Passengers travelling through Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport will notice that all the clocks hanging from the ceiling have been covered up or removed. Apparently, the manufacturer of the original clocks no longer produces spare parts for them, and so, gradually, one by one, they have all stopped working. The airport authority is working to come up with a new solution. Until then, there is just one functional new clock in the central airside plaza.

Transfer in Amsterdam

My flight to Basel departs Amsterdam at 20h40. At 20h10, I pack up my belongings in the KLM Crown Lounge, quickly visit the washroom and make my way to the B concourse, where my flight will be boarding from gate B28. The walk from the lounge to the gate should take me about ten minutes.

Along the way I stop to take pictures of the traffic on the ramp. But of course, I don’t linger too long as I have a plane to catch. As I go, I keep checking the displays for the status of my flight. It doesn’t even show up as go to gate yet, so I figure we’re likely going to be delayed.

KLM Business Class Boarding

I reach the gate at 20h28. There are a lot of people sitting near the gate, but the counter is unattended and the displays show that the flight is closed. Something strange is going on, but I figure I might as well go for a walk about to keep my back from jamming up.

When I return to gate B28 a few minutes later, there’s a young lady in a KLM uniform standing there. It’s now 20h34. I walk up to the counter to inquire when she thinks the flight might start boarding. She takes one look at my boarding pass and tells me that, “oh, good, you made it. I was just about to offload you as a no show”. Before I can answer, she tells me that “you’re the last one. Better hurry to avoid upsetting the captain”.

The KLM Business Class Cabin & Seat

There are only two rows of Business Class on the flight this evening. At a glance, the Economy Class cabin is showing a healthy load. Up front in Business, only four of the eight seats are occupied, with one passenger on 1C and a couple on 1D and F. Which means, of course, that I have all of row 2 to myself. The seat pitch is stupendous, and I am able to stretch out comfortably in pretty much all directions.

The KLM Business Class Service & Crew

There are two young female cabin crew working on this flight. The purser is doing the forward cabin. She’s a bit hard to place. I guess you could say she’s friendly, but she seriously needs to work on her interactional skills. She’s a bit rough, to the point of coming across as being grumpy – which she’s not.

There is no service while we’re still on the ground. The flight time to Basel is one hour.

The KLM Business Class Meal

Once the crew is released, the service starts straight away. The purser brings me a Wandels Box, which I decline, and asks me if I’d like something to drink. I request a sparkling water, which she brings me straight away and plonks in front of me rather unceremoniously without bothering to inquire of perhaps I’d like a glass. When she passes me again on her way to the rear, I inquire about the glass and she bursts out laughing, “How could I forget a glass? It’s been a long day today”.

As the crew start the service and I hear the passengers behind me opening their packaged sandwiches, I start to feel peckish, so I inquire with the cabin crew if perhaps I might be allowed to have a sandwich as well. She smiles and hands me two, one of which I hand back to her. Frankly, I think I prefer the sandwiches to the Wandels Box. To conclude the meal, I have a mint tea.

Arrival in Basel

By the time we start our descent, the setting sun has decided to put on a spectacular show for us as it transitions from yellow to orange and then a deep red, before eventually disappearing on the horizon.

We land on time and taxi to the same stand from which the outbound to Amsterdam left a few days ago. The airport is quiet, but I’m guessing we’re just slightly ahead of the curve and it’ll be another thirty minutes before the easyJet fleet returns home for the night.

Conclusion

This was another pleasant trip with KLM from Basel via Amsterdam to Toulouse and back. As usual, KLM was dependable and comfortable, and the crews and service were predictable. That’s what I like about them.

The new cabin interiors are attractive, and a lot of thought has gone into the design of the cabin and seats. On KLM adjustable headrests and an in-seat power supply have become the norm in the premium cabins.

I’m curious about what went wrong exactly during boarding. Usually, the FIDS at Amsterdam reliably show all the important information in real time. Ultimately, it makes no difference, I didn’t miss the flight. But I easily mighy have.