From Amsterdam to Washington Dulles I flew onboard a KLM A330 in business class. The flight was pleasant enough, but these aircraft are long overdue for a retrofit.
KLM A330 Business Class – My First Impressions
I grabbed a 50K Flying Blue redemption in business class from AMS to IAD (plus about $400 in taxes/fees) which was a good value, although it meant flying on an A330-300 which features KLM’s old-school B/E Diamond 2-2-2 seating.
For a daytime service, it wasn’t bad, but I was traveling solo and you’re really close to your seatmate. My seatmate happened to be a tall Dutch guy (I guess tall and Dutch are somewhat redundant…) who drank a whole lot, but left his headphones on the entire flight.
Lunch was served after takeoff followed by another lunch before landing. The menu was very East Asian themed…both meal services featured Indonesian (makes sense considering it was a former Dutch colony), Thai, and Chinese dishes. Not my favorite, but it was something different.
For my appetizer, I enjoyed both the smoked salmon and tomato soup and for my main course, I had Beef Jawa (Javanese beefsteak). Bavarois caramel on an almond cookie for dessert.
I do love the cheese appetizer on KLM (though I would love to see both nuts and cheese offered).
Prior to arrival, I had Thai red curry as an appetiser and a main course of Kohoko salad with chili prawns.
While I planned to work onboard, wi-fi did not work…another downside to flying an older aircraft.
I got engrossed in an HBO miniseries series called Scenes From A Marriage which was spellbinding but disturbing…so I didn’t sleep…I just binge-watched it the entire flight. Scary stuff! Such great acting, though.
Of course, the highlight of every KLM flight is a Delft Blue House and I was pleased to add #62 to my collection:
We got a late start from Amsterdam Schiphol due to congested air traffic and landed more than 90 minutes late in Dulles. The immigration process was thankfully quick and easy (it almost always is with Global Entry). No orange box this time…
> Read More: The Mysterious Orange Box At Washington Dulles
I’ll have a lot more to say about this light, including more information on the seat, IFE, amenities, and service onboard in my full review. For now, the takeaway is that the A330 is fine…but these days it is a below-average business class product (unlike, say, a KLM 787 Dreamliner).
Do you have #104 already?
Sadly, they only had 50-70.
These planes are great for secondary markets, like the one they fly to Austin. Our alternative is not having a flight to AMS, and I think the large cabin makes last minute availability a little better. If I’m going to Europe and money isn’t an obstacle, I’m flying Club World Suites from AUS. But for premium leisure, or points, these are fine and I’m glad they exist. Also, it’s still better than LH.
Nowadays a B787-9 with 1-2-1 reverse herringsbone operates the FRA-AUS-FRA flights on LH. I’ve taken the flight in business class many times now (currently writing this from Frankfurt where I landed earlier today from Austin on LH) and it’s generally terrific. Very, very good seats, solid amenities and excellent service. Can’t recommend it enough.
The business class catering on intra Europe KLM flights is as disgusting as their rodent-infested lounges. I recently was unfortunate enough to fly a couple of segments on them as part of a long haul ticket and was shocked- I can’t remember the last time I tasted such an awful white wine, and my seatmate said that the red was even worse (he took a sip of that before ordering the white).
It’s good to see that the long haul product hasn’t quite sunk to the same level, but it’s been years since I last bought a ticket from them and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon [maybe unless it’s a well-priced last minute redemption] even if I do try to keep at least silver status with FB (currently Gold due to some good deals on AM and KQ).
The Dtuch (sic) wouldn’t be happy if you stereotype them and call them that way.
One is a typo, two almost next to another that’s deliberate.
Yikes. That comes from clicking “add” instead of “correct.”
I ponder whether “smoked salmon and tomato soup” tastes more salmon or tomato ?
I laughed so hard with the title of this post. A friend that used to date a Dutch woman once said that they are solid, but uninspiring. LOL
I was on a flight this week that had the same meal service and for what it’s worth they gave me nuts AND cheese when I asked. Worth a try next time!
I really like the Indonesian food on KLM long haul. I always order it and have gotten some great meals. I rather dislike AMS as an airport, though. Crowded in general. Only decent lounges are KLM’s, and those are crowded. And you will need a long connection if you want your luggage to keep up with you.
Agree with all the bad things you shared about AMS but you forgot to share the best thing about ir. Between LHR, CDG and AMS, AMS is by far the easiest to get off an international flight and get to your connecting gate. All you need is to walk. No trains, no buses, no going up and down escalators, etc… It is all easy on one place and one level. And if all you have is a carry on, it is a breeze to get to your final destination.
It also has a train station below the airport, and several hotels connected to the airport. But the lounge situation is just sad. It also has more meltdowns than should be expected.
Yes, if you are going to the city you can’t beat that train station. Walking to Hilton or Sheraton hotels is amazing. KLM lounges are not good but I actually time my connection to not need a lounge. Café Chocolat is my favorite spot before a connection.
Actually the best lounge may well be the Star Alliance one, as I don’t think that mice have been spotted there and there’s some half decent alcohol on offer (the cava in the KLM Crowd Lounges retails for €4.35 per full bottle). No showers, but you can’t have everything.
Everything comes at a price, one of the first lessons in life. This post confuses me. The first lines of your review state you got this product at a good price and is “good value” but you then go on to complain about features and how this product is not up to scratch. In typical consumer fashion you pay peanuts and expect 5 star. Yes what you received for the price is good value, it’s not Qatar, it’s not SQ, it’s KLM. You got what you paid for. It’s good value for what it is. You know KLM is not on the level as other premium carriers yet you come across as if you are comparing like for like.
TBH it seems like his main issue were the lack of wifi and the seat. Had he been flying in a 1-2-1 configuration and the wifi working, it would have been a more positive review I feel.
KLM is horrible. While Air France has reduced some of the lounge offerings in Paris, it’s remarkable that Air France is so much better than KLM given the fact that their are owned by the same parent company. Thankfully, the accountants at KLM haven’t forced Air France to use KLM’s in-flight and lounge catering.
“My seatmate happened to be a tall Dutch guy (I guess tall and Dutch are somewhat redundant…) who drank a whole lot, but left his headphones on the entire flight”
With the emphasis on “Drank a whole lot”, I’m assuming you were feeling nervous the Dutch guy would start chatting to you the entire flight? Or something else?
I used to fly with KLM with quite a great pleasure.
I felt in the past they were the best, but by reading some comments, it might be different. Anyway, I still wish to fly (Canada to Amsterdam) this year 2024 and enjoy the best I can do. I also wish to entertain the people in Business class with my music (i got already the green light for KLM) but it will be up to the captain…
Best,
Charles Baurin
KLM Business class food is gross .
Gross it was not.
Maybe Amsterdam has some good restaurants, the place where you should be eating food.
I’m sitting on a KLM A330 and I have to say that this is the most poorly-designed business class seat I’ve ever been in. The seats are very small and my neighbor (a stranger) and I are bumping arms. The worst part is that there’s no storage areas, not even a pocket like you get in coach. There’s a water bottle slot but it’s behind my head, so I have to get out of my seat and turn around to reach it. Same with headphones. I had to put the menus on the floor. The menu is not at all interesting for either meal so I won’t be eating. This is going to be a very very long 7.5-hour flight from Amsterdam to New York. I can’t believe I paid business class prices for this.