I enjoyed kind service and a delicious meal on my KLM 787-9 flight from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta in the extra-legroom “Economy Comfort” section of economy class, a journey of only 699 miles.
KLM 787-9 Economy Class Review
KLM operates a pair of Fifth Freedom routes within Asia including Singapore (SIN) to Bali (DPS) and Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Jakarta (CGK). The ticket from KUL to CGK was only 67 USD. Fifth Freedom fights are a great way to enjoy a full-service carrier often at a discounted price, since these legs are often not full.
We pulled up to our gate in Kuala Lumpur International Airport only about an hour before our next flight departed, but pulled up right next to our KLM Dreamliner (and had already checked in online).
Security screenings are at the gate in KUL and there was a line to enter the gate, though we did not take time to visit any lounge (KLM uses the Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge for its business class and SkyTeam Elite Plus passengers).
Once you pass through security, you must wait in a holding area without any bathrooms or other amenities. Boarding commenced at 4:25 pm.
KLM 809
Kuala Lumpur (KUL) – Jakarta (CGK)
Wednesday, November 20
Depart: 5:05 PM
Arrive: 6:10 PM
Duration: 02hr, 05min
Distance: 699 miles
Aircraft: Boeing 787-9
Seat: 37D 19C (Economy Class)
Onboard, my son Augustine made a beeline for the lavatory…poor guy.
Seat
I earlier talked about trying to upgrade to business class, but it really was not a problem here because the flight was not full and we were invited to stretch out in Economy Comfort after my son got sick.
We were assigned to row 38 and while Augustine was in the loo, I took my seat in row 38.
After Augustine emerged from the lavatory and confirmed he was sick, I asked a flight attendant about upgrading to business class and was quoted a price of 136 USD each but was alternatively offered a move to Economy Comfort at no charge since Augustine was sick. We took the Economy Comfort option since the cabin was mostly empty.
Regular economy class seats (there are 176 onboard) have a pitch of 31 inches and a recline of five inches. The Economy Comfort cabin includes 48 Recaro CL3710 seats featuring a 4-way adjustable hammock-style headrest and a retractable bi-folding table. Seats have five inches of extra pitch and two inches of additional recline (the bulkhead seats have an immense amount of legroom).
No personal air vents, though, which always strikes me as a curious choice.
All seats feature a universal A/C power outlet under the seat (two outlets for every three seats) plus a USB-A port attached to the screen.
IFE + Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi was available for purchase (€8/hour or free messaging) and seatback screens included hundreds of movies and TV shows, plus audio, games, and moving flight map.
Complimentary earphones were handed out to those who did not bring their own.
KLM’s clever safety video was screened before departure.
Overhead monitors displayed a moving flight map throughout the flight.
Food + Drink
Although this was only a 699-mile flight and our flight time was less than 90 minutes, a full meal was served after takeoff. There was no choice, but the meal included a main course (a vegetarian dish that had a nice kick to it…perhaps a vegan rendang or an Indian dish like aloo gobi) along with a side salad and a piece of cake.
Not only does this far exceed what you can expect on an intra-Eruope flight of the same length in economy class, but it’s even better than the boxed meals served in business class on flights in Europe!
Full bar service too:
Lavatory
Augustine, of course, was quick to use the lavatory…I checked it out (a different one) later in the flight. It was small but clean, with no extra amenities.
Service
Augustine’s health incident brought out the best in the KLM staff and the crew checked in on us often. Everyone was lovely onboard and to this day, I have never had a bad crew on KLM…the staff, which tends to be veteran, but very friendly.
I am very grateful for the kind crew who moved us up so we had a bit more room and were genuinely concerned about Augustine.
It’s a shame this flight did not go on longer…after checking out the IFE, Augustine fell asleep before takeoff slept through it.
CONCLUSION
We landed about 15 minutes ahead of schedule in Jakarta: a smooth, lovely flight on KLM. Considering KLM was half the price of Garuda Indonesia or Malaysia Airlines, this is an ideal way to travel between CGK and KUL.
Were you concerned at any point that his being sick on the flights in Asia would get you guys sent to a health quarantine check?
I know one of the SAS promo mile runners got flagged at Guangzhou for a fever by the auto gate scanners before immigration and got sent to a health quarantine check room for about two hours where the person was subject to mouth swabs and blood tests. Then they started contact tracing others on the same flight seated near the same promo runner.
Odiei viajar por esta companhia! Foi a puor de todas! Os atendentes nos guiches sao muito sem educaçao e os atendentes de voo, dentro da aeronave costumam agredir verbalmente os passageiros! Experiencia horrivel! Absolutamente NAO RECOMENDO!
Sinto muito que você tenha tido uma viagem ruim. Como exatamente os comissários de bordo foram rudes?