KLM...The Double Dutch Bus
Written: Aug 28 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: They will feed you. Lots of South African tank-car wine.
Cons: Cramped conditions and overworked personnel jettisoned any possible joy.
The Bottom Line: KLM may still be a suitable option, but don't come panting with great expectations.
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| tombarnes's Full Review: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines |
We recently flew with KLM returning from Amsterdam to New York. Our flight over had been with Delta/Northwest (in the midst of a merger, it's hard to tell them apart now). I had flown KLM years before and my experience then had been overwhelmingly positive- at least on the flight to Amsterdam, if not on the return. My experience this time may simply have been a reflection of the miseries of a crowded summer travel season, but something important has been lost at KLM. Recapturing their former excellence may be elusive at this point.
KLM Crown Lounge- Schiphol
An unfortunate incident marred our brief stay at Schiphol. We were directed to the KLM Crown Lounge which was inconveniently located in a warren of hallways upstairs. Getting there was complicated further by broken elevators (2) and the lack of proper signage. Once we arrived, I was rudely informed that my American Express Platinum card would not, in fact, allow us entrance. Had the ladies at the desk been even polite about the matter, I would have been more understanding. They were brisk to the point of rudeness. They then proceeded to rant to each other about how "we're always having to deal with these awful American Express people every day" before shooing us out the door. The error, I believe, had been made with Delta personnel, who had mistakenly assured us that we could use this lounge. In any event, I thought the whole incident reflected poorly upon KLM.
Boarding
The first unusual thing I encountered at Schiphol Airport was what seemed like a casual disregard for security. I was surprised to reach the gate without having to run through the gauntlet. Little did I know that the security screening process is handled directly at the boarding gates at Schiphol. The associated costs with this may make it an impossibility for other airports, but the system worked surprisingly well here. You'd think it would cause further delay, but the process was a near model of efficiency.
Less efficient was the unfortunate fact that they had overbooked the flight and apparently decided to arbitrarily move a number of passengers to standby status. We heard about this later, but I suppose it would explain the pandemonium we witnessed from afar as we boarded our Airbus A-300. For those wondering about their rights, they can be explained in the procedures of the Warsaw Convention Rules which can be had for the asking at any ticket counter (the airlines are required to provide them). We were glad we had been allowed to board the aircraft early.
Our 1:30 PM flight left about 20 minutes late, which was not bad when considering the leaden sky above. I was surprised that there were not more delays. We landed over an hour late because we had to circle New Brunswick three times because of air traffic control problems in New York.
Seating
I should have kept the original seat assignments, as they had at least given my father an aisle seat. Wanting to sit together, I asked for us to be moved. After expending what she loudly claimed was considerable effort, the gate agent produced two seats together for us- a middle seat and a window. Dad didn't want the window, so he elected to take the middle seat. What was ironic here was that the aisle seat next to us had miles of legroom- and someone happily sitting in it. Such are the vicissitudes of summer travel.
Legroom in coach? Unless you have a bulkhead or emergency exit seat, you can just forget it. The bulkhead passengers in front of us reclined their seats all the way, pushing our tray tables into our abdomens. Not much fun for an eight hour flight.
Dining
The airline did make an effort at serving halfway decent food. Halfaway is the pertinent word here as the best efforts do not always assure success. The oily slurry of chicken curry wasn't delicious, but it filled a void. It was undeniably more than you might receive on most American airlines. We would have been better off choosing the pasta. Accompanying the curry was a carrot and pasta salad which passed for edible. Desssert was a strange and saccharine lemon cake which lost me after one bite. I suggest you consider your roll with a tender eye before spurning it entirely.
As with Iberia and other European airlines, plentiful inexpensive wine was supplied as a panacea for cramped coach passengers. The wine was South African, in truth nothing special, but it dulled the pain of the confined setting. Contrary to reports of limitations, when I asked for another bottle, I wasn't denied it. They probably knew I'd go to sleep faster which is precisely what I did, though I woke up somewhere over Greenland after a nap of about an hour. If there was alcohol other than wine on offer, I never saw it.
TV/Entertainment
Each seat had a small screen and headphones were provided without charge. Granted, these weren't the large padded things you'd get in business class, but they worked. What confounded me was the system itself. A vast array of music and movie choices greeted me. but I soon found that I was watching a movie with Japanese subtitles added below. I switched to music and soon had Urdu subtitles on my screen. At this point I decided to read my book instead. I suppose they might have explained the system to me if I'd asked, but the flight attendants were really too busy to be bothered with such things. KLM appears to have reduced its staff to painful levels.
Service
Little can be said for the "service' we received on such a crowded flight. It was all the overworked flight attendants could do to simply serve everyone and then retreat to the underbelly of the plane for a well deserved nap. The attitude of the service personnel throughout was brisk and professional, but one could see the effects of stress breaking through their tight smiles. Only the staff at the airport lounge were beyond the pale.
Cost
I'll be the first to admit that we really didn't pay very much for this flight. The flight was booked through Hotwire as a package and the air portion was only about $860.00 or so per person. During the height of the summer travel season, this was not a bad price at all. Had we chosen to fly in business class, the ticket alone would have been at least $4000.00 per person, if not even higher. For the reduced amenities in business class these days, I would venture that this would not have been a smart move on our part.
Baggage
We were allowed to check one bag each without charge. To the airline's credit, they did not lose them or mangle them beyond recognition. I would not count on the baggage remaining free for much longer as these fees are now quite common for even international flights.
Overall
KLM may possibly be a better choice than other carriers, but it's difficult to see how this could still be so. We actually had a better flight experience on the outbound flight with Delta. Possibly the result of better seats, there was still enough of a difference to make the ordeal more palatable than on the return. These flights, sadly, recalled nothing of the warm and caring service I had fondly remembered from my earlier flights with the airline.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
Tel. 800-447-4747 USA
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
tombarnes
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 - Top 200 |
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Member: Thomas Barnes
Location: Fort Lauderdale & Washington, DC
Reviews written: 688
Trusted by: 444 members
About Me:
With Barbara in Miami, 2004
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