Review of KLM flight from Amsterdam to Madrid in Economy

KLM

KL - KLM

Flight taken on 16 May 2022
KL1703
13:50 02h 35m 16:25
Class Economy
Seat
Chibcha
285 · 46 · 0 · 6

Introduction


Hello amigos!
This is the last entry of the series, and of the year for that matter. And is the final leg between Bogotá and Madrid via CTG and AMS on KLM, which is part of a larger series documenting my trip to Colombia back in 2022.

Previous flights on this series are:



Connecting at Amsterdam Schiphol


The security check took ages (this was the time when AMS was facing security employee shortages)…once done with that I was free to roam the non-schengen side of the terminal


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I didn't think about visiting the flagship KLM crown lounge at the moment, I was more worried about the queue to enter the EU… which was fairly ok at the moment.


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But I went to buy a perfume, which I thought would be cheaper on this side of the terminal ( I reckon it is not)…and then the queue had grown significantly


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Once I could "enter" Europe, I was on the Schengen side of the terminal…


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I looked forward for a shower, so I tried my luck with my ITA Volare status to enter the KLM Crown Lounge (this didn't work at CDG with AF)…and BINGO!


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The lounge itself is OK, nothing amazing. I would expect more for a "flagship" lounge. Food offering was also a bit "meh" but it totally did the job. I appreciated the white rice (quite hard to get in Spain)


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An SMS let me know that a shower was waiting for me and off I went for my shower


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Done with the shower I had little spare time and so I went for my flight to Madrid, which would leave from the B Concourse. 
I must admit that AMS isn't one of my favourite airports, I find it quite bland from the architectural POV and while there may be many stores, I seldom find anything appealing. Plus restaurants are also a mess. 


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Our ride from the spotter-unfriendly windows:


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You can tell when a flight goes to Latin America or Spain when queues form unnecessarily in advance of boarding:


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A last view to the Terminal from the boarding bridge. The huge queue continued on the jetbrige


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Boarding KLM's 737-800


Since I had the chance to experience the new 737 cabins in 2021 I look forward to have those seats instead of the old cabin….


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No luck for me this time. While these seats are a whole order of magnitude better than IB or TP's, the cabin feels dated


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Seat pocket contents:


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AV'geeks favourite section of the Holland Herald:


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Platform view…a bit desolate for AMS


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Cabin view from my seat: so 1990s


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Enroute to Madrid!


Don't know which RWY we took off but taxi took no time





Most of the flight the views were to the clouds


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Somewhere over France the clouds cleared


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This BA 777 flew over us


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Then Paris came to view





And then the sky gods again shut the IFE off


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In the meantime we got our meal. While I didn't feel to hungry as I had eaten at the lounge, it was nice and tasty. Thanks KLM for keeping this perk!


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In a matter of minutes, we crossed from green France…


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….to yellow Spain


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We crossed Iberia and arrived to MAD from the north





We then taxied to Terminal T


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BA still had their A380s stored at MAD back then


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A short walk to the baggage claim


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And I was out to sunny (and scorching hot) Madrid


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Display all

Product ratings

Airline

KLM 7.1

  • Cabin8.0 / 10
  • Cabin crew8.0 / 10
  • Entertainment/wifi5.0 / 10
  • Meal/catering7.5 / 10
Lounge

KLM Crown Lounge7.5

  • Comfort8.0 / 10
  • Meal/catering7.0 / 10
  • Entertainment/wifi7.0 / 10
  • Services8.0 / 10
Departure airport

Amsterdam - AMS6.9

  • Efficiency5.0 / 10
  • Access5.0 / 10
  • Services7.5 / 10
  • Cleanliness10.0 / 10
Arrival Airport

Madrid - MAD9.3

  • Efficiency10.0 / 10
  • Access10.0 / 10
  • Services7.0 / 10
  • Cleanliness10.0 / 10

Conclusion

KLM did the job. Probably better than other EU counterparts. The hard product looks way dated (and this was 2022), but the soft product is on another level compared to other carriers.
AMS wasn't a walk in the park, but fortunately I had enough time to have a shower at the Crown Lounge
The Crown Lounge itself, was meh. But did the job, feed me for free and a shower.
MAD was great, I didn't have to wait long for my bag, and then a short taxi ride to my flat in town.

Thanks for reading, stay tuned for other adventures in 2025!!

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