[Anonymous]

[MarcusUK]

This KLM 14.50 flight runs daily, a 737-700 LHR-AMS.
It is the first flight after a few hours gap ex LHR with KLM, the previous being 11.45am.
Starting in January, there will be a 13.00 hr flight.

The 737-700’s are KLM’s newest aircraft for Europe, (apart from Embraer 190’s) with their whole fleet having been renewed in the last 5 years. They are spacious inside, the usual “KLM Blue” style cabin, with new seats that are thinner and stronger,, weighing less also.

Being a Gold card holder, check in at T4 is always through the segregated and quiet Skyteam check in area, rarely having to wait.
However, Priority Security is not available at LHR, unlike most skyteam airports worldwide. This should be fixed! The UK chooses not to have immigration checks on exiting the country, so no clearance at all to worry about.
Security at LHR the staff appear always to be rude, more interested in talking amongst themselves and a very lax and un-interested attitude, so it takes 10-15 minutes always even with just a few in your queue. you pay around £12.50 to go through on your ticket, and the service is atrocious. It is almost self service, and reliably upsets most people.

Able as always to use the Skyteam lounge at LHR T4, which always is impeccable. It is so well maintained, Gold, Platinum, Elite skyteam, and Business passengers can use the lounge, right by the KLM gates.
It looks and feels as fresh and new as the day it opened, unlike many lounges at LHR. Always a good hot breakfast, Lunch, or dinner menu, with soup and a vegetarian and meat main course, salads, meats and cheese, fresh breads and fruit.
The excellent wine bar, and hot cold drinks are of top quality. You have a choice of areas, from business pr pc area, lounge seats, or group seating in a semi circle, and the wine bar is a whole circle of seats. Upstairs is usually quieter, and they have a “Living wall garden” off the inner wall, always creating a great fresh air, than normal air conditioning, More O2.
There is a spa, massage chairs. O2 bar, and snooze cabins.
All outlooks onto the usual KLM gates from T4 and the end of the South West runway.
A very pleasant great multi facility lounge, and a professional and polite welcome always, staff stand up as you arrive!

Boarding is not well done at LHR, apart from the Sky priority passengers on one side of the boarding gates. This means much fumbling about on the aircraft and wasted time, and this could be better done by seat rows.
However, the coffee can be smell before you board along the ramp, a technique of KLM as a traditional welcome, a feature on all KLM flights. The Purser always has a bright warm welcome, and the crew equally happy in their work, and assist enthusiastically, and made a cheerful atmosphere.

KLM have a new zone called “Economy Comfort”. These can run from row 3 back to row 9, depending on the business class seats needed, but usually consist of 3-4 rows. The cost is around £12 for non frequent flyers, and scales back by 25%, 50% (for Gold) or free for Platinum Flying Blue card holders. I paid £6.10. The seats have an orange headrest cover labelled “Economy Comfort”, so you are in the front rows of economy, and if the aircraft is not fully booked or these seats taken, quieter, with a possibility that you have a seat free next to you.
However, the system is not well monitored on board, and we have seen cheeky Business passengers walking forwards and sitting there if it is not busy without paying, regularly.
KLM also need to monitor this and ensure that if you sit there, like everyone else, you pay!
The seat does have a small extra incline, but certainly a few extra inches of room, and the Business curtain slides up and down, so being in the front rows at times, would be the same legroom as a business seat when the curtains move. There is no difference in catering, but you do get served first.
Clever KLM always have a trolley serving at the front and the back, on this brief 45 min flight, with full drinks and a basic alcohol service too.
The crew worked speedily and pleasantly, and KLM always serves great coffee.
Pilots always give a natural feel for information, and can indicate at Schiphol exactly which gate we will arrive at, and the time, to assist transferring passengers especially.

The take off was unusual at T4, heading straight to the end of the runway and taking off, 5 mins from the gate in total! Lucky for us, we also had a close runway at Schiphol, and landed with a 3 minute taxi to our gate there.
The Captain or co-pilot always comes out to say good bye, along with the purser, as you leave.

