My 11-hour KLM flight from Amsterdam to Los Angeles on the 787-10 in World Business Class was smooth, comfortable, but a little warm…
KLM 787-10 Business Class Review (AMS-LAX)
I’ve reviewed the KLM A330, 777, and 787-9 in business class and also the 787-10 in economy class, but this was my first time flying the 787-10 in business class.
I arrived at the KLM Crown Lounge quite early to get my work done for the day, just in case the internet did not function on my flight. While the lounge gets crowded, I quite like it.
Boarding began at 9:05, 45 minutes before departure.
KLM 601
Amsterdam (AMS) – Los Angeles (LAX)
Wednesday, April 2
Depart: 9:50 AM
Arrive: 11:50 AM
Duration: 11hr, 00min
Distance: 5,578 miles
Aircraft: Boeing 787-10
Seat: 4K (Business Class)
I entered via door 2L and proceeded through the galley and turned left to my seat in 4K.
Seat
The KLM 787-10 business class cabin features 38 Jamco America Venture seats arranged in a 1-2-1 reverse herringbone configuration. These Japanese-made seats are 10-15% lighter than traditional reverse herringbone seats.
Seat pitch is generous and seats convert into a fully lie-flat bed (75 inches long). There’s a side storage compartment, seat controls on the armrest, two USB-A ports (one on the side and one under the screen), and a universal power outlet.
My left armrest could be raised (for use when seated) and lowered (to give more space for sleeping).
Interestingly, I noticed the seat looked a bit tattered…at least cosmetically. The paint was chipped on the armrest and under the monitor and the (faux) leather shell around the seat was discolored. There was also noticeable dirt and grime. Everything functioned, but it really looked like an old product, even though my aircraft, PH-BKG, was only delivered five years ago.
Bedding on KLM is comparatively average, with a large pillow and soft duvet-style blanket. There is no day blanket or mattress pad.
I tried to sleep after lunch but the cabin was warm and there were no personal air vents. I did manage a few hours of sleep, but I would have loved to sleep eight hours…a cool cabin and a plush mattress pad would have helped.
The retrofitted 777 World Business Class cabins offer suites with closing doors; the 787-10 do not have this extra feature.
Food + Drink
The 11-hour journey to California included lunch after takeoff, a midflight snack, and a meal before landing. Menus were waiting on each seat and KLM continues to print menus for each flight (you’ll notice on the backside of the menu lists your flight number and flight date).
Pre-departure beverages were offered before takeoff, including beer, sparkling wine, orange juice, and “Royal Blue Legend,” the KLM signature cocktail with lemon, ginger, and spirulina…which I had to try.
Lunch
Lunch began after takeoff, with a refreshing amuse bouche (I don’t even know what it was, but the green thing was topped in a toasted walnut and was very nice) and a drink (I enjoyed “The Very High Fashioned” cocktail, a riff on an Old Fashioned).
I had chili shrimps with pickled watermelon and beetroot mousse and fresh watercress for my appetizer…a great collection of flavors. I was served with a small green salad and bread with Dutch butter. I switched to a Boschendal Boschen Blane 2023 (white wine from South Africa).
For my main course, I chose salmon à la Flamande with Hollandaise sauce, served with white asparagus, scrambled eggs, and potatoes. The salmon filet was very small, but it was a good choice.
For dessert, cheese (blue cheese and Beemster Royaal Fenugreek cheese) with crackers, grapes, and a raisin salad with pine nuts, followed by a tart raspberry mousse topped with sunflower seeds, topped with passion fruit crumble.
Mid-Flight Snack
About halfway through the flight, passengers were offered a vegetarian croquette sandwich with mustard (I tried that) or a mini club sandwich. Both were served with cherry cheesecake ice cream, which I skipped.
A self-serve station was also set up in the galley with Dutch snacks:
Pre-Arrival Meal
105 minutes before landing, a Caesar salad with pulled chicken, egg, tomatoes, Reypenaar cheese, and pine nuts was offered along with a side of pumpkin ravioli in cream artichoke sauce. A very nice pre-arrival meal, though the pasta was served wrapped in aluminum foil…that could have easily been removed.
IFE + Wi-Fi
The internet worked well on the flight (the flight pass was €22) and it turned out to be a very productive flight when it became clear I could not sleep.
I also managed one movie on the flight, an old Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey, and Morgan Freeman film called Seven. A little jarring, to say the least…
The KLM IFE library includes music, movies, TV shows, games, and a moving flight map.
Lavatories
KLM’s 787-10 has two lavatories in the front of the cabin reserved for business class passengers (and also for crew use). As always on KLM, I appreciate the tulip flower and the Delft Blue House wallpaper. Soap products were from Marie-Stella-Maris.
Amenity Kit
The amenity kit also had products from Marie-Stella-Maris (face cream and lip balm) and also included socks, a pen, earplugs, and a dental kit (with tootpaste tablets instead of a tube of toothpaste).
Delft Blue Houses
As we approached LAX, the purser came around with Delft Blue Houses, the signature “souvenir” of KLM World Business Class. I was hoping for house 98, which was the parental home of Anthony Fokker in Haarlem (Fokker went on to become one of the world’s greatest aircraft builder in the late 1920’s with factories in the Netherlands and the USA) and I got it!
