My flight KL856 arrives back in Amsterdam from Seoul Incheon at 05h05, in the wee hours of the morning. My onward connection to Frankfurt leaves at 09h55, which gives me enough time to transfer between flights – which is good because right now I’m in pain from having had to spend ten hours sitting upright on the flight from Seoul.
Routing
> ZRH LH Y FRA A319
> FRA AF C CDG E195
> CDG AF C SIN B77W
> SIN SQ C CNS A359
> CNS ZL Y ISA SF34
> ISA QF Y TSV DH8D
> TSV QF Y CNS DH8D
> CNS QF C DRW E190
> DRW QF C SYD B738
> SYD KE C ICN B781
> ICN KL C AMS B789
> AMS KL C FRA E175
> FRA EN Y BSL E190
Transfer in Amsterdam
After I disembark the inbound from Seoul, my first stop is the security check for transfer passengers. It’s good to finally be able to walk again, or basically just not having to sit any longer. I’m not sure how much more of that my back would have been able to handle. However, I don’t have far to go, as our aircraft is parked right at the beginning of the E pier, on the stand with the shortest distance to security. Immigration for entry into the Schengen zone is at the opposite end of the E concourse. It’s not very busy. After all, it’s still early, and so I’m quickly through. I walk around the shops for a while to ease my back, which only works to point. Eventually though, the pain starts radiating down the back of my right leg, which is a sign that I’ll need to sit down again.
KLM Crown Lounge in the Schengen Area
The Schengen Crown Lounge has only just opened when I arrive. When it’s not crowded with passengers, it’s actually rather a nice lounge. So I take the opportunity to take a few photos before I hobble over to sit at the back of the lounge, near the entrance to the dedicated Ultimate sitting area. Once the pain in my back has quietened to a dull throb like a toothache, I venture forth to the buffet to see what’s good. By the looks of it, the cardboard cutlery and plates are here to stay. However, they still have the normal tableware as well, which makes me curious if they’re just experimenting to see what passengers’ reactions will be, or if they’re just short of plates and cutlery. It’s also a bit odd that many of the food options don’t seem overly suitable for breakfast, but perhaps that’s just me. Not sure I’ll every fancy a minestrone first thing in the morning, but…
KLM Business Class Boarding
The flight to Frankfurt departs at 09h55, so boarding is expected to start at 09h25. Unfortunately, boarding is from gate B07, which is just about the worst place in Schiphol to have to wait to board an aircraft. Gate B07 is at ground level in an area that’s way, way too small to be able to handle the passengers for the eight gates in total that there are down here – especially, when they also handle aircraft the size of a Boeing B737 or an Airbus A 320. There’s a constant stream of announcements informing passengers of which zone is currently be boarding, but without indicating the number of the flight that is being spoken about, the whole thing is just a bit useless. Boarding for our flight is slightly delayed. A bus will be bringing us to the aircraft, but that doesn’t stop some passengers from behaving as though their life depended on getting on the first bus.
KLM Business Class Cabin & Seat
I know I’m probably stating the painfully obvious here, but the Embraer E 175 really, really is a horrible little aeroplane, right up there with the Bombardier CRJ-900 for passenger discomfort. By the time I board as the last passenger off the first bus, the overhead bins are already quite full, so that I don’t manage to find a place to dump my suitcase until I’m at row nine. Which is, of course, a bit inconvenient when I’m actually sitting on row 1. The cabin crew are nowhere to be seen in the cabin. Alas, by the time I’ve stored my bags, the second bus has arrived and more passengers start pouring in, so that eventually I have no choice but to stand in the rear galley and wait for everyone to be seated before I can go find my seat on 1F. When eventually the lead stewardess in the forward galley announces “boarding completed”, the cabin crew in the rear galley gives me a stern looks and tells me that “now you really should go sit down, you know”. I open my mouth, close it, open it again… and figure there’s no point.
One of my met peeves with KLM is the fact that they don’t block the adjacent seat in Business Class on the Embraer fleet, which makes an horribly tight little aircraft feel just that little bit tighter. Pitch is good on row 1. The view, however, is not. The window is more or less abeam with my ear, which means that I’ll have to turn my head ninety degrees if I want to look out. And that is currently problematic because I pinched a nerve in my neck on the flight from Seoul because the seat would not go fully flat. As a result, turning my head to the right is… eh… challenging. There are two rows of seats in the Business Class cabin. However, only five of the eight seats are occupied.
KLM Business Class Cabin & Service
There are two young female cabin crew on this flight. The purser hands out bottles of water and apologises for the situation with the overhead bins. The larger Embraer E 190 has a large storage compartment on the port side, at the front of the cabin, where they can store things if need be. However, in a bid to maximise the amount of revenue seats they can pack in, the Embraer E 175 does not have such a compartment, even though it needs it more.
KLM Business Class Meal – Breakfast
With a flight time of only 35 minutes, the meal service starts soon after take-off – and it’s another dreaded Wandels Box. It’s not just that the presentation of the food in the black plastic containers is questionable and not very appealing. I also question the merits of offering “plant-based” yoghurt, which is just hypocritical. The quality of the food is not particularly good either, and apparently, the bread rolls have fallen by the wayside – again. The cabin crew asks what I’d like to drink and I can’t help snort out a laugh. I’d love a cup of coffee, but I’m honestly not sure where I’d be able to place it, so I decline.
Arrival in Frankfurt
The crew remove the food boxes and shortly after we start our descent into Frankfurt. I’m rather curious about our arrival, as this will be the first time I’ll be arriving in the new Terminal 3. We have a short taxi to our stand and I have to wait for all the other passengers to disembark before I can go back to row 9 to pick up my suitcase.
The arrivals experience is nothing spectacular, really, but if, like me, you’re fascinated by airports, it is interesting. Arriving passengers disembark into the terminal at the same level as departing passengers. However, the concourse is so generously laid out that it’s easy progress through the terminal. I’m really quite impressed by what they’ve built here in Frankfurt for Terminal 3!
Conclusion – KLM Business Class
After this trip with KLM from Seoul to Frankfurt via Amsterdam, I’m sad to admit that my enthusiasm for KLM is gradually shifting to life-support. There are only so many excuses and allowances you can make before you just have to face the fact that the passenger is no longer the airline’s first priority, it’s their bottom line. I’m aware from my colleague, the Flying Dutchman, that KLM is experiencing substantial financial difficulties and is trying to cut costs where ever they can – but I think that the moment the passengers starts to feel and notice those cost cutting measures, you’ve basically already lost them as an airline.
The simple fact is that these last two flights were far from enjoyable. To be honest, my main reason for choosing them over Lufthansa is that the German carrier’s propensity for navel gazing just gets on my nerves. However, based on my recent experience with Lufthansa to Almaty and back, I also have to say that the experience with Lufthansa was a lot more pleasurable than what KLM dished out on this trip: on the Seoul to Amsterdam flight there were more things not working in the cabin than there were things that did, at least that’s how it felt – from the inoperable inflight entertainment on every one of the A seats to the lock on the storage compartment of my seat that kept jamming and my seat that was on the blink. The experience on short-haul equally left much to be desired. I think we needn’t go into my opinion of the Wandels Box and the cramped seating on the Embraers again – they just have to go. However, I must confess that I am a bit concerned by the recent announcement that KLM will soon start introducing buy on board, which doesn’t bode well and doesn’t make it likely that they’ll be improving their short-haul catering anytime soon. Most carriers treat buy on board as something of a get out of jail free card – assuming that if passengers in Economy have to pay for food and drinks, passengers up front will be more willing to accept a mediocre product simply by merit of it being more than what you would have received in Economy Class.