Review of KLM Cityhopper flight Bristol Amsterdam in Economy

Airline KLM Cityhopper
Flight KL1054
Class Economy
Seat 18A
Aircraft Embraer E-190
Flight time 01:20
Take-off 02 Oct 15, 17:30
Arrival at 02 Oct 15, 19:50
WA   #50 out of 95 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 520 reviews
BobbieD
By 1878
Published on 14th October 2015
Welcome to this report. I recently enjoyed a trip to Munich, Germany for a weekend of Oktoberfest fun.

My plans were to fly out on Friday 2nd October for the final weekend of Oktoberfest flying with KLM from Bristol to Munich via Amsterdam returning on the Sunday

Here are the planned flight details:
KL1054 BRS-AMS
KL1801 AMS-MUC

return flights:
KL1798 MUC-AMS
KL1057 AMS-BRS


For reasons that will become clear in a minute, this report covers both the outbound flights to MUC.

My flight was due to depart from Bristol at 17:30. I curently live in the city of Bath and there is a direct bus to the airport from the city which takes around 1 hour. I planned therefore to take the bus departing from Bath at 15:00 to arrive in Bristol at 16:00. However, at around 14:00 I received this email

photo IMG_3522

Amsterdam had been experiencing some foggy weather and many flights had been delayed. I therefore decided to set off for the airport a little earlier in case my flight was going to be cancelled and I'd then be at the front of the queue if I needed to rebook.

I therefore decided to take the next bus leaving Bath at 14:30.

I arrived at the bus stop and waited.

photo IMG_3524

The bus was running about 15-20 min late by the time it arrived. As soon as I boarded we hit traffic.

photo IMG_3525

Travelling towards the airport the bus goes through the southern suburbs of Bristol and the traffic was pretty heavy. The planned 1 hour journey took around 1:30 when we finally arrived and I was glad I hadn't taken the later bus.

photo IMG_3526

Although I didn't have any hold luggage I went to chat to the KLM check-in staff which was seconds from the bus stop. The friendly staff informed me of the expected 30 min delay. As my connection in AMS was only 1:05 I asked if I was still going to make it. Unfortunately I was informed that it would be likely that I would miss my connection, but more information would be provided a little later. I was told to just proceed through security and wait and see what would happen. So off I went up towards security with a view of the check-in hall and out over a terminal expansion.

photo IMG_3528photo IMG_3529

Security was very busy that day and I had to wait a while before getting to the scanners.

Eventually I got to the departure lounge via the duty free shop. Here's the departure board showing the delay and the departure hall.

photo IMG_3530photo IMG_3531photo IMG_3536

A recent departure lounge extension also includes a roof terrace

photo IMG_3535

I had plenty of time to grab some food due to the delay, but looking at the board and seeing flights with BMI to Düsseldorf and Brussels Airlines to Brussels got me thinking that if they had tried to get me on one of those flights I might be able to get a connection to MUC that evening and not miss out on the Oktoberfest. But there was no gate to go to or any info desk airside, I was getting stressed.

The delay was getting longer and the likelihood I was going to miss my connection getting larger.

photo IMG_3533photo IMG_3534

Finally my gate was called and off I headed.

photo IMG_3538photo IMG_3539

At the gate more information was given. Luckily I was told that my flight connection wasn't on the list of those that wouldn't be made so I would make it to MUC afterall. I was relieved but also slightly sceptical.

After waiting in the gate's seated area the plane finally arrived and we were allowed to board after the Sky Priority passengers.



Boarding was via stairs with a view of the other aircraft and the runway

photo IMG_3546photo IMG_3548

I was in seat 18A in the rear half so boarded by the back stairs. My Embraer 190

photo IMG_3549

I was greeted onboard and took my seat. Plenty of room here

photo IMG_3551photo IMG_3554

Inflight magazine and safety card

photo IMG_3552

Time to leave

photo IMG_3555photo IMG_3557photo IMG_3558

An inflight service was provided.

photo IMG_3559

Nothing too exciting, but having flown this route before I know more is provided at other times of the day.

Approaching Amsterdam, the captain confirmed that all our connections which we were told would be met were indeed to be met. I was very relieved but knew they wouldn't wait forever!

photo IMG_3560

We landed and only had a short taxi but we still had to be bussed to the terminal.

In the terminal the connections board was showing final boarding for my MUC flight. I must apologise here for the lack of photos and this is why I had decided to combine the two flights into on report.

