After an evening flight from Prague and an overnight at the Hyatt Place AMS, it was time for my 11-hour KLM flight from Amsterdam to Los Angeles on the 787-10 in World Business Class. The flight was smooth, comfortable, but a little warm…
KLM 787-10 Business Class – My First Impressions
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. At the outset, I am thankful there was no aircraft swap, because the previous day, the AMS-LAX flight was swapped to a 777-300, which may have been an upgrade for most passengers (since those business class seats have doors), but I wanted to review the 787-10.
I arrived very early at AMS so I could sit in the Crown Club and get my work done in case of no internet on the flight. My preferred place in this lounge is upstairs in the corner by the outdoor terrace. That area is always quiet and there’s barista-made coffee available.
Boarding began about 45 minutes before departure…it was a beautiful morning in Amsterdam. Onboard, I settled into my business class seat for the 11-hour journey to Los Angeles.
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. Everything functioned, but it really looked like an old product even though my aircraft, PH-BKG, was only delivered five years ago.
The seat was a bit dirty too:
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, followed by salmon à la Flamande with Hollandaise sauce for my main, served with white asparagus, scrambled eggs, and potatoes. The salmon filet was very small, but it was a good choice.
For dessert, cheese and a tart raspberry mousse topped with sunflower seeds, topped with passion fruit crumble.
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…I just can’t seem to do that anymore (though maybe the two cortados in the lounge left me wired…).
The internet worked well on the flight (the flight pass was €18) 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…
About 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.
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.
I’ve now got 12 KLM houses in my collection!
It was a beautiful morning (yes, still morning) when we landed at LAX 11 hours later.
CONCLUSION
KLM offers a very average business class, which is to say a very solid business class. I enjoyed good service, good 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.
In my full review, I will offer more details about the service, menu, amenity kits, lavatories, and IFE onboard.
Do they still offer the “Flying Dutchman” up front? Probably my favorite cocktail…had to take a pic of the recipe from the menu several years ago and make it at home from time to time…but finding Damrak gin here out west has been a PITA!
I’ve enjoyed that too, but it is currently off the menu.
Good review. Although AMS happens to be my main EU connecting airport, I never had a the chance to try an intercontinental KLM flight. Being based at MSP, AMS is the main gateway to Europe with 3 Delta and 1 KLM nonstop flights every day but I have always been on the Delta flights from here. KLM is a great option to connect within Europe so I really like flying into AMS. Now, for hotels there, after staying so many times, I now only stay at the Sheraton or Hilton hotels at Schipol. Yes, they are more expensive but the convenience factor is huge. You walk from the plane into the hotels. I tried the Hyatt Place AMS a few times and not only the quality is subpar when compared to Hilton or Sheraton, the shuttle is a huge deal breaker. Once on the peak of summer, my family waited over 1 hour outside for their shuttle. Never again. Last but not the least, I really don’t like the lounges at AMS. They are very hard to find, crowded and don’t really offer anything memorable to eat and drink. Usually staying at the Sheraton and Hilton allows me to manage my time to leave the hotel, go through immigration and straight into the gate.
I’m surprised that a very experienced traveller such as yourself would ever bother with shuttles somewhere like Schiphol. It’s one of the biggest mainline stations in the country, you just need to find a hotel located next to the railway station somewhere in the vague direction of your destination.
I also really don’t get the love for connecting at AMS- unless perhaps it’s a manifestation of PTSD after having to fly through Heathrow. The walks are interminable, there are mice in the lounges and the food is rubbish (in the lounges), expensive (oyster bars and the like), or both (regular airport cafes). And the KLM short-haul onboard experience is also very underwhelming – they don’t block any seats in business on the Embraers, there’s no food to speak of, and the drinks are atrocious in both classes.
I think Schiphol is fine as a departure airport due to its superb rail connectivity and its amazing landside shopping centre (not only are there supermarkets etc, you can buy virtually anything. I needed a piece of luggage after mine got abused during a bus trip and there was a vast array of realistically priced options), but even CDG and FRA are markedly better for connections in my book. The likes of MUC, ZRH and even LIS are in a completely different league for me.
@PM: Let me answer your questions but keep in mind one detail you probably missed: my US hub is MSP. That is key for my choice of AMS as a entry point in Europe.
Shuttle at AMS: That happened once and I mentioned that after that we only stay at the Sheraton and Hilton at Schiphol. We were coming from Italy, landing at 10:30PM with a connecting flight at 9:30am next morning. Thus, a hotel located next to a railway station other than Schiphol itself was not an option. It was my mistake. I was at that time trying to renew my Hyatt Globalist status and booked the Hyatt Place AMS. Never again. If arriving late at AMS with a connecting flight next morning, the Hilton or Sheraton at AMS are the only options (it makes no sense to get the train to anywhere).
Connecting at AMS: Not sure if you read my post that flying out of MSP, there are 4 daily nonstop flights to AMS while there is only 1 to LHR. Also, if I land at LHR with Delta I will certainly have to change terminals for a connecting flight elsewhere in Europe since it won’t probably be a SkyTeam flight. Thus, AMS is just perfect. I leave the Delta plane and simply walk to my next gate. Also, don’t know of any hotel at LHR that I can simply walk to the terminal next morning on my way back. When on vacation, I maximize getting to my destination vs enjoying the airport. Tried LHR and CDG before and AMS is by far is the best option to connect anywhere in Europe flying out of MSP.
