The final leg of our trip was from Amsterdam to Los Angeles on a KLM 787-10 in economy class. Despite every seat being taken, I thought the flight was lovely…with excellent service, a copious amount of food, and a seat that was tolerable with two young children.
KLM 787-10 Economy Class Review (AMS-LAX)
This was my first longhaul flight on KLM in economy class, but at 22K Flying Blue points one-way from Zurich to Los Angeles, including a 26-hour stopover in Amsterdam, it was too good of deal to pass up. Plus, flying in economy class takes all the pressure off of flying with young children.
We left our hotel at about 10:30 am, arriving at Amsterdam Schiphol Airpot about two hours ahead of our departure. That was more time than we needed (thankfully, AMS has solved its security checkpoint woes…), but it left us time to sit in the Aspire Lounge for a bit prior to boarding.
The planespotting from AMS (or “SkyTeam land” as my son calls it) is excellent.
Our boarding pass indicated boarding would commence 40 minutes prior to the flight, though boarding began about 10 minutes earlier.
KLM 601
Amsterdam (AMS) – Los Angeles (LAX)
Tuesday, January 17
Depart: 1:05 PM
Arrive: 3:15 AM
Duration: 11hr, 10min
Distance: 5,578 miles
Aircraft: Boeing 787-10
Seat: 36H (Economy Class)
We boarded amongst a large pack of families and found our seats in the rear economic class cabin.
Seat
KLM offers three classes of service on its 787-10, including business class, premium economy class (not present yet on all aircraft, though it was on ours), and economy class.
Economy class begins in row 17 and runs to row 47. Seats are configured in a 3-3-3 layout and KLM utilizes the Recaro CL3710 seats, featuring a 4-way adjustable hammock-style headrest and a retractable bi-fold tray table.
Seat pitch is 31 inches (economy comfort, an extra-legroom economy class section offers 35 inches of legroom), the width is 17.1 inches, and the recline is about five inches.
While 31 inches is tight, the fact that I had my two kids next to me that did not take up much space (including my two-year-old daughter in the center seat) helped me to stretch out a bit. I’m also thankful the person in front of me never reclined (I did not either).
Every seat has a universal AC outlet under the seat as well as a USB-A outlet located on the IFE screen. Each seat also has a coat hook. There are not individual air vents, though the cabin never got warm during the flight.
Waiting on each seat was a blue blanket, but no pillow.
With my wife seated across the aisle and our kids next to me, I really thought the experience was tolerable for a daytime service. Sometimes business class is particularly nice on daytime flight when you are wide awake, but here we did just fine in economy class and the kids were remarkably well-behaved (a couple of squeals here and there, but excellent overall).
Lavatory
Since I had consumed three cups of coffee, two glasses of water, and two glasses or orange juice just a few hours earlier, I had to get up a couple times to use the restroom…and always found it clean. I’m not sure if flight attendants went in and cleaned it up or people were just tidy, but I appreciated the clean restroom.
Food + Drink
KLM keeps its economy class passengers well-fed. Lunch was served after takeoff, which began with giving each passenger a bottle of water, followed by a full beverage service (alcoholic drinks are complimentary), then a choice of main course: pasta with cheese or meatballs with mashed potatoes. My daughter Claire Marie had pasta liked it very much: I sampled it and also thought it was fine (I think it is difficult for airlines to mess up pasta).
My son Augustine and I had meatballs and quite enjoyed them. Seriously, this was a lot better than many of the business class meals I’ve had over the last few years.
Lunch was served with a large green salad topped in sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella bells and served with a small block of Dutch cheese from Beemster and a warm bread roll.
After lunch trays were cleared away, flight attendants offered coffee or tea with a small chocolate tart for dessert.
During the flight, self-serve snacks (crackers, oat bar, stroopwafel) and beverages were available from the rear galley.
Midway through the flight, flight attendants came through the cabin offering a beverage and a cheese sandwich.
Finally, about 75 minutes before landing a final snack was served that included a hot pizza-type sandwich, a pesto pasta salad, and a rich pudding-like dessert topped in caramel sauce and crumbled stroopwafels.
This was absolute carb-bomb and therefore something I would never eat at home…but it was quite enjoyable…kudos to KLM for keeping its economy class passengers quite satiated.
IFE + Wi-Fi
Each seat in economy class includes a 11-inch HD touchscreen display with a vast collection of movies, TV shows, games, and audio files.
I stayed mostly busy caring the kids during the flight, but did have a chance to watch a movie called My Best Friend Anne Frank (I previously mentioned that I was quite moved by the story of Hannah Goslar while visiting the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam the night before). I am glad I watched it, though I thought the film took far too many artistic liberties.
Meanwhile, the kids spent almost the entire flight watching the screens in front of them, which is the deal we have: screens are for flights, not for home. It certainly kept them quiet…and eventually sleepy.
Complimentary headphones are provided but are of very poor quality: bring your own.
WiFi internet was available onboard, with data packages ranging from complimentary messaging to surfing ranging from 8EUR/hour to 18EUR for a flight pass. Internet worked well throughout the journey and I appreciated the complimentary messaging option.
We also enjoyed some lovely views outside the window, including a very snowy eastern Canada:
Service
The crew was mostly mature (older) and offered excellent service throughout the flight. The frequent beverage services and service flow were one thing, but the smiles on their face and cheerful disposition was a pleasure to see.
People sometimes rag on “old” flight attendants, but when you get veteran flight attendants in the US, Canada, or Europe who love their job and have a record of longevity, I would argue the service rivals any Asian or Gulf carrier.
And of course I already shared the very special gift of a Delft blue house Augustine received.
