XP from non-SkyTeam flights

Question

I'm quiet confused about the XP points with Flight that i bought from KLM website.

I have a ticket from Amsterdam to Melbourne Australia.

Flight number 
AF8405: Amsterdam -> Hong Kong (Operated by KLM)
AF9676: Hong Kong -> Melbourne (Operated by Qantas)

AF7231: Melbourne -> Changi (Operated by Singapour Airline)
AF8212: Changi -> Amsterdam (Operated by KLM)

On flyertalk I see a thread that says AF and KL flights even if its operated by others receive XP and Miles... but I heard from someone it does not. I contacted KLM support on Facebook they said I would not receive miles but did not mention XP.

I don't get it, why do they have AF number on those flights if you don't receive any miles or XP?

And would I receive Miles on my other frequent flyer programs?

Does someone has experience with this please?

Answer 1

So, the rule as stated here is that you earn miles and XP for flights marketed by Air France (and other Flying Blue airlines), even if they are operated by other airlines.

This is also stated here and here in the most recent announcement about the Air France / Qantas codeshare agreement.

I asked the question to Flying Blue, and they just called back to let me know that you do indeed earn both miles and XP for a flight marketed by Air France, even if operated by another airline such as Qantas or Singapore Airlines, though the opposite is not true (flight operated by Air France and marketed by another non-FB airline).

So it looks like the KLM customer support is wrong. Here you have two options:

• show them the links above and ask why their answer is not consistent with the FB communication
• or book a flight is operated and marketed by a SkyTeam airline. Note that some airlines have some flights that do not qualify for XP

Answer 2

Operating answer:

Flying Blue:** Ref.:FLB1845830213 Dear Mr **,

Thank you for your message of 03 September 2018.

You have contacted us regarding the Miles and XP accrual for your upcoming flights in December.

Upon the careful check of your reservation ####, I am pleased to confirm that indeed the flights are eligible for the Miles and XP accrual. You will earn in total 19,099 Miles and 132 XP for those flights.

Please be kindly advised that in case you have AF or KLM marketed flights, you earn Miles and XP regardless of the operating airline.

If you need any further information, please contact me via the reply link at the end of this e-mail or via ‘contact us’ on the support page of the website. You can also call us on telephone number +31 20 47 47 747 .

Warm regards,

Mariam Flying Blue Customer Service

Answer 3

The problem comes in as I experienced if you have a stopover in for example Singapore. In that case the Singapore Airlines flight is NOT considered as being part of the route to Amsterdam. Instead it is a Singapore Airlines flight and a separate KLM flight. The latter only generating XP and Miles. In other words this information is lacking prior to booking and is only found later on. On the other hand I was travelling with China Southern to Guangzhou to Melbourne indirectly via Singapore, just to be with Sky Team member and found out AFTER having done all travelling that I was NOT given XP or miles for 75% of all the long haul flights. Transparency on gained XP and miles should be given during booking process throughout the whole Sky Team alliance, such in order to enable gaining confidence in the program. Similar experiences were with Garuda that apparently only gives XP and miles on part of their flights as is found out AFTER booking process. It can be stated that non-transparency by Sky Team is a way to discourage customers to be active passengers with Sky Team or it can be regarded as a cost-savings vehicle to the Sky Team operations.