As a sidenote, I used the shuttle to go the Hyatt Place on this trip and I only had to wait about 10 minutes on curb…was not too bad.
Sure but try that at the summer peak. There were lines of passengers all waiting for hotel shuttles outside and it was an absolute zoo. It took the shuttle forever to arrive and I had to call the hotel twice to know if I should take a Uber or something.
Ah, that detail is crucial indeed. If the choice is between AMS and LHR, then you obviously want to connect there every time!
I’d say not sleeping for 8 hours is normal on a day flight. It astounds me how many people are content to wake up at a normal time, go to the airport, board a flight in the morning (or early afternoon) and then proceed to get a full night of sleep.
I pulled an all-nighter.
In that case, I’ll allow it.
“I love babies! I’ll allow it!”
ROFTL.
Solid food. Really nice. And kudos for serving white asparagus. Spargel is one of my favorite things in the world!
I did the same aircraft type from AMS to JFK last week. Similar experience, but I wish you had mentioned the bathroom at the front of business. It is sooo spacious, the flowers were a lovely touch as well. I agree the cabin was too warm and I missed the personal air vents, the in flight movies could use some updating as well. I loved the KLM house (#53) was my first 🙂
Glad to see White Asparagus back in season!
What’s a crotado?
Do you see how worthless Grammarly is?
Not recognizing coffee is correct. You don’t need to drink if you’re using Grammarly.
Silly me, I thought it would make the perfect pair with a croissant !! … lol
Do you ever ask the flight attendant to cool down the cabin? I wonder if they would comply. I’m sure they don’t like it warm, either.
I do sometimes – but on this flight I did not because I was so wide awake I felt trying to go to sleep would be futile.
I’ve got a 12-hour transatlantic coming up leaving Barajas at noon and arriving EZE 20:00 local time. I’m in business, what’s the collective wisdom on sleep? Shall I get a proper night’s sleep the night before, stay mostly awake during the flight and then have a couple of coffees to cope with the longer day before going to bed at midnight, or is there any benefit in sleep deprivation and/or making an effort to sleep on the plane?
I just can’t seem to sleep long on planes any longer, so I’d get a good rest in your hotel room and then hope just to relax and watch movies and be comfortable on the flight.
Thanks! That had been my plan, and the reason I avoided the 08:45 departure. Fortunately it’s only three hours of difference so I am optimistic that I won’t have a huge issue staying awake and maybe even grabbing a drink before going to bed in Argentina.
Frequent 11+ hours traveler here. The golden rule is… sleep whenever you can. Once you’re at your destination/time zone THEN you try to establish a regular sleeping pattern,
I’m a bit surprised you only have 12 Delft Blue Houses. Do you have more LH First Class rubber duckies?
They are supposedly filled with gin, but I’ve never figured out how to open one of them.
Ha! I have over 50 ducks. 😉
You can actually buy every single KLM house online, but I have a policy of not buying ducks or houses…it’s more fun that way. I do trade, though!
I always carry a portable fan in case of warm cabins. You can use a USB port to keep it on throughout the flight if you like.
The reason I refuse to fly KLM, the cabin temperatures bordering on ridiculous… so friggin’ warm, one cannot breathe properly, with no personal air vents it’s dumb, but very woke… When I asked once for them to turn the cabin temperature down to a humane level, was told it was Airline policy in keeping with their environmental policies. What a load of garbage… Woke… go broke
There is no environmental reason the cabin has to be any temp warm or cold in cruise. Some aircraft have a “low flow” setting that can reduce fuel burn when the cabin isn’t full by reducing the flow of air through the environmental control system (ECS). By bleeding less air off the engine for the cabin you can save a small amount of fuel. The 787 however doesn’t use bleed air but rather electrically driven compressors so I don’t know if that applies. Regardless however whether the cabin temp is set full cold or full hot there is ZERO environmental impact. This isn’t a home style compressor system where it takes more energy to keep your house hotter or colder than ambient.
If the KLM FAs are telling you the cabin is warm for the environment they are either ignorant of how aircraft systems work (most likely) and just applying their own judgement or they are lying and like the cabin temp where it is and don’t want to change it.
The lack of air nozzles is a pretty big negative for me. I’m a bit surprised that the Dutch would forego such a basic amenity.
I’ve taken about 10 long haul KLM flights in the past year and this report sums it up. It’s reliable with decent (but not over the top) food, pleasant service, and good space but it almost always 25C/78F+ in the cabin. I just don’t understand why that’s acceptable – esp in a 787-10 where there is no vent. I prefer the older -9 for that reason although we can’t always pick that!
As long you are not setting next to a fat person and i had to sit in the galle all flight from Amsterdam to Bangkok
On Tuesday March 25 2025 I took KLM FL 601 AMS-LAX. A B777. The entire 11 hour flight was AWESOME. Excellent and friendly crews, great food! No complaints!!! I started out in Stockholm and the 2 hour flight to AMS was terrific! I was really impressed with KLM. GREAT JOB ALL AROUND!!!! So much better than Delta!!!
Glad you enjoyed your flight! Which entree did you try?