I arrived in AMS on a previous KLM CityHopper flight from Bristol and proceeded to the E section of the airport for my flight to Johannesburg where my plane was already waiting.
The departure board, I'd say my flight was probably one of the most exciting on the list!
There's quite a bit of work going on in the airport at the moment, which meant there was less of oa choice of things to do while waiting for the flight.
Waiting for boarding was a bit of a shambles, with there being nowhere near enough seats at the gate for the numbers of people on this size of plane. Everyone was queuing up long before they announced boarding.
When boarding finally commenced we got a view of the plane again from the airbridge.
After being greated onboard, I took my seat towards the rear of the plane.
The in-flight magazines and safety card
A few shots of some the aircraft in AMS
And we are up
We were provided with a small snack to start with and a KLM postcard! AS you can see the guy in front of me reclined his seat as soon as we took off. It stayed that way for the next 10 hours until landing, despite the attendants requesting everybody return to upright for meals. At the aisle end of my row was a rather large gentleman, he couldn't even put down his tray table due to the reclined seat in front of him. Luckily the person on front of him was kind enough to let him eat. The flight attendant wouldn't ask the person in front for him as everyone has the right to recline their seats, he then had to ask himself. I wish the reclining on the seats could be disabled during daytime hours - I'm quite a tall person and when the seat in front was reclined it made it very difficult to see the enertainment screen. So difficult in fact I gave up watching a movie as it was impossible to watch at this angle. This was quite an old plane, I hope the newer interiors are better and that the screens can be seen from different angles. (Rant over).
A nice view of the Alps over France
Lunch was provided somewhere over Algeria. As is usual my vegetarian meal came before everybody else's. It was difficult to eat with the chair in my face and also difficult to get served as the aforementioned large gentleman in my row spent most of the time stood up in the aisle. This resulted in me not being provided with a beverage when the trolley came round as nobody could see me (or just because they attendants hadn't given me food so forgot to ask if I would like a drink). The meal was ok, I think I was also supposed to have a piece of bread as there was some butter and no obvious thing to eat it with.
The Sahara
The crew disappeared after lunch but there were snacks and soft drinks available in the galley.
We were now passing beyond the Sahara and the flight started to get a bit bumpy. It remained like this on and off for most of hte remaining journey.
A small snack was provided around 16:30
And dinner at around 19:00. Must say I was hoping for a something a little more substantial at this point.Everybody else got a slice of pizza and I ended up ordering room service when I got to my hotel as I was starved!
We arrived into Johannesburg on time. (No photos I'm afraid, it was quite dark and they all come out rubbish). Immigration at JNB was relatively quick (certainly no 2 hour US style queuing!) The bags arrived in a fair amount of time.
As this is South Africa (and everybody says it's dangerous outside!), my hotel provided a shuttle bus from the bus terminal every 30 mins. The airport is now also connected to the centre of Joburg as well as Pretoria via the Gautrain - a save, cheap and modern train system.
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Verdict
KLM
3.3/10
Cabin3.0
Cabin crew4.0
Entertainment/wifi3.0
Meal/catering3.0
Amsterdam - AMS
6.0/10
Efficiency5.0
Access5.0
Services6.0
Cleanliness8.0
Johannesburg - JNB
8.4/10
Efficiency8.5
Access8.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness9.0
Conclusion
I must say I was expecting good things from KLM. I like their short haul flights as they are very convenient for UK passengers unlike BA who fly to very few UK airports. Unfortunately here I was left disappointed. I couldn't see the entertainment screen do the angle of the seat in front, I was missed out on the drinks a few times as I received a vegetarian meal and the guy on the end of the row stood up most of the flight blocking me from view. The meal portions were also small leaving me hungry after the flight.
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Thanks for posting ! From what I saw on Flight Report, one of the main assets of KLM is their rather pleasant AMS hub. Unfortunately like every airport terminal when works are going on the experience is highly degraded. Let's hope it's for the best in the near future !
What is usually nice with old economy class cabins on long haul aircraft is that seats are quite large and the backrest is thicker. But they also recline much more, leaving very little room (had the same experience on BA all the way from DEN to LHR...)
The catering looks very mingy... No way you were hungry after landing. And the lack of care from the crew doesn't help. They shouldn't have acted as if you didn't exist because your neighbour was blocking the access. You didn't choose to be there.
Let's hope the new cabins offer a better experience although the transition from 3-3-3 to 3-4-3 isn't a good start...
Yes I've always enjoyed connecting through AMS, it's nice that everything is under one roof (no buses between terminals). I'm sure the airport will be even better when work has finished.
Well, I did actually choose to sit there! It appears I'll be flying an upgraded 777 on the way back, here's hoping I have a better experience otherwise I'll thing twice about KLM long haul next time.
Thanks for this report! In 2012 I took the same plane to go to cape town and I remember even as a 1m70 person that it was hard to eat when the seat in front of you was reclined. Looking at the pictures you seem taller than me so I understand the pain ! I hope KLM do better in the future with their 777
Thanks, yes I've had a good time while being here. Cape Town is really nice, I'd recommend a trip there to anyone. Unfortunately I only spent the weekend in Cape Town, but this is now a good excuse for a return visit :)
I am quite happy to read a FR on this flight as I was supposed to fly KL from AMS to JNB last year - but Air France's strike didn't allow me to catch this flight, and I had to fly EK instead.
Your conclusion could be the same as mine : one very disappointing flight and a bad passenger experience. First, the cabin is ageing, and then the frustrating catering and the rudeness of the passenger make it even worse.
What about the IFEs? Were they good enough to have a decent Image quality?
