Chronic Wanderlust

My most recent airline experience was on KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. I was very impressed with this airline; in fact, it’s now tied with Air France as my favorite airline. In full disclosure, I was given an upgrade to an exit row seat before my flight from Washington Dulles to Amsterdam, so that obviously made my fight quite a bit more enjoyable.  KLM’s theme is “flights of inspiration”, meaning they show peaceful images and videos of clouds, graceful birds, harmonious music and try to explain how pleasant they are… kitschy? Yes. Enjoyable? Yes. While the inspiration theme was overplayed, it was certainly a nice change from American airlines like American Airlines (the WORST airline in the world!!), Delta and United Airlines, who make you feel like a prisoner.

What about the seats?

I'm blue, daba dee daba daaa.....

If I had to sum up the cabin in one word, it would be, “blue”. I’ve seriously never seen so much blue in one small space before. Going along with the Delft blue theme, everything, I’m talking everything, is some shade of light blue… the floors, seat, blanket, napkins, crew uniforms. I was surprised my food wasn’t blue! While it may have been color overload, it was endearing. If you’ve been on Air France, the seats are very comparable; standard comfort, slightly more legroom than common steerage class (I’m 6’2 and was basically comfortable) and an average size in-seat screen.

Three things set KLM apart from any other airline; the cleanliness, the service and the entertainment. I was impressed by how clean the planes were, all the blankets and pillows were individually sealed; they provided hand cleaner before meals, constantly collected garbage and tended to the toilets well.

How was the service?

The service was truly outstanding. Every KLM employee I came in contact with was friendly, polite and had a smile on their face… freakishly different from a normal airline experience. On my flight to Amsterdam, I was seated directly facing our flight attendant’s jump seat. We struck up conversation and he turned out to be a great guy. Randy even gave me recommendations of places to visit in Holland, taught me some Dutch phrases and told us funny stories about past trips. It’s unusual to have honestly friendly flight attendants nowadays, unless you fly SWA. The food was okay, nothing impressive, but they did provide unlimited free alcohol. Who doesn’t want a free Heineken???

What’s the entertainment like?

the in-seat screen... not too shabby

The video-on-demand system was superb. There was a huge selection of movies to choose from, including some new releases. They also had audio CDs, language courses and basic video games like solitaire and tetris.  During my flights, I watched Star Trek (awesome), Taking of Pelham 123 (lame), Inglorious Bastards (fantastic!) and two Dutch movies called “Terug Naar de Kost” and “Amsterdam” (when else would I get a chance to see Dutch movies?). The entertainment is very important to me because I am a tall guy, so it’s difficult for me to get comfortable or sleep on planes, thus requiring something to take my mind off things. KLM’s entertainment system kept me thoroughly entertained. Mission accomplished KLM.

How much was it?

My non-stop return flight from Washington to Amsterdam was only $656USD, which is actually a good deal for the holiday season. Now that KLM and Air France have merged with Delta, I was able to accrue miles towards my FlyingBlue account.

Should I fly KLM?

In short, yes. I will certainly fly with them again! They do have a great selection of destinations now that they are merged with Delta and Air France. They also have frequent specials on their website. KLM and Air France are my two favorite airlines and I will (and have) pay slightly more to fly with them instead of United Airlines, Lufthansa or the dreaded American Airlines.

Go have a "flight of inspiration"... what a lame slogan!

Filed under: Air Travel, Gear Review Tagged: | Air Travel, Airline Food, airline review, Amsterdam, budget travel, Dulles, Europe Travel, european airlines, Flights of Inspiration, Flying Blue, In-Flight Entertainment, International Travel, KLM, KLM Royal Dutch, Schipol