The priority tag worked well as always at Schiphol, with the exact minute the bag was displayed to be due, coming out amongst the first.

KLM have some of the most comfortable seats on their 737 varied fleet, and new Embraer 190’sand newest fleet in Europe. The cabins are always very clean and new a feel to them, and the crew some of the most pleasant and welcoming, genuinely happy crews, who work well as teams, and always well lead by the Purser. Good Leadership!

The “Economy Comfort” zone, does provide a little more space, and if not full, maybe free seats around you, and before the engine so quieter. But, KLM need to enforce the fact that people pay to sit in this new zone, and people should not merely walk forwards and be able to sit there without making the same contribution. It is not though, a 3rd cabin for a European flight with its own character and services. For longer European flights i think it is worth it and better value.
But if the plane is full, other passengers will be allocated to sit here, without a charge, so it is not a fair system?!

A base return fare from LHR-AMS with KLM runs from £95 available on most flights each day if booked ahead. these fares remain on one or two flights up to a week ahead if you want to be flexible for a good fare.
Business class runs from £354 return, all bookable on KLM.com the UK based site.
KLM WILL charge for a hold luggage each way now, if you are not a FFP member!

Overall, an excellent short European flight, with a world class long haul lounge, and some of the most happy and welcoming cabin crews in Europe, and brand new aircraft, offering a high Quality KLM experience.

[TominScotland]

Great KLM review as always, MarcusUK. I love your picture of happy KLM crew, maybe piroetting down the aisle?

I have a flight with KLM in a few days time and just wish that the KLM website was as happy as their crew!! I am trying to register my Platinum number which the site tells me does not exist on a booking which the site refuses to recognise. Happy days, indeed!! I will try the call centre tomorrow………. Happy days!

[PatJordan]

Very interesting review, Marcus.

Your experience with LHR Security was poor: sadly this seems to becoming a regular feature of travelling through LHR.

[Edski777]

Tom,
Try to reach KLM via social media. They are very responsive to this type of communication. Normally you get an answer back within the hour.
They really seem to understand how to operate and use this medium to support their customer base.

[canucklad]

Great review Marcus
And if any airline employees of influence are reading this s review, have you noted some small and significant touches that Marcus recognizes….

1) The inviting smell of coffee….on boarding the aircraft
2) Pilots communicating gate arrival , I will also add that on EDI flights they have also let us know what gates the connecting flights are leaving from
3) One of the pilots thanking you for your custom when you leave

Costs nothing in cash, but priceless in goodwill and differentiating yourself from others.

Well done KLM

[MarcusUK]

Kind of you guys to take the time to comment, thanks.

Tom- I hope KLM solved the issue for you, sounds like a few glitches you cannot solve via the website yourself, unusual though as normally a great website, and user friendly.

Pat – Unfortunately, the only content experience with LHR security I have had in the last 5 years, has been travelling with VS through their own security channel. They obviously require different standards and supervise them up there.

Canucklad – I think you are right, it is the small touches that makes something unique, memorable and does not cost anything. Perhaps in the Airline industry, this is also professionalism, dedicated service, and certainly for KLM, things done in the glory days, they want and plan to carry on.
Even if all the basics are there for any flight with any Airline, it is the extra things they do not have to do, but do, that make the difference.
In this way, I think KLM excels.

When is has not, and i have emailed, the issues ARE investigated, addressed with Managers, and a token of miles etc given, for major issues.
You always get a phone call back from KLM to discuss it with you, inform you of the action, thank you for doing so, and a gesture.
Equally I thank them for their time, and genuine interest, so it is a win win always.
What more could you ask being so open and honest?

[JohnHarper]

Great review thanks Marcus. KLM are front runners.

[TominScotland]

It will be interesting to see whether KLM cabin crew remain ‘happy’ (in Marcus’ words) given news reported on BT today – http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/100008/cityhopper-to-take-over-klms-european-network

It would seem that bean counting is a disease which is not exclusive to BA but is now infecting LH and KLM as well……..

