Last summer, Air France and KLM introduced a new Basic fare for European flights. Just like with airlines such as Ryanair and easyJet, this fare includes only a personal item measuring 40 x 30 x 15 cm. Until now, the fare had only been offered on a trial basis for flights to 10 selected destinations in Europe, including Munich and Vienna.
In the meantime, the race to strip down fares has taken another step forward across the industry. Since April, the Lufthansa Group has introduced a new Basic fare that includes nothing more than a personal item. Air France and KLM are now taking the opportunity to expand their own Basic fare across their entire short-haul network.
According to the two airlines, the Basic fare is now available on all short-haul flights for travel from June 30, 2026, onwards. For journeys from September 8, selected medium-haul routes will also be affected, including destinations in North Africa. This also applies to itineraries with connections.
For example, a flight from Berlin to Amsterdam now costs €66 in the Basic fare with only a personal item included. The Light fare, which comes with the usual inclusions, costs €97 instead:
What the Basic Fare Does (and Doesn’t) Include
The following points define about the Basic fare:
- Only one personal item (40 x 30 x 15 cm) is included. No full-size carry-on bag is allowed.
- Reduced status mileage earning with Flying Blue: 2 XP instead of 5 XP per segment.
- Frequent flyers with SkyTeam Elite or Elite Plus status continue to receive at least 23 kg of checked baggage free of charge.
- Officially, a full-size carry-on bag is only included free of charge for Flying Blue status members (Gold, Platinum, or Ultimate), not for elite members of other SkyTeam programs.
Hidden Price Increase of Up to 29%
In their announcement, Air France and KLM emphasize that the new fare was allegedly introduced in response to positive customer feedback. If customers were asked more directly, the answer would probably look quite different. Ultimately, the new fare structure means one thing: for most travelers, flying becomes more expensive.
To illustrate this, we examined four randomly selected routes and compared pricing before and after the introduction of the Basic fare:
- Berlin – Amsterdam (example):
- previously: €75 Light
- now: €66 in Basic, €97 in Light
- Frankfurt – Paris (example):
- previously: €95 Light
- now: €82 in Basic, €115 in Light
- Nuremberg – Paris (example):
- previously: €113 Light
- now: €94 in Basic, €109 in Light
- Hamburg – Amsterdam (example):
- previously: €115 Light
- now: €115 in Basic, €147 in Light
Air France-KLM states that a full-size carry-on bag can be added for prices starting at €15. However, that is only part of the story. On the Berlin to Amsterdam example route, this option costs a hefty €35, which is actually more than the fare difference between Basic and Light:
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Bottom Line
We have reached the rather unfortunate point where low-cost carriers often offer more than the major flag carriers. While budget airlines also typically include only a personal item, they are far more generous with the allowance. With easyJet, for example, the permitted volume is around 80% larger than the SkyTeam sisters’ allowance. Even Ryanair allows roughly 25% more than Air France and KLM.
The airlines know perfectly well that hardly anyone travels with nothing more than a laptop bag. Yet these stripped-down fares help them appear more competitive in flight search engines while making meaningful price comparisons increasingly difficult.
Once again, this raises the question of when the European Union will finally introduce and enforce meaningful minimum standards for carry-on baggage allowances. The issue has become more pressing than ever. At least another round of discussions in the European Parliament is scheduled for this week.