Then the lady in front of me did not want a house, so I asked if I could have hers and got a second one, 89.
Service
The crew was very seasoned/mature (as always on KLM, it seems) and also very lovely. Very attentive service with a smile and I appreciated so much that flight attendants roamed the cabin throughout the flight, not just during the formal meal services.
CONCLUSION
It was a beautiful morning (yes, still morning) when we landed at LAX 11 hours later and we flew right over downtown LA and the iconic In-N-Out next to LAX.
KLM offers a very average business class, which is to say a very solid business class. I enjoyed good service, great food, and a comfortable seat on the flight, though the lack of air vent and warm cabin made sleeping difficult. I like the 787-10 and look forward to flying KLM again.
Just curious on how many ways FAs can control the air temperature on a big plane. On my last flight a few weeks ago from Europe to the US on Delta, my wife and I were freezing on Delta One while my kids were sweating in coach class. Can they set different temperatures for each cabin or it is the same for the entire plane?
Well, I guess after being married to an idiot for years, your wife has no choice but to be as cold as a corpse.
Good luck keeping your green card, patriot!
Green card? LOL! I have more citizenships than the number of words you can read. Keep trying it. Hope your man keeps you warm at night.
Don’t worry, brainless Patriot.
The “Sudacas” with green cards will be next. Go back to your shitty country!
Your citizenships means nothing in a Salvadoran prison.
I would assume split into several sections, and though I can’t speak for the 787s since I fly Airbus, we can set temperature from the flight deck as a “standard”, from which the cabin crew can then adjust up or down in a few “steps” from their attendant panel, and on the FAP I believe they’re divided into even more sections than we have knobs on the F/D. The A321 is split into FWD, MID, AFT and the A330 is split in more sections.
A “self serve station set up in the lavatory”???? LOL! That must be difficult for anyone who wishes to use it while allowing others to get their snacks!
Galley, lol.
I often use the lavatory for self-service on a long flight.
Those wines are beyond cheap. Spanish and South African supermarket wines. Only Delta spends less on wine than KLM.
I couldnt agree more. The beverage selection is comparable to Y on EK or QR.
The food is also quite cheap because of the preponderance of veggies under the hashtags healthy and sustainable. I have another tag for them: bulls***.
I flew YYZ AMS with them and the only thing that saved the flight was the incredibly efficient and charming F/A. The food was a half tray wonder with some really suspect meal choices. The lie flats on the 789 were quite uncomfortable and in retrospect the most uncomfortable I have flown.
I see MK received the deluxe amenity kit. Even the eye mask I received was a shrunk version of other airlines.
It seems as if AF has been designated the premium carrier in the group while KL has been assigned to the low yield routes. I think Ben Smith is trying to drive them out of business so that AF can take them over completely.
Thank God the Delft houses are still around.
I wouldn’t say the wine was great onboard, but it was by no means bad…my South African white wine was pleasant enough with my fish and I certainly do appreciate fine wine but also realize that just because wine is cheap does not necessarily mean it is bad.
KLMs wines are consistently bad. Embarrassingly bad, especially given what Air France serves. In general, the meal quality continues to decline on KLM, you can really feel the cheapness.
But KLM is a thoroughly Dutch airlines. To the Dutch, the question isn’t “what would customers like?” or “what would be the ideal?”, but rather “what is just good enough?”.
The snacks were set up in the Lavatory?! Gross! Ha, think you meant galley 🙂
KLM has not been a great experience for us even in Biz Class!! Never got a house on one flight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can’t imagine how that would be possible. I’ve taken over 40 long haul business class flights with KLM and they consistently distribute the houses every single time.
I find the lack of adequate bedding concerning, makes the product all very mediocre, average at best. It’s not only for comfort, but brings peace of mind to know one is not sleeping directly on the (very probably) very dirty seat.
I’ve always liked KLM. I usually order the meal with multiple dishes when offered – a version of a rijsttafel, and usually the best option, though I’m sure the salmon with hollandaise was nice. And AMS gets a lot of complaints, but I think it is fine as long as you are flying Skyteam.
Yay. Fokker delft score! Also, the dirt photo ( ugh ) should qualify you for an added house. Anyway the nice seatmate took care of it.
I think you meant arrival at 11;50 *AM** in LAX lol not PM. Loved the review otherwise. 🙂
KLM is solid, true, but not quite up there with Air France. And now with SAS in SkyTeam, it could now be considered the 3rd or 4th best European airline in that alliance?
Flying the LAX-AMS route on KLM in November, but sadly they’re only offering the 777 then. The seats and soft product are very similar, but the air-comfort is higher on the 787.
Ah, yes. Three saucy thirst trap pics! There is a God after all.
Great review as always. It will forever be a mystery to me why mainline carriers cheap out on not having individual air vents. Thankfully most of the AC aircraft have that feature (the airline I primarily fly). This seems rather shortsighted and something I’d expect with Ryanair (or insert LCC or ULCC here) as opposed to the likes of KLM. That said, those Delft houses are a nice touch – very cute!
Do you think they are just being cheap? I don’t understand why anyone would opt out of them to save a few bucks?