Air France-KLM’s loyalty programme, Flying Blue, has won four major awards at the 2026 Freddie Awards, including Program of the Year for the Europe/Africa region, the airline group said in a press release issued in Nairobi on July 21, 2026.

According to the statement, Flying Blue also won Best Elite Program, Best Redemption Ability and Best Customer Service. The programme additionally received a Silver Award for its “Turning Miles into Memories for 20 Years” campaign.

The airline group said the Freddie Awards are determined by travellers. In 2026, more than 4.2 million frequent flyers participated in the voting process, which the company said was the highest turnout in the awards’ history.

The recognition comes shortly after Flying Blue was named the “World's Best Airline Loyalty Program” for the second consecutive year by Point.me, described in the statement as a flight search and booking engine.

For Kenya’s business and travel market, loyalty programmes have become a competitive lever for airlines seeking to retain customers amid changing travel patterns and pressure on household and corporate travel budgets. Airlines have increasingly used loyalty schemes to lock in repeat business, drive co-branded partnerships, and generate ancillary revenues through non-flight earning and redemption options.

Air France-KLM positioned the awards as an indicator of member engagement and the breadth of Flying Blue’s network. The group said Flying Blue members can earn and redeem miles through Air France, KLM and “more than 40 airline partners”, with access to “over 1,000 destinations worldwide”.

“These awards reflect the trust of millions of travellers and we commend Flying Blue for delivering a loyalty programme that consistently offers real value to our flyers,” said Joris Holtus, Air France-KLM’s General Manager for East and Southern Africa, Nigeria and Ghana, as quoted in the press release.

The group said it has expanded Flying Blue beyond air travel through partnerships and commercial tie-ins, aiming to make the programme relevant to members’ day-to-day spending. Recent initiatives cited in the release include a partnership with Apple that enables members to earn miles on selected Apple purchases, alongside what it described as a network of more than 100 commercial partners globally across travel, mobility and lifestyle services.

Flying Blue also highlighted programme features including Family Miles pooling, monthly Promo Rewards, the option for members to contribute towards sustainable aviation fuel initiatives, and a status structure based on Experience Points rather than spending alone, according to the statement.

In terms of scale, Air France-KLM said Flying Blue serves more than 35 million members globally. The company also noted that Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Transavia operate within the Air France-KLM Group, with hubs at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol, and that Air France and KLM are members of the SkyTeam alliance.

For East Africa, the growth of airline loyalty ecosystems can shape travel agency distribution, corporate travel procurement and partnerships with banks, retailers and technology firms. As airlines compete for high-frequency travellers, the ability to earn and redeem rewards across multiple partners may influence route choice and customer retention, particularly for long-haul travel out of Nairobi.

Air France-KLM did not provide financial details associated with the programme in the release, but signalled further expansion of partnerships and benefits. The group said Flying Blue “continues to innovate” to broaden access to rewards and deliver a more personalised loyalty experience.