Having landed in the non-schengen section of the airport, my next flight was in a different section of the airport and was far away requiring me to pass through a passport check.

I ran as fast as I could through the airport, as fast as my legs would take me. I was exhausted but had to continue - I didn't want them to close my gate and leave me stranded in AMS meaning I would miss the Oktoberfest.

I ran and ran and eventually reached the gate. Everybody had boarded. The KLM staff were very nice and let me catch my breath, I wasn't to worry they were waiting for me, including the captain! He walked me down the airbridge and chatted to me explaining that this was the last flight of the day for this aircraft and nobody had connections in MUC so he had decided to delay departure until I was onboard. I entered the plane, everybody was looking at me, I was the one delaying their flight. I looked exhausted and was still catching my breath, I hope they all realised I had run a long way to catch the connection!

Due to my tardiness we had missed our slot but my running meant we were only about 15 mins late.

I took my seat, 20A. The magazine and Sky High collection - no safety card in my seat pocket on the flight.

photo IMG_3562photo IMG_3564photo IMG_3565

When we were in the air, the inflight service commenced - I needed a beer after all that stress. We had a choice of 2 types off biscuit.

photo IMG_3566photo IMG_3567

I noticed the plastic cup had images of typical dutch things. Bicycles, tulips and clogs!

photo IMG_3568photo IMG_3569

The flight was fine and we landed shortly in MUC. It was a short walk from the plane to the baggage hall and on into the landside area.

photo IMG_3570

Munich airport is serviced by the city's S-Bahn system, however they really need to get more ticket machines. A plane from the
US had also arrived and there was a massive queue to buy tickets

photo IMG_3572



See more

Verdict

KLM Cityhopper

6.5/10
Cabin8.0
Cabin crew8.0
Entertainment/wifi5.0
Meal/catering5.0

Bristol - BRS

6.8/10
Efficiency5.0
Access7.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness8.0

Amsterdam - AMS

6.8/10
Efficiency8.0
Access7.0
Services5.0
Cleanliness7.0

Conclusion

This trip had to be one of the most stressful I remember taking. The lack of knowledge on whether I'd make my connection was stressing me out, I didn't know if I would have to spend the night in Amsterdam (other people were told they'd have to find their own hotel and claim back from KLN). i really didn't want to miss the connection, I would have ruined my weekend. Luckily I managed to make it, and the captain of the second flight was very friendly and helpful having delayed the flight for me. I should try to not book such short connections in future!

Information on the route Bristol (BRS) Amsterdam (AMS)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 5 avis concernant 1 compagnies sur la ligne Bristol (BRS) → Amsterdam (AMS).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est KLM Cityhopper avec 7.2/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 1 heures et 17 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 148658 by
    KL651 TEAM 4534 Comments
    Thanks for this FR.

    Good that you finally made it on the flight to MUC.

    The captain walking you down is a nice touch.

    The catering on the MUC flight is mediocre given the flight duration.
    • Comment 327002 by
      BobbieD AUTHOR 93 Comments
      Thanks for reading.

      I'm glad I made it too, it would really have ruined my weekend. I seem to remember being very apologetic to the captain for being late (even though it wasn't my fault) and he was a very nice and seemed very pleased to welcome me on board.

      The catering could certainly have been more exciting, at least it wasn't the same thing on both flights like on the return (to follow soon)

  • Comment 148659 by
    Scott05 570 Comments
    Thank you for this FR !
    A stressful trip overall, you were lucky the captain greeted you at the gate ! Perhaps you could have tried and ask for a seat in the cockpit ;)
    The Embraer with the modified KLM livery looks nice, I'm not sure about how it looks like on the rest of the fleet.
    I don't understand why they would sell you such a short connecting time at an airport that is regularly victim of bad weather conditions. But LH does also offer 30 minutes connections at FRA ! As you said, it's better to avoid them...
    I agree with the previous comment, catering on the MUC flight is laughable.
    • Comment 327003 by
      BobbieD AUTHOR 93 Comments
      Yes it was very stressful at the time, but the captain was very jolly. Next time I'll try the cockpit trick, I doubt it will work though!

      If everything goes to plan an hour changing is perfectly doable at AMS as everything is under one roof, unlike for example at LHR where you might need to change terminals getting a bus between them which can take much longer.

      The biscuit was a bit laughable really, but tasted nice enough.

Login to post a comment.