Review of KLM flight Lisbon Amsterdam in Business

Airline KLM
Flight KL 1692
Class Business
Seat 02F
Aircraft Boeing 737-800
Flight time 02:45
Take-off 07 Dec 14, 05:00
Arrival at 07 Dec 14, 08:45
KL   #43 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 1047 reviews
Esteban
By GOLD 2374
Published on 20th January 2015
  • BSL - AMS KL J / E190 : HERE
  • AMS - LIS KL J / B737-700 :HERE
  • Return Journey
  • LIS - AMS KL J / B737-800: Here.
  • AMS - BSL KL J / E190: No report:


Taking a flight at 05:00AM, especially after a Flight Report Meet-up, that finished at around 01:00AM (plus an after in our room until 02:15AM) is definitively not a good idea. But I had no other choice, as I had to fly to Canada the following day. So this was the only flight that left me enough room to come back home, switch bags and fly again :)

My taxi was ordered for 03:00AM and after the guys left the room at 02:15AM sleeping was absolutely not an option anymore, otherwise I would never have woken up.

The taxi shows up on time, which was the only choice to go to the airport, public transportation does not run at that time. When I arrived I paid 24€ (day and week day), for the return journey, night and Sunday, I only paid 11€. There was a bug somewhere, and I felt I paid ways to much outbound, but that's life.

I arrived at the airport at 03:15AM, and it looked like an El Al departure hall a Shabbat day. Empty, absolutely empty. No shops, no coffee available, nothing. As I only had carry on, I printed my boarding pass and that was it. I just made a quick stop at the counter to inquire about the lounge opening and as I thought, it would only open at 05:00AM. That was the time my flight was due to leave. No lounge then.

I headed to security and only one filter is open. There are 6 people before me and the wait took over 15. I have never seen travelers and staff so slow. The staff requested people to put every single item in one container. One for the laptop, one for the jacket, one for the liquids, one for the phone, one for the belt, one for the watch, and so on. It took ages.

I desperately needed a soft drink. After a night with a good load of alcohol I was in need of à 0° drink. Everything was closed, I put 2€ in a vending machine that would not give me the requested drink. I ended drinking water in the toilets :(

This brought me to the boarding time, which will be done as usual with respect of all priorities. The flight was pretty empty, 50% load max.

At the very end of the boarding a young lady took the aisle seat in my row, sat for two minute and went to the cockpit. It was the captain's wife. She was very discreet and did not make use of the I am the wife of the boss legend ^^ I was just a bit unhappy as I was planning to have the row for myself to get a bit of sleep.

After takeoff, as I haven't seen her coming back, I thought she might stay for the flight in the cockpit, so I began to arrange a little bed, and at that moment, she came back. She laughed and said she'll seat at the empty third row to give us more room. My unhappiness changed to being happy again :)

This time pillows and blankets are being handed out for all business passengers, and the purser tells everyone that breakfast would be served within 10 minutes. That's a nice touch, as I was planning to sleep, but to know when the breakfast would arrive helped me staying awake :)

In the meantime, the pitch and the safety card:



Some cabin shoots and the recline of the seat (much more as in Y):

photo DSC_0366photo DSC_0368photo DSC_0369

Very hot towel to begin:

photo DSC_0365photo DSC_0370

Followed by drinks. The orange juice was freshly squeezed and absolutely divine:

photo DSC_0371

No menu on this flights, options are being told verbally. Either a sweet option with pancakes or a salty croque-monsieur, which I took:



That came with cold cuts, yogurt, fruits, bread / croissant.

The hot dish was a good surprise, it looked dry and tasteless, but it was good. Not excellent, but it hit the spot. The cold cuts were nice, fruits and yogurt also. It was a good breakfast.

Next is the brand new full flat, full access KLM 737 seat:

photo DSC_0377

OK, this is a three seater row, and to be very honest, it was not comfortable. The seat belts hit the back, and length is not sufficient. I however, could close my eyes for a few minutes :)

Wonderful sun rise:



On time arrival in AMS, greeted by this UA 767:

photo DSC_0390photo DSC_0391

Mini bonus to end with the lovely room we had at the Lisbon Double Tree Hilton, with the beautiful terrace where we could spot the AF A318 with no less than 10 Flight Reporter aboard.



No FR for the last leg, I slept the whole flight ^
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Verdict

KLM

7.1/10
Cabin6.5
Cabin crew10.0
Entertainment/wifi5.0
Meal/catering7.0

Lisbon - LIS

4.5/10
Efficiency0.0
Access10.0
Services5.0
Cleanliness3.0

Amsterdam - AMS

10.0/10
Efficiency10.0
Access10.0
Services10.0
Cleanliness10.0

Conclusion

All in all it was a good flight, but some comments:

The cabin was comfortable enough but nothing exceptional. The crew was top, the food good. No IFE but newspapers were available. On time flight.

6 passengers and 15 minutes to wait for security is very bad, LIS airport is easily accessible. Everything was closed but we were the first flight to leave so I don't expect shops to be opened. What is unacceptable, however, is that the airport was really dirty.

Information on the route Lisbon (LIS) Amsterdam (AMS)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 7 avis concernant 4 compagnies sur la ligne Lisbon (LIS) → Amsterdam (AMS).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est KLM avec 7.4/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 2 heures et 52 minutes.

  More information

5 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 127420 by
    jetsetpanda 2283 Comments
    Thank you for sharing this FR with interesting bonus of the hotel.

    Well, the new KL full lie flat seat is definitely one of the best that I have seen out there. Who can complain with that much space and easy access? ;)

    Nice to see a decent breakfast on this intra-European flight. That croque-monsieur looks lovely.

    Wonderful sunrise shots.
  • Comment 587254 by
    ChrisB GOLD 3361 Comments
    Thanks for the report Stephan

    My taxi was ordered for 03:00AM and after the guys left the room at 02:15AM sleeping was absolutely not an option anymore, otherwise I would never have woken up.

    Im way too old and grumpy for that so kuddos to you!
    I would love to be a captains wife!! That was one of my two dream jobs with being a captain XD

    The J in europe is definitely far away from US domestic first indeed in terms of seat confort...
    thx!
    • Comment 587255 by
      Esteban GOLD AUTHOR 19820 Comments
      Thanks Chris for the comment ! When I wrote this report I was still young and fit (now I am only "and"). This is something I wouldn't do again.

      And being a Captain's wife, OMG. Would have loved that. That being said, when I was cabin crew, I had almost a husband, that I took on trips with me. Just to realize at one trip he was having an affair with the purser. On a three days layover in Montreal.

      I can be a b***h sometimes and when I found it I immediately cancelled his staff ticket for the return and let him pay the ticket from his pocket.

      :)

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