Review of KLM flight Bergen → Amsterdam in Business

Next part of this routing which now looks more like that: (you'll see what happened in the course of this FR)

transfer bgo

I was pretty pleased to see that you deboard the plane airside, meaning the transfer should be fast and easy.

Yes but … no. We arrived at the E gates and I was due to leave from D gates.

Since D gates are domestic, you need to go through customs.

And just before the arrival hall, a small note says that all luggages need to be collected, cleared through customs and re-checked landside. At this time it is 02PM and my flight leaves at 02:40. That would make the connection basically impossible. There are other passengers to TOS and we asked one of the Wideroe agent at the luggage claim. He advised us to leave the luggages there and that they will transferred to the next flight, in the evening.

Quick decision to be made: shall I wait for my bag and take the risk to miss my flight (keeping in mind that they are all full for the next couple of days) or go to my flight and have my luggage delivered later in the evening or worst case, the day after? The call is easy, I head to my next flight.

You first need to clear immigration and customs and then go from the arrival level up to the departure level. If I would have had my luggage, I would have needed to go to the check in counter to recheck it. But here, I can go directly to security.

The security was a bit of a pain since absolutely everything that works with a power plug or battery needs to be taken out. That took a good another 10'. I then rushed to my gate where boarding should have started.

The airport is pretty nice but not really time to make a lot of pictures.

Here is my gate!

And this is then the WTF moment: my plane has just been announced with a 25' delay. If I had known earlier, I would have had more than enough time to pick up my suitcase and recheck it.

the story

20' before take off, there is still no plane at the gate. I have a quick look at FR24 but there is no registration yet for the plane that would do my flight. I know it was supposed to be an E-2, LN-WEA has left BGO to OSL a few minutes before, LN-WEB is currently in HEL where it flies for AY, LN-WEC is in BGO and has arrived two hours before from TRD. LN-WEX, the very last E-2 delivered to Wideroe is parked somewhere in Spain since two months.

LN-WEC should then be the plane for this flight but I don't see it. Wideroe has lots of issues with its E-2 since they don't have enough cockpit crew to fly them. They barely have the strict minimum even though they operate them since a bit more than 2 years. To add to this problems, the engines of the E-2 are not known for their big reliability and WF has lots of troubles with them. However, the past two weeks, it seemed  that the E-2 fleet was, more or less operating fine.

A WF handling agent arrived at the gate next to us and I took the opportunity to ask her if she has some information. She checks and informs me that the plane has a technical issue and thinks that the boarding would be delayed by at least an additional hour. I ask her if she thinks it would make sense to go back to retrieve my suitcase and check it in. She advises not to do so, since the plane might be released earlier and that by the time I arrive to the check it, it might be closed. She also adds that I will need to pick up my luggage at the airport in TOS and that WF will not deliver it to my accommodation, since I decided not to clear to customs in BGO, I would need to clear it in TOS.

The problem with that was that my accommodation was really remote and not downtown and this story will not only cost me a double taxi ride to and from the airport, but also lots of time. Needless to say that I was a bit on the angry side, with that massive delay I would have had more than enough time to pick up my bag here, if I had been informed earlier about the delay.

And a few minutes later, everything changes: the flight is now cancelled. The way we have been informed was something I have never experienced before: a public adress is made that the flight is cancelled but that there is no need to go to the Wideroe desk but to check our inbox or SMS and that we would be informed about our new time/date of departure. End of the story.

I do not think too long, since the flight is cancelled, people will need to reclaim their luggages, meaning I could also take the opportunity to pick up mine. I walk pretty quickly to the baggage claim area in order to be out as soon as possible since I plan, despite being told not to, to go to the WF desk. I am on a codeshare ticket and I doubt they have any information about how to contact me.

I see my suitcase on a trolley close to the lost and found. But … I am on the domestic side and the lost and found is on the other side. I ask to o there and at first I have been told no. A bit angry about all that happened I try to make my long story short and I am allowed to re-enter international arrivals. I pick up my luggage and go through the customs with it. 

I go back upstairs at the departure hall and quickly make my way to the Wideroe counter where two people are already waiting. A WF agent comes my way and asks if I am one of the cancelled TOS pax. He says that I have to go to the Clarion Hotel, take a room and wait for WF to contact me about options, that all flights are fully booked tonight but there might be space available tomorrow night via Bodo. I asked who will take care about the overnight costs and meals, he said "you but you need to keep all receipt and submit for reimbursement to WF"

Since that flight is supposed to depart (if seats are available) on Saturday night and I was already due to come back on Monday morning, I decline and say that I want the airline to send me back to Switzerland. The agent insists on me going to the hotel but I also insist that there is no point for me to overnight here in Bergen as I now want to go back home.

I wait for a bit and when it's my turn the agent at the counter simply says she can't help as I have a KLM ticket. Behind her there is a sign stating "Wideroe, handling agent for KLM". I point her to the sign and tell her that since they handle their flights here, she is also in charge of finding a solution. She looks super angry but starts to look for options. She offers me the Air France flight to CDG, leaving 05:30PM, arriving CDG 08P with a connecting flight to Basel at 08:45. The flight from Bergen arrives terminal F and I need to go to terminal G, which is remote and only accessible by bus. For that kind of connection, the minimum transfer time is 01H. I decline and she says that this is the only option. But no, I had already checked, there is a much better connection via Amsterdam same day. I ask her to book me on that flight as I know seats are available. She stands up and says she will go and look for a colleague that knows how KL systems work … and goes away.

After 15' another agent arrives wearing a KL badge and asks me what I want. I ask her if her colleague explained it, she is not aware of the situation. I explain what I want and she simply answers that there is nothing she can do.

I begin to lose patience and elevate slightly the tone of my voice by saying she holds a KL badge, the sign says they handle KL and if she does nothing I will phone right now to the KL Platinum line and explain that the people here do not want to do anything.

In no more than two minutes I had my itinerary and was good to go! This is not only unbelievable but unacceptable! At the other counter there are two Swiss citizens that where also on my flight and due to go to TOS. As they planned to stay for the week there, they accepted to go to the hotel and be wait listed on the flight to TOS via Bodo the next evening. I asked them if they won't mind to send me per mail how things worked and they said sure.

This is what happened to them: they left saturday late evening to TOS via BDO but in BDO, their plane had a technical issue and the second leg was cancelled. They had to overnight in BDO. They eventually gave up and flew back to BGO on Sunday and back to Switzerland on Monday.

back home!

I go through security again and make my way airside:

There is a fast track for Elite passengers but no lounge access for KL or AF. There is a SAS café but I am not eligible to enter. WF gave me a compensation voucher for 15€, I will then go to the Starbucks lounge :)

I'll spend my time there to cancel my accommodation and already send the claims for the EU compensation and my insurance claims.

A good hour before departure, I head to the international gates. This way:

Duty free:

My flight is on time:

the flight

Boarding is messy, no priority, no real call, the door to the jet bridge is opened and that's it.

The classic 737 cabin:

The recline is far better in J thant in Y but still, this is not a real business seat:

Lateral view:

The seat pitch is great:

SAS:

Safety card:

On time push back:

A light dinner is served:

Supposed to be a pasta salad but I could hardly fine some, lost in the greens.

The tomato stew was nothing else than a bad ketchup and the dessert was ways to sweet.

That is what is on offer for breakfast:

Cutlery:

The toilets were clean:

The door and the galley:

We were only two passengers for 8 seats, the flight was really smooth.

We landed 15' early, leaving a bit time to head to the lounge.