Review of KLM flight Jakarta Kuala Lumpur in Business

Airline KLM
Flight KL810
Class Business
Seat 2A
Aircraft Boeing 777-200ER
Flight time 02:10
Take-off 06 Jul 16, 18:45
Arrival at 06 Jul 16, 21:55
KL   #43 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 1047 reviews
MRTY
By 3606
Published on 11th July 2016
Hi everyone. This is my first trip report and also the first time I write an online trip report. I hope you can enjoy it and hopefully, my writing skill as a newbie would also improve for next.

The sole purpose of the trip was actually to gain more miles to my GarudaMiles and also to spend some time during Eid holiday in which Kuala Lumpur seems to be a better choice, given it would be less crowded during that time too. So I just decided to give another Skyteam member a try. After some checking and price comparing, KLM gives a lot more economical price for a round-trip business class than other Skyteam members including Garuda. And since this is also the first time I fly with KLM and they also have CGK-KUL route service, the ticket was in my hand in just a couple of minutes.

I didn't expect too much about KLM. I thought it would be just another European carrier which in my first impression was not comparable to Asian carriers in terms of service or level of politeness. But it turned out to be the contrary since the first time I stepped into the aircraft. Now I can easily say that I like KLM as much as I like other Asian carriers I've taken so far, no doubt that KLM will be my choice in the future.

Pictures will tell more than words, so here they are.


Close to empty check-in desk for business class passenger:

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KLM business class passenger has the privilege to use Garuda Indonesia International Lounge:
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Inside the lounge and some snack to nibble before flight:
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KLM Sky Priority boarding pass:
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A beautiful blue bird has just waited outside, I really love that livery on a B777-200.
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Time for boarding. One improvement in CGK is that they really emphasize boarding based on sequence and they also have a special waiting area for Sky Priority. Once stepped into the aircraft, a smiling FA welcomed me on board and showed me to my seat. Seemed like a very nice flight to come.
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I got KLM new World Business Class seat this time. This is the newest business class product from KLM and probably they have converted all old business class seats into this one by now.


Checking my seat:
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As soon as I was seated, that friendly FA who welcomed me at the door came with a round of welcome drinks. This time I chose champagne, KLM offers Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Reserve. This was followed by a scented hot towel.
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And then, she gave this amenity kit pouch to each passenger. This was really surprising, I never thought that KLM would give such a complete set of amenity kit on this 2-hour flight. Other airlines would have never thought of giving this on such a short flight. Thumbs up, KLM!!
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The pouch itself is branded as "Jantaminiau". I just knew after some searching that Jantaminiau is a fashion label by a Dutch designer Jan Taminiau. KLM really puts so much effort for its premium passengers. What can I say but "Wow"…

Here's the content inside the pouch: a pair of socks, earplugs, eye-shade, a comb, dental kit.
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Here's what the noise canceling headphones look like. Looks premium and when I tried, the noise canceling function worked really well.
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Before take-off, the FA distributed two menus, one was for dinner and one for wine. The FA's just let us browse to the menus without asking what we would like to have. They only asked just before they pulled trolley cart to our seat. I think this is quite different with most airlines I took, since most of them would give us the menu and then ask us soon after. But it's not a big deal anyway, I think it's just the way KLM does the thing.

Some shots of the menus that come in 3 languages: Dutch, English, and Indonesian.
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And it turned out that one of Indonesian famous celebrity chefs, Farah Quinn, works along with KLM for the menu, and especially for the Indonesian set menu.
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An extensive array of wine and beverages:



Just before the meal service started, the FA came to each passenger asking for a startup drink, and here's what I chose: Flying Dutchman Cocktail. It's KLM signature drink made from gin, blackberry liquor, lemon jiuce, and sugar syrup. The cocktail tastes really nice, mostly on a sweet side. This is one of my favorite drinks I've ever had on an airline.
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Time for dinner service and this is the part that I liked the most on this flight. You can see that all dishes come in one tray which include: tuna on noodle salad as starter, choice of Farah Quinn's fragrant chicken curry or spinach cannelloni as main, and srikaya layered coconut cake as dessert. This time, I picked the cannelloni as my main.
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Love the fine chinaware and those unique motifs on the cutlery. Looks so classy and elegant.
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And salt & pepper shaker in a shape of a sand-glass.
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The cannelloni was tasty and well-seasoned with lots of olives and tomatoes, just what you expect from a Western food.

It was still half of the journey after meal service is finished, so I just lounge around on the comfy seat and spent the rest of the flight watching the moving map.
After this, I wanted to try the bed mode and here how it looks like:
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A solid premium product for premium passengers and it comes completely flat, the cushion is so fluffy but at the same time also gives a well support to your back. I definitely wouldn't mind taking long-haul flight on this seat.


The rest of the flight went uneventful, FA came around offering coffee and tea, the weather was calm so hardly felt any turbulence. I felt that the 2 FA's serving business class were very professional on one side, while chatty and sometimes even tossed jokes with other passengers on the other side. It makes me feel very much welcome but also very much safe under their supervision.

And finally, the legendary KLM Delft Houses were given to each business class passenger, a very nice gesture to keep your customers loyal.
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When I asked what kind of house this is, the FA patiently explained in a polite yet friendly gesture. She even gave me that booklet containing all collections from the very first house to the latest one.


All in all, this flight was worth in every aspect, from the price, service and FA's attitude. The first with KLM and definitely will not be the last to fly with them.


















See more

Verdict

KLM

9.0/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew10.0
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Meal/catering9.0

Garuda Executive Lounge

8.0/10
Comfort8.0
Meal/catering9.0
Entertainment/wifi7.0
Services8.0

Jakarta - CGK

6.9/10
Efficiency8.5
Access5.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness7.0

Kuala Lumpur - KUL

8.5/10
Efficiency8.5
Access8.5
Services8.0
Cleanliness9.0

Conclusion

KLM definitely worth its 4-star ranking and I can positively say that they deserve a 5-star status given all aspects from ground service, on-board service, and most of all the crews. Looking forward for my next trip with them and surely, it'll be in near future.

Information on the route Jakarta (CGK) Kuala Lumpur (KUL)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 20 avis concernant 4 compagnies sur la ligne Jakarta (CGK) → Kuala Lumpur (KUL).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Garuda Indonesia avec 8.0/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 1 heures et 52 minutes.

  More information

4 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 357236 by
    KLM777300ER BRONZE 47 Comments
    Nice trip report, thanks for sharing. Looks like you were on KLMs newer 777-300ER, PH-BVP.
  • Comment 357584 by
    CounterSurprise 80 Comments
    Thanks for the FR. Very nice report indeed. As a Dutchman I take flying KLM for "granted" and always enjoy to see how other people experience the fifth freedom flights. I suppose it's the same effect as if Asiana flew from Amsterdam to Madrid with a 77W :-)
    I enjoy the new KLM J-product as well and think they did a lot to improve. However, the amenity kit is still a bit limited in my eyes.

    Hope to read another FR from you soon!
    • Comment 357665 by
      MRTY AUTHOR 61 Comments
      Thanks for commenting, CounterSurprise, really appreciate your time to stop by. Indeed, I already have two fifth freedom flights with KLM and both of them were nice. KLM is a good airline and it deserves support from us, the customers.

      Finding out that they give amenity kit for such a short hop is enough to amaze me as well. Probably the content would be more complete for long haul flight?

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