Dutch airline KLM is poised to join the flat bed club. Starting in May 2013 it will begin installing proper flat bed seats across its long-haul fleet which will replace the current angled lie-flat versions.  

According to respected Dutch travel website zakenreis.nl the development has been confirmed by KLM's managing director Erik Varwijk. It will take 2.5 years to retrofit KLM's fleet with the new seating.  

KLM's B747s will be the first to have them fitted followed by its B777s and, finally, the Airbuses. Details of the various configurations are not yet available. The new seats will be fitted with traditional IFE screens.  

But interestingly, KLM's Erik Varwijk reckons that the future for IFE lies in portable tablets. Zakenreis.nl  quotes him as saying, "Tablets not only offer better quality and more opportunties [for IFE] but they are less likely to crash than the current IFE systems. Moreover, tablets are lighter which saves on fuel costs." 

It is believed that KLM has selected the Diamond seat from BEAerospace. These are similar to the new product being installed by Continental Airlines. 

KLM's joint partner Air France, which currently offers angled seating in business class, has yet to announce what version, if any, it will adopt in the future. 

The news will be wecomed by the tens of thousands of UK-based business people who patronise KLM for their long-haul flights via Amsterdam both from London and a large number of regional airports. 

For more information visit zakenreis.nl, klm.com.

Report by Alex McWhirter