OFFERS: Air France/KLM sale, new IHG Maldives hotel for 2024 and new Skyteam status match

Air France/KLM sale

Air France/KLM’s latest sale has launched from the UK. There are some surprisingly good deals, and many of them are also available from regional airports with London Heathrow, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester or Newcastle included. The sale is on until 19 September 2024. 

I flew both airlines on long haul business class and found the seats fairly similar, although KLM has more variation of seat types than Air France. In terms of service, they were pretty equal, with excellent service on both flights. The real denominator was the food and drink, with Air France streets ahead of KLM. There was nothing wrong with the KLM food, it was just a bit dull and not what I would call luxury. On short haul I would say the same, although I care less about food and drink for shorter routes.

Best business class return fares: 

• Havana £ 1879
• Bogota £ 1921
• Saint Martin £ 1984
• Panama City £ 2264
• Beijing £ 1995
• Shanghai £ 1995
• Delhi £ 1838
• Seoul £ 1894
• Singapore £ 2449
• Bangkok £ 2303
• Johannesburg £ 1883
• Cape Town £ 2513
• New York £ 1539
• Bogota £ 1682
• Buenos Aires £ 2282
• Lima £ 1803
• Quita £ 1823
• Rio de Janeiro £ 1743
• Dubai £ 1527
• Las Vegas £ 2299 (KLM)
• Vancouver £ 2272 (KLM)

You can find the Air France offer page here and the KLM page here. 

New IHG Maldives hotel for 2024

If you are looking for an IHG hotel in the Maldives to redeem or earn points, their latest hotel is due to open in December this year. They already have four hotels in the Maldives under the Six Senses, InterContinental and Holiday Inn brands.

IHG Hotels & Resorts has announced that a new Vignette Collection hotel will open after being refurbished to the brand standards by the end of the year. Vignette is IHG’s collection of individual hotels that do not have to apply such rigid brand standards as their main collections. This allows them to be more individual while still allowing the opportunity to earn and redeem IHG points. 

The conversion deal will see Noku Maldives, Vignette Collection, a private villa resort on the island of Kudafunafaru, join IHG’s Luxury & Lifestyle portfolio. The resort has 50 rooms so is more of a boutique hotel experience. 

Chris Anklin, Senior Director, Development, South East Asia and Korea, IHG Hotels & Resorts said: “We’re proud that our first collaboration with Roxy-Pacific brings the Vignette Collection brand to the Maldives in beautiful Noonu Atoll – a destination renowned for its abundant sea life and more than 30 outstanding dive spots. It will be a fantastic boutique resort, delivering unforgettable stays and offering the brand’s promise of weaving responsibility, community and locality together to make a positive impact on its surroundings.

Noku Maldives, Vignette Collection is a 45-minute seaplane ride from Male International Airport or a 40-minute flight to Maafaru Domestic Airport, followed by a 15-minute speed boat ride to the island.

The resort features 30 overwater villas and 20 beachfront villas, most of which have a private pool. With the smallest villa at 175 square metres, the property boasts some of the largest villas in the Maldives.

Facilities include two restaurants and bars, outdoor swimming pool, fitness centre, spa, retail outlet and a diving and watersports centre offering access to plenty of marine life, including grey reef sharks, stingrays and sea turtles.

IHG launched Vignette Collection in August 2021  and has 18 open hotels, including Convent Square Lisbon, Vignette Collection in Portugal, The Halyard Liverpool, Vignette Collection in the UK, Sindhorn Midtown Hotel Bangkok, Vignette Collection and Dinso Resort & Villas Phuket, Vignette Collection in Thailand, Th8 Palm Dubai Beach Resort in UAE and Hotel X Brisbane Fortitude Valley in Australia.

New Skyteam status match

If you have not yet managed to do one of the status matches for a Skyteam airline there is a new offer from Vietnam Airlines who will match to a wide range of airlines including British Airways. Skyteam airlines include, Delta, Virgin Atlantic, KLM and Air France. 

Once you pay the application fee and are approved, you will receive 12 months of Titanium, Gold or Platinum status as determined by the Status Match process.

Titanium and Gold in Vietnam Airlines map to Sky Team Elite and Platinum is SkyTeam Elite Plus which comes with extra luggage allowance, SkyPriority benefits, and lounge access on international flights.

SkyTeam Elite benefits:

• Priority reservation wait list (when fares permit)
• Preferred seating
• Priority check-in counters
• Priority boarding or at leisure 
• Extra baggage allowance

How to apply

To be eligible, you must have an existing Lotusmiles account.  You can enrol here. You may also be required to provide a valid Government-issued ID (passport or driver’s licence) to confirm eligibility for the offer.

Requests for a Status Match must be made on the Vietnam Airlines Status Match page.

You will be informed within three business days following your completed application of the requested information and documentation whether or not your Status Match has been approved. Once approved, your new status will appear on your account within business days.

Who is eligible and how much does it cost?

Only certain countries are eligible for the status match. Aside from Asia, the following countries are included:

If you want to save money, you can elect to just have Gold status rather than Platinum during the application. 

Which airlines are included and what status do you get?

You can find the application page here.