 | 01/02/17 – 31/03/17 |
Analysis
Firstly, there are no 50% discounts on business class routes this month. They appear to be few and far between on Promo Awards these days.
I admit did have to dust off the atlas to find where some of the cities mentioned were – Coutonou and Ouagadougou in particular. Since these aren't exactly touristic or business routes I doubt there will be many who will truly save air miles on this route as they needed to fly it anyway, as opposed to those who buy opportunistically because it is available.
My pick of the bunch for this month are the 50% economy class discounts to the French and Dutch colonies in the Caribbean and South America. These are all in economy class, but do tend to be priced quite high when booked as a revenue ticket.
Another decent one is Doha, again at 50% discount. As Doha is the hub for Qatar Airways and pretty well placed at the frontiers of Europe and Asia, you can get some pretty good long distance Avios routes from there. For instance Doha to Hong Kong costs 20 000 Avios + £57 in economy class, or 60 000 Avios + £86 in business class.
(As a side note, the taxes and fees drop to £30.60 and £32.60 respectively as fuel surcharges are banned for tickets starting from Hong Kong. Hence if you do go to Hong Kong it is better to price reward tickets out as two singles rather than as a return)
You can use the Avios Spending Calculator to see how much an onwards sector to other Asian cities will cost.
All intra-Europe routes are priced at 20% discount and in economy class only. I do not see any reason why you should redeem your miles to buy this route given how far out the travel date is. Add the taxes and surcharges onto the ticket and you will soon find a normal revenue ticket is better value.
North and central American routes are somewhat under-represented this month, with no USA-Europe routes, and only Mexico City and Toronto being offered at 25% discount. A saving grace perhaps is that Toronto's route is in business class and it is a very busy route, so you might be able to grab a deal there.
All the Asian cities this time round are in China, with three business class routes at 25% discount. It's not enough of a discount for me to redeem my miles, considering the amazing premium cabin fare sales we have had in recent times. I also expect there will be more sale periods between now and February
Conclusion
While I would call it a fairly average offering, some may find value in redeeming your miles if you were going to fly that route anyway.
I personally may choose to do a Europe-Doha redemption as I have around 11000 Flying Blue miles I need to dispose of anyway so it may be a good opportunity for me to burn them efficiently.