CHECK-IN As this was the final leg of a return flight from San Francisco via Detroit and Amsterdam with Northwest Airlines, which codeshares with KLM, I was already checked in and in possession of a boarding pass which covered all three flights. (To read the review of the NWA flight from San Francisco to Detroit, click here, and for NWA’s service from Detroit to Amsterdam, click here.)
We started our descent into Amsterdam Schiphol at 0420 and landed on time at 0445 (1045 local time). Business class passengers were disembarked first via an airbridge, and as I was catching connecting flight KL1017 at 1325 to London, I went straight to the KLM Crown lounge (number 52) to pass the time.
THE LOUNGE Located next to the meditation room on a mezzanine level above the main terminal floor, this huge lounge with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking aircraft stands has plenty of different kinds of seating from funky, red, retro armchairs and canteen-style tables and chairs to low square couches and banquettes. There are several bar areas with jugs off fruit juice, bottles of sparkling wine on ice, spirits, and fridges with beer, wine and mixers.
For those feeling peckish there was a small canteen area with trays of scrambled eggs, a bowl of pasta salad, some sandwiches (which disappeared very quickly), fresh rolls, cheese and cold meats, fruit, crisps, pretzels, doughnuts and biscuits. (Note that this area can become very congested as there is not a lot of room to manoeuvre.)
There were plenty of staff on hand topping up the food and drink and clearing tables and while the facility was very busy, there was no problem finding somewhere to sit and work. (There is a raised level beyond the main part of the lounge connected by a shallow ramp, which also has another bar so passengers are spoilt for choice.)
Other benefits the lounge provides are free wifi (the password is simply “KLM” followed by the date “ddmmyy”), showers, free English newspapers including The Guardian, a smoking room, and large departure screens by reception. Those who have access to this lounge are World Business Class passengers, KLM Europe Select passengers, Flying Blue and WorldPerks Asia Platinum Elite members, Flying Blue and WorldPerks Asia Gold Elite members, and KLM American Express Corporate card-holders.
BOARDING I noticed that boarding for my KLM flight to London Heathrow had started on time at 1245 from Gate D46, so left the lounge and made my way there. (A good 15 minutes’ walk.) There was a security check (laptops out, jackets and boots off) and then a bit of a rush to board the plane, as everyone was crammed into a relatively small space beyond the x-ray machine.
THE SEAT I was in middle seat 1E, although I would have changed to a window seat if I had had the option to when I checked in online – as I was flying with codeshare partner Northwest from SFO to DTW and from DTW to AMS, I was redirected from klm.com to nwa.com to complete the check-in process and manage my flight options, which meant I could select my seat on the two NWA flights, but not on the KLM flight. I did not try and navigate my way back to klm.com (there was obvious way of doing this via nwa.com) to do this as I knew it was such a short flight it did not matter to me that much.
Europe Select (KLM’s short-haul business class product) is configured 3-3 (A-B-C, D-E-F) across four rows on board this 147-seat B737-400 (there were three rows only on the left-hand side as extra space was taken up by a closet). These standard short-haul seats have a 33-inch (84cm) pitch, a width of 17 inches (43cm) and a recline of 3.5 inches (9cm).
As the cabin was only half full and no one was sitting in row one, I asked to move to window seat 1A (window seat 1F was occupied), which I did shortly after take-off. After doing so I noticed that on this side, seats in this row have slightly less legroom than 1D/E/F.
WHICH SEAT TO CHOOSE? As this is such a short flight, choosing your seat really comes down to whether you prefer being by a window or the aisle. (I would avoid middle seats B and E.) Seats 1D and 1F have a little extra legroom and sitting in now one also means you get served food and drink first and disembark before anyone else, so these are good bets.
THE FLIGHT A light lunch was served in a KLM Europe Select-branded blue cardboard box at 1350, which I skipped as was feeling pretty exhausted and had no appetite. However, it looked tasty and I noted that the meal included a dish of fried gambas and a piece of blueberry cheesecake. There was also the option of alcoholic drinks, tea and coffee, but I just opted for water and had a snooze.
ARRIVAL The pilot announced that Heathrow was quiet on this Sunday morning and that there was no queue to land, so we made our descent and touched down ahead of schedule at 1325 local time. My two bags had been through-checked from San Francisco successfully, and were on the conveyor belt within a few minutes of arriving at the luggage carousel. I was in arrivals by 1355.
VERDICT A short, sweet flight with helpful crew and a landing ahead of schedule – no problems at all. Considering this was the third flight I had taken within 24 hours, this was a relief.
PRICE Return KLM Europe Select flights from London to Amsterdam start from £413 in May. Internet rates for a return KLM/NWA business class flight from London Heathrow to San Francisco via Detroit and Amsterdam in May started from £1,669 online at klm.com.
By Jenny Southan
