CHECK-IN I took advantage of KLM’s online check-in facility, which it offers to all its passengers travelling from all but a few of its airports. Of particular use to me was the ability to choose my seat, a standard feature these days but one that allowed me to pick seats I was interested in testing, both outbound and on the return AMS-LHR flight (to read the review click here).
I arrived at London Heathrow Terminal 4 at 0520 by taxi, bleary-eyed and barely awake but in plenty of time for my 0635 flight to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (KL1000). It was understandably very quiet, a huge benefit of arriving at a time in the morning I’ve only ever read about in books. As I'd printed my boarding card at home, I went straight to security to find only very small queues that moved quickly enough. By 0530 I was airside with half an hour before my gate opened – time enough for a much-needed bite to eat.
BOARDING The coffee shop I’d chosen for breakfast was located directly opposite the main airside entrance, which is more or less midway among the gate zones. At 0600 I walked to my gate in Zone E, which turned out to be a lot further than I imagined it would be. I arrived at the gate only to find a long queue, my fault for not having arrived sooner, I told myself.
Once on the plane, a 171-seat B737-800 on this occasion, it took a little while to get to my seat in row 24 as all the economy passengers had been let on at once – perhaps a staggered boarding system would've been more efficient. All in all, problems with boarding had delayed the plane for over half an hour with the captain making numerous sincere apologies. It appeared that there were some stragglers roaming the airport, and there also seemed to be an issue with a lack of overhead space, making it necessary for the plane to be held while the small overflow of hand luggage was moved to the baggage hold.
THE SEAT Thanks to online check-in I had chosen seat 24A, a window seat to the rear of the plane. KLM’s B737-800 has 29 rows in a 3-3 configuration (ABD-DEF). There is no row 13. To see a seatplan, click here.
I found my seat to be a little narrow with only a few inches of space between my knees and the chair in front. However, despite the lack of legroom, I was still able to put my feet far enough under the seat in front for a little extra comfort. There was no IFE, but the one in-flight KLM magazine had some very interesting articles on the general theme of sound.
WHICH SEAT TO CHOOSE? Without a doubt, one of the emergency exit seats, listed clearly as “preferred” on KLM’s online check-in facility. These do cost extra. As for the rest of economy, I’d plump for as far forward and as close to the exit as possible, just to make boarding and disembarking quicker.
THE FLIGHT We left the runway at 0710, 35 minutes behind schedule due to problems with boarding as mentioned earlier. Ten minutes into the flight the drinks trolley came around, quickly followed by sandwiches. In blue and white packaging, the snack consisted of two halves of a ham and cheese sandwich cut into triangles. As I’d already had breakfast I passed, but it did look nice and just about right for a 45-minute flight. I found time for a quick nap, which wasn’t too hard to achieve though there’s no telling whether this was down to the seat’s comfort or an intense and profound lack of sleep.
Considering that it was so early, the plane itself was quite full. I’d say it was operating at around 80 per cent capacity consisting mainly of suited men, people transiting onto destinations such as Mombassa via Schiphol and the odd Dutch student.
ARRIVAL We landed at 0810 (0910 local time) and spent a good 15 minutes waiting while the plane taxied to the gate. It took a little while to disembark from the plane, but once off the rest was quite quick. At Schiphol I found short queues at immigration with plenty of lanes open. With no checked luggage I was soon in the arrivals hall and on my way.
VERDICT It is unfortunate that the flight was delayed, which meant I missed a meeting. However, it could be a great service for anyone with business in Amsterdam, if you bear in mind the very early start at the London end and the fact that you’ll probably have to fork out for a taxi to Heathrow. The service was pretty decent and not too rushed on such a short flight.
PRICE A mid-week return in January from KLM’s website starts from £171. The morning flight from LHR is more expensive, bumping the return price up to £233.
CONTACT klm.com
Andrew Gough
