Hi folks. Just a quick intro telling you that the pictures in this report were not made with a professional camera and some of them are not horizontal. This is because of the time I took making them. I make them for a memory instead of making a report and some of them were saved for sending to others on my phone. These are unedited and I am using them to tell you about my experience. I hope you don't mind. Also, the cover is flipped. I cannot get it normal :(
This series consists of 4 parts: AMS - CDG on KLM 737-700 (you are here) CDG - LAX on Air France A380 (click here) LAX - JFK on Delta 767-300 (click here) JFK - AMS on KLM 777-200 (click here)
Intro
Initially I had booked KLM to Los Angeles for the weekend (quick visit of both the area and a convention in the area). I booked this in May through KLM.
I had selected my combi of flights routing me directly to LAX on a combi 747 and back home via JFK on Delta to a KLM 777 back home.
The trip came closer, seats were selected, meal was booked for the outbound flight, bags were packed, flight guide said I'd fly PH-BFV "City of Vancouver"…
..when suddenly I received this email…
I remember sitting in the car like.. whut… what to do now? All printed stuff for that stuff was rendered a waste of ink. Furthermore, it meant a severe disruption for my plans.
I immediately took action and expressed my rebooking wishes for at first the morning flight to LAX, which seemed to be full. I then asked for a rebooking either through Paris or on KLM metal across the pond (there is this magical force that prevents me from flying Delta across the pond, simply did not enjoy it the last time). I was, after a few hours, rebooked via Paris, on the following outward itinerary: -KL1229 AMS-CDG Boeing 737-700, seat assigned at checkin -AF66, CDG-AMS, Airbus A380-800, seat assigned through KLM after a lot of pushing, 37A
I set my alarm for 3 am instead of 6 am, as my flight would leave at 7:55 (which, after all, would be too late, which is mentioned later) and left at 3:45, arriving at the airport at 5:15.
At the airport
Having a nice dad with a car is very useful, especially when he is willing to get up at 3 so he can drive the car back after I drove us to the airport. Being parked in Schiphol's P6 (Short Stop Parking) across the terminal, we wandered off to departures 1 instead of 2 (both of which were KLM and partners depart, with the only difference being that Dep 1 is for flights within the Schengen area, and Dep 2 is not).
I tried using a kiosk at 5:25, but it did not work for me and spitted out an assistance card.
"your flight KL603 to Los Angeles unfortunately was cancelled. You have been rebooked. Please check in at the checkin desk."
Having said goodbye to my dad I checked in and went through security, which seems to get worse every time I fly out of AMS, giving the fact that I literally had to empty my whole bag except for some documents, as they want all electronics out. I was then treated to a frisk search which also gets worse every time, and as cherry on the pie, an explosives test. My combined boarding pass for both KL1229 and AF66 (everything for the environment!) told me that I had been assigned 25F, a right-hand side seat in the last row of the aircraft. 37A was confirmed for my second flight.
After security, I grabbed some fruit and coffee from a bar, sat down at gate C9 and realised I was réally early.
After a while, my ride showed up, which I had, by using KLM's flight guide, identified as being PH-BGL and named "Rietzanger / Warbler". This would be my fifth flight on KLM's 737, of which my third on 737-700. I lost count of the amount of overall 737 flights. This also marked my ninth KLM flight (if I am able to count, that is). First time on PH-BGL though.
Announcements were made three times in English, Dutch and French that overhead storage space was limited due to the flight being busy. Even though my bag isn't particularly small, it isn't very big either, but it is heavy, as I carry my laptop with me. I am a stubborn person who thinks this measure doesn't apply to him, because I simply never use overhead compartments. Ever.
Boarding was announced bang on time and I boarded Warbler for my 45 minute flight to CDG. Captain announced that we'd arrive early and boy, did I need the time.
As anticipated, my seat was in the last row, giving me this view:
It became apparent quite soon that I'd be having the row for myself. Being around 6'3" I never have lots of space in regional flights. The empty seat was a nice thing to have, especially given the fact that I really did not want to be on that 737. I did want my direct flight to LAX. But okay, that was impossible.
