I had to fly home for a week while my friend relaxed another week in Bali and my trip home began with KLM 777-300ER Business Class on a Fifth Freedom flight from Bali to Singapore. Here’s a quick look at the flight and why I love Fifth Freedom flights in general and on KLM specifically.
KLM 777 Business Class On A Fifth Freedom Route
Fifth Freedom routes allow an airline to carry revenue traffic between foreign countries as a part of services connecting the airline’s own country.
KLM currently operates four Fifth Freedom routes, including:
- Bali (DPS) ⇄ Singapore (SIN)
- Buenos Aires ⇄ Santiago (SCL)
- Kuwait (KWI) ⇄ Bahrain (BAH)
- Jakarta (CGK) ⇄ Kuala Lumpur (KUL)
What I love about Fifth Freedom routes is that large aircraft tend to be utilized, tickets tend to cheap, and in the case of KLM, I have great way of upgrading.
I flew on this route and this aircraft before the pandemic and wanted to do so again as I left Bali.
> Read More: KLM 777-300ER Business Class Review
A one-way business class ticket tends to be in the $350 range, which is not bad for a two-hour flight, but my “trick” is to buy an economy class ticket for about $100 and pay another $100 at the airport to upgrade. Of course you take a gamble in doing so that there will be any seats left, but you can check availability in advance using Expert Flyer to get a general idea of how full the cabin is.
Onboard, the seat is hardly cutting-edge (coincidentally, the same B/E Diamond I reviewed on Delta Air Lines yesterday), but KLM has begun the process of retrofitting its 777 fleet with new business class seats that offer more privacy and closing doors.
Even so, the “old” seats are very comfortable and more than adequate for a short journey like Bali – Singapore.
Dinner was served onboard (sadly, the pasta was not great on this flight) and the service was simply outstanding.
But what really made my day was my chance to choose a KLM Delft Blue House prior to landing. I scored house #100, a replica of Royal Palace Huis ten Bosch in The Hague, made to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Dutch airline in 2019.
When I saw that on the tray, my eyes lit up!
I view those little souvenirs on KLM as a superb way to cultivate loyalty…as we saw with my son Augustine.
CONCLUSION
I always enjoy flying on KLM and particularly like the short Fifth Freedom flights on the 777, which offer full service aboard including the Delft blue houses. This flight made me wish to travel KLM long-haul again–this time in business class instead of economy class.
I’ll have a lot more details about this flight in my full review.
> Read More: KLM Delights My Son With A Delft Blue House
> Read More: KLM 787-10 Economy Class Review
My first J cabin ever and turned me into a credit card crackhead, I’ll never be not fond and biased for this
On this particular route or just in KLM 777 J?
The latter. AMS-TPE, 13 hours of awesomeness
And I haven’t checked lately but there also used to be TPE-MNL
Right. There used to be Dammam – Muscat too, but that no longer operates either.
TPE/MNL wasn’t 5th freedom but a tag flight. KL clild not pick up and drop off pax in Taiwan and Philippines. At least before the pandemic.
Agreed.
If you are a FB member, KL’s 5th freedom routes give a good price for XP
One thing I’d like to know is why bloggers give so much grief to Lufthansa for their not-all-aisle-access business class seat but yet are seemingly less harsh on KLM for theirs.
I quite like the KLM 777 business class seat even if it’s not all-aisle-access; the bigger issue is their A330 business class seat which has less storage space and privacy and is narrower at the shoulders so sleeping feels a bit cramped. I also find that KLM has a tendency to switch out aircraft types quite often. Their fifth freedom flights are on my radar…
I have no problem with the LH seats when traveling with a friend or loved one, but I hate that the LH seats come together so your feet are separated from your neighbor only by a small plastic divider.
I’d be curious to know what made the meal less than successful for you.
It looks great, doesn’t it? But the ravioli corners were hard as a rock!
I flew this route 6 days ago and the meal was identical. I nodded off at the end of the flight but the captain’s update to passengers awakened me. I saw that the nice flight attendant had chosen a good house for me.
The KULCGK route isn’t running until the (northern) winter timetable comes into effect. I will be in the area and would have loved to take the fifth freedom flight, particularly since I am 4XP short of gold!
When I’m flying with my wife I actually enjoy the KLM 777 and A330 2-2-2 configuration. You are almost always guaranteed great service since the Business class cabin is so small.
do you drink the gin in the houses? i have a few … just wondering
Really miss KLM’s TPE-BKK flights. The flight schedule and cost were perfect, even for a weekend getaway.
If you upgrade at check-in, will you get a free checked baggage?
You mean a second free bag? Yes.