Good air fare deal – £1,346 London to Seoul in Business Class with Air France and KLM

Air France and KLM have launched some aggressive business class fares from London to Seoul.  You can get as low as £1346 return for much of the year.

I recommend starting at klm.com because the default departure period is ‘Between now and January 2020’ so you can easily find dates where the fare is £1346.

Note that, whilst Expedia shows a lower fare of £1163, it appears to jump up to £1346 on the final payment page so you might as well book direct.

These flights need to be credited to a SkyTeam frequent flyer programme such as Flying Blue or Delta SkyMiles.  However, if you travelling from April onwards it is possible that you will also be able to credit them to Virgin Flying Club – it depends on the official start date for the new Virgin / Air France KLM joint venture.

Look at reviews of the aircraft you will be using before booking, as Air France still has some aircraft with sloping beds in Business Class.  I believe that KLM is now fully flat on all aircraft.

Here is sample pricing on klm.com – click to enlarge.

Your best option to maximise your miles when paying is American Express Preferred Rewards Gold.  This offers double points – 2 per £1 – when you when you book flight tickets directly with an airline. 

How to earn Flying Blue miles from UK credit cards (December 2021)

Air France and KLM do not have a UK Flying Blue credit card.  However, you can earn Flying Blue miles by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards.  These are:

• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 20,000 Flying Blue miles. This card is FREE for your first year and also comes with two free airport lounge passes.

• The Platinum Card from American Express (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 30,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 30,000 Flying Blue miles

• American Express Rewards credit card (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 5,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 5,000 Flying Blue miles. This card is FREE for life.

Membership Rewards points convert at 1:1 into Flying Blue miles which is an attractive rate.  The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, which converts to 1 Flying Blue mile. The Gold card earns double points (2 per £1) on all flights you charge to it.