That being said, I assume you had the chance to have some breathtaking views of the Sahara desert from the air :)
From the angle of the IFE I was almost impossible to see the screen, so much so I gave up half way through the the film. It seems you need to have your face parallel to the screen to be able to watch it and unfortunately they don't tilt far enough for this to be possible when the seat in front is reclined
Yes certainly got some good views of the Sahara and of the Alps. But as the equator approached things got very cloudy and that was it then for the rest of the flight
Hello! Great report, I have to say I am not surprised at all by KLM anymore. I am slowly giving away my Flying Blue status of Platinum as its services (catering CHEAP, wines CHEAP, ground services CHEAP) and the crazy high amount of miles you need to spend for a free ticket makes me totally unattracted to give them my business. For instance, a KLM or AF ticket to N.A. from Europe is 62,500k in Business, for that same amount of miles with AA Advantage I can fly BA's First Class or 40k fly Etihad First/Residence to the M.E. from Europe.
Concerning the catering on your flight...it seems the tray got smaller again? Airlines think customers don't realize when they start further cutting costs...silly people in those offices, the last time I flew KLM was on Business Class long haul and I was very underwhelmed by the dinner served and the breakfast was to a disaster level. I am just crossing fingers for you on your return flight that it turns to be better. For your personal fun , one time flying Business the flight attendant ignored me and didn't offer a welcome drink...yes seated in Business on a 777. I had to call him and ask for it.
Have fun anyway, AMS seems to be a mess and taking a lot of time for those renovations to finally end.
It seems I'm going to have to bite the bullet and start flying BA then! At least this will soon be an option for me as I'm moving back to Northern England and will likely be flying through MAN when using full service airlines,
Not sure if the tray has gotten smaller as this was my first long haul with KLM. It certainly didn't fill me up so it's quite possible. As for the return flight it now seems I won't be flying KLM, all will be explained soon!
Great report! Departure boards are always fun to look at, especially when you are going to an exciting location like JNB! I took this flight two years ago and enjoyed it for the most part. It's a shame you did not have such a good flight. It's a long flight if you are not comfortable. If I'm flying by myself in Y, as much as I love window seats, I would almost prefer an aisle so that I don't feel stuck. As this is South Africa (and everybody says it's dangerous outside!) -- it is. Though probably not as bad as most people say, I still felt unsafe of several occasions in SA, but I really enjoyed the country.
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14 Comments
From what I saw on Flight Report, one of the main assets of KLM is their rather pleasant AMS hub. Unfortunately like every airport terminal when works are going on the experience is highly degraded. Let's hope it's for the best in the near future !
What is usually nice with old economy class cabins on long haul aircraft is that seats are quite large and the backrest is thicker. But they also recline much more, leaving very little room (had the same experience on BA all the way from DEN to LHR...)
The catering looks very mingy... No way you were hungry after landing. And the lack of care from the crew doesn't help. They shouldn't have acted as if you didn't exist because your neighbour was blocking the access. You didn't choose to be there.
Let's hope the new cabins offer a better experience although the transition from 3-3-3 to 3-4-3 isn't a good start...
Well, I did actually choose to sit there! It appears I'll be flying an upgraded 777 on the way back, here's hoping I have a better experience otherwise I'll thing twice about KLM long haul next time.
In 2012 I took the same plane to go to cape town and I remember even as a 1m70 person that it was hard to eat when the seat in front of you was reclined. Looking at the pictures you seem taller than me so I understand the pain ! I hope KLM do better in the future with their 777
Have a nice time in South Africa
Wow this really look like a terrible flight!
I'm surprised the crew wouldn't ask the pax in front to put his seat up, they normally do it without any issue during meals.
The catering concept is interesting with so many different services, but I agree that being forgotten by the crew several times is really offending.
Hope the return flight was better!
I'm sure you'll have a great time in South Africa which is a beautiful country. The Cape Town region is absolutely stunning.
I am quite happy to read a FR on this flight as I was supposed to fly KL from AMS to JNB last year - but Air France's strike didn't allow me to catch this flight, and I had to fly EK instead.
Your conclusion could be the same as mine : one very disappointing flight and a bad passenger experience. First, the cabin is ageing, and then the frustrating catering and the rudeness of the passenger make it even worse.
What about the IFEs? Were they good enough to have a decent Image quality?
That being said, I assume you had the chance to have some breathtaking views of the Sahara desert from the air :)
Looking forward to reading the next FR!
Cheers
Ilyes
Yes certainly got some good views of the Sahara and of the Alps. But as the equator approached things got very cloudy and that was it then for the rest of the flight
Concerning the catering on your flight...it seems the tray got smaller again? Airlines think customers don't realize when they start further cutting costs...silly people in those offices, the last time I flew KLM was on Business Class long haul and I was very underwhelmed by the dinner served and the breakfast was to a disaster level. I am just crossing fingers for you on your return flight that it turns to be better. For your personal fun , one time flying Business the flight attendant ignored me and didn't offer a welcome drink...yes seated in Business on a 777. I had to call him and ask for it.
Have fun anyway, AMS seems to be a mess and taking a lot of time for those renovations to finally end.
Cheers,
GC.
Not sure if the tray has gotten smaller as this was my first long haul with KLM. It certainly didn't fill me up so it's quite possible. As for the return flight it now seems I won't be flying KLM, all will be explained soon!
As this is South Africa (and everybody says it's dangerous outside!) -- it is. Though probably not as bad as most people say, I still felt unsafe of several occasions in SA, but I really enjoyed the country.
Luckily it wasn't a night flight, I find I need the space more at night even though I supposed to be asleep.
The only place I've felt a bit unsafe is in the centre of Joburg. I felt completely safe in Cape Town and when I was in Stellenbosch
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