Air France and KLM launched earlier this year (read more here) several new initiatives that allowed their passengers to make travel “greener” by donating cash for planting trees and for buying Sustainable Aviation Flue (SAF).
The best part was that this was an easy way to earn Experience Points (XPs) that are used to determine your frequent flier status within Flying Blue instead of flown miles.
You can access the Flying Blue page for sustainability here.
Air France and KLM have suspended these two programs that have allowed Flying Blue members to donate money to reforestation and purchase SAF.
There has been no communication from Air France or KLM about why these steps were taken and when they might return. Air France has been recently criticized in the French media for greenwashing through these initiatives.
Conclusion
Buying SAF and donating cash to plant trees have been the most cost-effective way to earn XPs if you need a small number to retain your status or reach a higher one.
This has helped passengers qualify without taking unnecessary flights (what a novel idea!).
There have been doubts about how effective some of these tree plating and other programs are. Do they collect the cash without actually contributing anything?
Let’s hope that Air France and KLM bring these initiatives back because they have genuinely helped some Flying Blue members.