Upon landing the crew walked with us on the way to baggage claim and continued to be charming, even off-duty. One asked if they could help us carry anything. What a lovely group of flight attendants, which has always been my experience when flying on KLM.
CONCLUSION
We landed on-time at LAX and pulled into the new gate area at LAX. That represents quite a walk to the passport control area down a hall, down an escalator, through a tunnel, and up another escalator.
Make no mistake: this was a long journey and I think all of us were happy to step off the plane. But this was a very solid economy class experience. It’s hard to beat a one-way journey from Switzerland to the West Coast of the USA with a stopover in Amsterdam for 22K miles and about $120 in taxes. For that reason, I would not hesitate to use KLM again when traveling with the kids and using miles. Still, I missed business class…that’s a treat on KLM as well.
KLM’s Economy Comfort is some of the best coach seating I’ve been in, 35″ pitch and a recline that seems better than Delta’s PS. And yes, that meal looks better than anything I’ve ever had in KLM coach by a long shot (and not much worse than the J dinner I’ve had).
I have a KLM flight coming up! ATL-AMS for 10500 FB + $120. Just about unbeatable from a value standpoint
Appreciate seeing the realities of traveling with young children on a blog!
Noticed your child had the Jetkids suitcase. Did you end up using this and did it go over well? I’ve heard not all airlines allow the use of inflatable supports for smaller children.
We used it and my daughter loved it. I can’t say we used it onboard as intended (we just put it up in the overhead bin), but my daughter really enjoyed pulling it herself.
So what happened to:
US Official At Amsterdam Schiphol Airport Harasses My Wife Over Green Card
I’ve been waiting all week
Tomorrow. I wanted to get out this trip report today since I’ve been dragging my feet on it all week.
KLM houses are reserved for Business Class. They are filled with Dutch Gin. When flying to the Middle East, the alcohol is drained. You are flying Economy Comfort to the United States. Why did the children receive alcohol?
When flying KLM as a child, whether Business Class or Economy, I always received pilot wings, and/or a coloring book. One year, as a 7 year old in the early 80s when I had long hair, I was mistakenly given a stewardess badge.
Flying KLM is dubious, the seats are somewhat uncomfortable. And, the fact that they helped fly Nazis to South America to avoid persecution around the end of World War 2, just makes me uncomfortable.
We flew economy class, not economy comfort.
I wrote about the house here:
https://liveandletsfly.com/klm-blue-house/
I think the KLM of the past is not the KLM of today – I don’t think KLM employees or leadership would take part in that sort of thing in this era.
I 100% agree with your comment about “very senior” (older) flight attendants. I was with Eastern back in the 1970’s & 80’s and recall several flights that always went VERY senior for flight attendants. Most memorable was when the company began MIA-SFO nonstops that were crewed with MIA based crews. I took the flight on several occasions and each time, practically all of the back-end crew were all aged 60+ with each having 40+ years with the company. The only time there were obviously younger flight attendant working the flight was when loads were heavy and a reserve F/A was added to assist with the cabin service. And each time, the young flight attendant was really working their tail off to keep up with their much older colleagues. Sure, you’d hear passengers make comments in passing about the F/A’s most all be “really old”…though the level & quality of service that these older crew members provided was hands-down more attentive, polished and sincere than from most of their younger colleagues. This was not only at Eastern, though also obvious at other US carriers as well.
I flew KLM on one of their first B747S as a young kid 1n the 1970s, within Europe. What a thrilling experience, and a great quality airline.
Flew KLM last summer (in business) and really appreciated the friendly crew both transatlantic and intra-Europe. Would definitely consider economy now as well.
Food quantity and appearance certainly compares favorably to UA…Polaris.
I only fly KLM within Europe and my experience has been fantastic. Crew is very nice, food very decent and planes are clean and well maintained. Also. AMS is in my opinion the best airport to connect in Europe. The fact you don’t need to take a train between terminals is a huge plus for me.
Great review. I have thought about flying from SEA to Europe via AMS on KLM and your review eases my fear of flying long haul in economy which I have managed to avoid for over a decade. P.S. Your children are adorable and look exactly like you.
We are flying klm in November TO to JNB and look forward to travel with klm. We flew with klm many years ago and it was a great flight.
Like most things in life,people experience things differently,LOL.At the end of my KLM transatlantic flight,I wouldnot take a canal house,so as not to remind me,will never fly them again,pay for drinks in the lounge,zero help when they screwup,, your connection,etc.By contrast I flew Austrian Ord-Vie economy,poor leg room,stingiest catering,but know what? Excellent pilots,nice crew no problem with offering good wine,coffee,chivas regal,and a very nice connection in Vienna.Would I fly them again,anytime.
Love KLM, which only way to fly to Europe! They now connect from my small regional airport via Westjet and I love the nap rooms at Crown Lounge!
So which you recommend over the other, KLM economy or Air France economy?
KLM over Air France
I was on the very same flight last week in business, and frankly this report makes me envious. Example – couldn’t get anybodys attention, after 10 minutes of an unanswered call button, I had to interrupt a ” hot new restaurants” conversation in the galley. For me, seat, seat condition and service were meh.
That meal looks better than anything United serves in Polaris.
The meatballs out of AMS are sort of legendary and always appreciated. KLM is my favorite long-haul economy over the Atlantic. By far.
I agree that especially the older flight crews on KLM are on a whole other level in terms of friendliness and service. But KLM business is not a good deal because that’s where there catering (especially within Europe) is really bad. Internationally it’s o.k. (like United). It’s like it’s an airline with two personalities. Good to great in Economy including meals. Not really competitive in Business, especially when it comes to food.
Yes! More reviews in Economy with the kids please!
❤️❤️