We pushed back on time, made a 5 minute tops taxi to runway 24 and took off.
When reaching 10.000 ft, crew came into action, distributing a food box and a beverage. The box consisted of a weird but tasty scrambled egg sandwich, a napkin and some water. I believe there was something else in as well, but I forgot quite quickly. I was too busy being nervous about the connection.
Landing was quite firm and we made the long taxi to terminal 2F, with connections being announced in three languages, Los Angeles being one of them. We deboarded, I was in the back which meant I was one of the last to disembark. Once in the terminal, I walked towards the first toilet I could find (oh stress…) and made my way to terminal 2E connections, when finding that my concerns were about to come true, which I will document in the next part of the series.
Disembarking
This concludes this report for now. Next part will be up soon with the adventures at CDG :-) See you then.
See more
Verdict
KLM
7.0/10
Cabin7.0
Cabin crew7.0
Entertainment/wifi7.0
Meal/catering7.0
Amsterdam - AMS
7.1/10
Efficiency6.5
Access8.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness7.0
Paris - CDG
6.5/10
Efficiency6.0
Access6.0
Services6.0
Cleanliness8.0
Conclusion
The short KLM flight was, in spite that I did not want to be there, up to expectations. The last row of seats is not bad if you are not in a hurry and do not care about either toilets or not being able to recline. As it was a short flight I did not mind at all.
The procedures at Schiphol keep getting more strict and still I like flying out of them.
The entertainment grade will be seven even though there was none on this flight, I did not feel the need and the overall score is not a 5.3 :-)
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Wait - seriously? A strip search at AMS? I've never had any issues with security at AMS, and it's the second most-frequented airport in Europe that I fly to (after my home airport LHR of course). I've never even experienced being strip-searched before, and I certainly don't plan on changing that anytime soon. D:
What had been the cause of KL603 being cancelled? And what about the other passengers who would otherwise have flown on the flight?
On my short hops between LHR and AMS I usually have the cheese sandwich whenever it's on offer, simply because they're just DIVINE to me. I've had the eggs sandwich as well, which taste just about the same as one would be able to get from a small shop in a London Underground station.
Was the KLM Crowne Lounge not open yet after you cleared security, or did you simply not have the time?
Thanks for your reply! Yes, I get searched everywhere but at AMS they are quite far the worst. I do believe I have used the wrong term so I will amend the report - I meant a frisk search.
The reason of cancellation was technical so I believe there was another 747 in maintenance or there was something wrong with it and my flight was emptier than another where it was needed more.
I did not visit the lounge as I am not entitled to enter unfortunately.
Thanks for this FR. At least KL informed you well in advance of the cancellation. What compensation did you get the meal of the miles ? Decent catering on offer for such a short flight.
Luckily, they did. I believe I got some bonus award miles for the cancellation, but I am not sure. I requested a refund for the meal and will use that money to get a special meal on my next outbound KLM longhaul (which is in February).
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4 Comments
Wait - seriously? A strip search at AMS? I've never had any issues with security at AMS, and it's the second most-frequented airport in Europe that I fly to (after my home airport LHR of course). I've never even experienced being strip-searched before, and I certainly don't plan on changing that anytime soon. D:
What had been the cause of KL603 being cancelled? And what about the other passengers who would otherwise have flown on the flight?
On my short hops between LHR and AMS I usually have the cheese sandwich whenever it's on offer, simply because they're just DIVINE to me. I've had the eggs sandwich as well, which taste just about the same as one would be able to get from a small shop in a London Underground station.
Was the KLM Crowne Lounge not open yet after you cleared security, or did you simply not have the time?
Thanks again for the FR, and happy flying!
The reason of cancellation was technical so I believe there was another 747 in maintenance or there was something wrong with it and my flight was emptier than another where it was needed more.
I did not visit the lounge as I am not entitled to enter unfortunately.
Thanks again.
At least KL informed you well in advance of the cancellation.
What compensation did you get the meal of the miles ?
Decent catering on offer for such a short flight.
Thanks for your comment.
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