[AMcWhirter]

Hello TominScotland

You make a good point. I didn’t want to get too involved in the industrial relations side of things because the actual takeover will be over a period of five years so there will be much negotiating.

As far as I know, KLM mainline pilots are unaffected by this arrangement. It concerns only the cabin staff.

[MarcusUK]

Hi all.
Not surprising news, as Air France changed some of their services to a low cost version “Hop” last year.

But KLM have not said they are going to a low cost model, and certainly with some of the newest fleet in Europe, 737-8-9 00’s and new Embraer 190’s these will remain for their European services.

On the other hand, there has always been a different Management Philosophy at KLM, and often staff refer to the Company “run as a Family” Therefore there have not been striking as with AF, BA, Iberia, LH. More pone of discussions, co-operation and involvement in decisions and ideas from all staff teams.

You must also remember, as reported to shareholders, that in the last years KLM made no one redundant, especially after the last crisis 2008/9. Staff volunteered to take on other roles, pilots taking over Flight control operations, crews working as ground staff, others volunteering as secretaries, and many dedicating extra hours for free. Every staff member worked one hour extra for nothing in addition.

They came up with great ideas that were put into practice from base staff, saving fuel, using developing and using bio-fuels before anyone else, improving meals, lessening weights on planes, yet enhancing services. They have won the Worlds most Sustainable Airline Award for the last 11 years, in green measures, as one example. that also cut costs and showed great striving more than any others.

I feel sad for the staff, as they have done more than most Airline employees in other groups, not striking before. They are actually profitable, it is the AF arm that bleed out financially. The group as a whole have a “2015 transform Plan”, which is proving effective. I provided a link on another thread to KLM corporate to see results.
the 3rd 14 results showed over E 600M profit alone, and big turn around.

The services and planes we are told in Alex’s report, show nothing much will change, and some European routes, even the Embraers and few Fokker 790’s running AMS-LHR, are already run under KLM Cityhopper group, as many regional routes into the UK.

So they have been have been more involved as a staff group than another Airline, and i think looked after innovatively, and very well, they certainly are a happy crew on all flights.

We all know, that IAG, LH have pushed their routes into a lower cost model to compete. But it does not mean or sound like KLM are going low cost, more lessening costs for their entire European network, with far better planes than low cost or many legacy Airlines. Great animosity and strikes and opposition between staff and management were evident and have damaged the reputations. Not so with KLM.

I am sure there is great disappointment amongst the European crews, but KLM are expanding Long haul routes to Asia, South America, so many crew will be needed there and they can swap.

It will not be the end of KLM in Europe, they once had KLM UK from STN flying to most European cities, and now imminently the selling off of CityJet, may well add routes run by KLM into LCY and important feeder route. As Alex states (the CEO of AF / KLM) that 66% of their business is transit via AMS, so European routes are important, and they have no domestic network. I often regard KLM’s European network as their domestic base.

It is a sad reality, but they need to survive, but I am sure that KLM will be handling it with their staff in a more sensitive manner and far less a confronting, autocratic manner and attitude.

But a long 5 yr phased in plan for a huge number of flights, is a steady and slow adaptation to go. KLM have not been recruiting externally for a few years, staff have the opportunity. to change roles rather than face redundancy.

Not detail info yet and nothing on KLM corporate yesterday, Alex has some good sources!

We shall see, but as most large Airline groups in Europe, they will have one main Legacy Airline running Med and Long haul services, and a different European group feeding in.

They also already have a very successful Transavia network which is low cost, that will be replacing Paris Orly AF flights, and taking over the airport soon also!

Changes all round with all European Airlines, and difficult times.
But KLM will still be here and in one of the strongest positions in Europe. Their Long Haul services, will be some of the very best cabins, and meal services and newer aircraft, expanding where others have not. So strengths there, but changes in Europe to come.

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