Review of KLM flight Jakarta Kuala Lumpur in Economy

Airline KLM
Flight KL810
Class Economy
Seat 59G
Aircraft Boeing 777-300ER
Flight time 01:40
Take-off 24 Jul 16, 19:30
Arrival at 24 Jul 16, 22:10
KL   #44 out of 96 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 1049 reviews
anaknegeri
By 3077
Published on 17th August 2016
Good day everyone!

I was surprised that KLM offered cheap ticket price on Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur sector, starting from Rp500.000 (about US$ 40). After finding suitable time (due to business and campus activities), finally I decided to go at July 24th 2016.

At 3.30 p.m., I arrived at my country's busiest airport, Soekarno-Hatta Airport.

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*Air France logo still there.

Before check-in, I tried to find money changer but the rates were very terrible. No problem, I could take Ringgits at the ATM later after arriving at Kuala Lumpur airport. Then I waited in queue for check-in. It was quite long. Majority of passengers were Dutch and Malaysian. I could easily hear Dutch and Malay languages everywhere.

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After check-in, as usual, I proceed to immigration counter to get my passport stamped. Since the immigration counter was closer to Terminal E, while the KLM would depart from Terminal D, I had to walk quite far.
Before entering the gate (D2), there were 2 security checks. The 1st took place before Terminal 2 main area, and the 2nd was at gate D2. Maybe it was stricter because the KLM would fly to Europe.

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The KLM aircraft had just landed from Kuala Lumpur. Its registration code was PH-BVP, and when I checked through FR24, the aircraft was just 6 months old. Really "fresh".

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There was still about an hour to wait before boarding. At the waiting room, I was surrounded by Dutch and Malaysians. Indonesians like me were minority. KL810 schedule was very suitable for Malaysians going home, while for Indonesians it was too late, arriving Kuala Lumpur at 22.10.

Time for boarding. I was greeted by senior cabin crews. I had to seat at 59G seat, far behind. To reach my seat, I had to pass business class area.

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Then the economy class.



Safety card.
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"Holland Herald" magazine.
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"Sky High" In-flight shopping catalogue.
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At my left side was a Malaysian family. We had a short talk in Malay. They asked me about my journey, my job, and anything. After all passengers entered the aircraft, IFE system started showing safety instruction in English with Dutch subtitle. Nice animation video.

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After that, we still had to wait to take-off, since the Soekarno-Hatta Airport's traffic was very crowded at that time. Scheduled at 6.50 p.m., the aircraft actually take-off at 7.30 p.m. While waiting to take-off, the IFE system could be used. There were movies, TV series, musics, flight routes, and others. "Batman v Superman" was the highlight, while there were also European, Asian, and Latin American movies. Actually there was an USB plug, and I tried to play musics from my cellphone. It could detect, but couldn't be played. Don't know why.



As usual, I was not interested in movies, so I switched the IFE to flight map & route. Then as a Roman Catholic I decided to have Rosary prayer while waiting to take-off.

Finally, the PH-BVP aircraft flew to the sky. No turbulences, the weather condition was very good.

About 20 minutes later, cabin crews started serving dinner. There were a Chinese-style fried noodle, pickles, a Dutch-style dessert, and a bottle of mineral water. Separately, the cabin crews gave me a Dutch bread and a cup of orange juice. The flavors were not too delicious, but good enough. Fortunately, a Malaysian at my left side offered me her noodle. How kind she was.

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After enjoying the meal, I took a short time to the lavatory.

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Then I continued reading "Holland Herald" magazine that made me as Indonesian pride because it had a nice article about Bali.

Time for landing. Quite short journey.
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Finally the KLM arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). My cellphone showed the time at 10.10 p.m. Then it was time to leave the KLM new aircraft.
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Passengers continuing the journey to Amsterdam proceed to transit counter, while other passengers like me had to go to main terminal by the people mover, since the KLM was parked at the satellite terminal building.



On the main terminal, I got my passport stamped at the immigration counter, then took my luggage at the carousel.

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From the KLIA, I took the KLIA Transit train to KLIA2. I would spend a night at the KLIA2, sleeping at the terminal building.

(Two days later, I found the aircraft again at Singapore Changi Airport)
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Verdict

KLM

7.8/10
Cabin8.5
Cabin crew7.5
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Meal/catering7.0

Jakarta - CGK

6.6/10
Efficiency7.0
Access7.0
Services6.5
Cleanliness6.0

Kuala Lumpur - KUL

7.4/10
Efficiency7.5
Access7.0
Services7.5
Cleanliness7.5

Conclusion

First time trying KLM, I was satisfied. Fortunately I got one of their newest aircraft (PH-BVP), delivered at January 2016. It was still very "fresh" and well-maintained. IFE system and the safety instruction was nice, with great appearance and menu's design, but I don't know why I couldn't connect my cellphone to it. Cabin crews' service was average. The dinner set was not too delicious, but good enough. Someday I must have a journey with KLM again, especially for long-distance route.

Jakarta airport? No comment.

KLIA? Large building and nice design, but average service. Since the LCCs move to LCCT and new KLIA2, I'd never visited the KLIA and I think it's still same with 9 years ago.

Thanks for reading. Please apologize for any mistakes. Advices are appreciated.

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

2 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 363243 by
    MrMax 142 Comments
    Thanks for this FR. I agree that the meal doen't look so nice, but at least they provided a free meal on a regional flight unlike the US airlines. Was there a second choice? The new a/c looks nice with big IFE screens.
    • Comment 363261 by
      anaknegeri AUTHOR 55 Comments
      Actually it was not regional flight, but inter-continental flight with a stopover. I don't know if they did offer food choice for the KL-Amsterdam sector, but for the Jakarta-KL sector they gave only dinner set like on the photo.
      Thanks for reading, sir!

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