New KLM Lounge Houston (IAH) Now Open

It doesn’t hardly look any different than before. What changed?

For any visitors to Amsterdam, visit the Bols distillery/"House of Bols." They have a neat room with every single KLM house.

Not the prettiest sight outside of that window!

doesn't qatar also use this lounge for its business class passengers?

Never heard anyone call this place “Houston Airport”

“Houston is one of our top markets in the US”

Very surprised to learn this

KLM had, until fairly recently, an effectively high-level status called "Petroleum" (as I recall, you had to work for an oil company and travel to a set of specified destinations; this was on top of normal Flying Dutchman/Flying Blue elite qualification), if that gives you an idea of an industry they have a long history of super-serving. If there's oil and gas there, there's a pretty good chance KLM will fly there from AMS.

(You might call it a "Shell game"...)

Yeah I was thinking the same. Not really worth an article.

Bad timing. Shell already moved its corporate headquarters to the UK. I imagine that the high amount of Shell business traffic is a big reason why KLM has had strong service to Houston for a long time. (They flew the 747 there for a while.)

It makes sense because there are more Air France lounges worldwide.

It basically looks the same. I miss when it was all self-serve

Everything I've been there the KLM lounge had a counter sign telling Priority Pass flyers to use the AF lounge. Other than a free bag of chips and bottle of water we were better off sitting outside the lounges

Oil industry. In addition to the Netherlands being the former headquarters of Shell, they have some of Europe's largest natural gas reserves. I'm sure other cities like New York and LA have higher passenger numbers but it wouldn't surprise me if Houston was KLM's most profitable route.

Surprised that they decided to build a new lounge in Terminal D as they are supposed to be building a brand-new international terminal for IAH.

It’s just an expansion of the international terminal. All of the existing D gates will still be used.

Note to author — D gates were recently renumbered, so the lounge is actually close to D14.

The KLM lounge has been there for many years.

The new chairs seem more comfortable than the metal ones they used to have.

Interesting move. Doesn't make sense at present. A precursor of things to come?

Looks fresh, but in essence it stays quite similar. It's alright, but nothing special.

I do have a question, if KLM says Houston is an important market.... why do they fly the A330 for the majority of the year these days? Business class is a pretty outdated product and seats are narrow. I know they fly the 787 in winter season, but would expect them to offer a premium product year-round if the market is really that important?

I fly the route pretty regularly but may switch back to United as their seats and lounge are just a lot better (compared to the a330).

Also despite the large size of Houston, there is lower competition with international air carriers since so few fly to IAH compared to other major cities. So those international air carriers that do serve IAH get away with higher fares.

Don’t forget the Petroleum Club!! AF and KLM have always had special perks for this industry and why I always assumed they both had IAH clubs…