KLM 611
Amsterdam (AMS) – Chicago (ORD)
Thursday, July 17
Depart: 12:40PM
Arrive: 2:10PM
Duration: 8hr30min
Aircraft: Boeing 747-400
Seat: 73K (Business Class)
I boarded through door 2L, and headed straight up the stairs to the upper deck. After flying the 747-8 quite a bit, the stairs on the 747-400 feel quite drab and confined, by comparison.
KLM upper deck class stairs 747-400
While the 747-400 is showing its age and the overheard bins looked old, the seats themselves looked fresh, given that this is their new business class product. There were a total of 20 seats on the upper deck, in a 2-2 configuration.
KLM business class cabin upper deck 747-400
The hard product is actually very similar to the one offered on Air China’s 777-300ERs and on United’s ex-Continental planes. They’re fully flat business class seats at a slight angle from the aisle. At the end of the day it’s not my favorite business class hard product, but it’s still quite solid.
KLM business class cabin upper deck 747-400
KLM business class cabin upper deck 747-400
These are rather comfortable seats — they’re great for lounging, the legroom isn’t terribly restrictive, and in the fully flat position the seats are comfortable for sleeping. One thing KLM did especially well with these seats is that there’s a shield between the two seats, so between that and the seats being slightly staggered, you have more privacy than you’d usually have with a seatmate.
KLM new business class seats
KLM new business class privacy partition
The legroom was decent, though as you’ll see the window seats on the upper deck had better legroom than the aisle seats, given that the foot cubby “opens up” on the side closest to the fuselage.
KLM new business class seats
It’s worth noting that KLM doesn’t have storage lockers along the side of the fuselage like other airlines do on the upper deck, unfortunately.
KLM new business class legroom window seat
The IFE screens are fairly large, and there’s a small storage compartment immediately under the screen.
KLM new business class legroom aisle seat
KLM business class cabin upper deck 747-400
In terms of the seating controls, they were located on the center console and fairly intuitive to use.
KLM business class seat controls
Also near the center console was a fairly standard IFE remote.
KLM business class entertainment controls
There were also noise cancelling headphones at my seat. They weren’t branded aside from having KLM’s logo, and were okay — certainly not Bose quality.
KLM business class headphones
One other cool aspect of the product was that each seat had a storage “shelf” of sorts, located above the seat. I found that to be rather practical. That’s also where the power outlet and headphone jack were located.
KLM business class seat storage and power ports
Also waiting at my seat were a pillow and blanket, which were plush and well padded.
KLM business class pillow and blanket
Anyway, once settled in one of the lovely flight attendants came by my seat to offer me a pre-departure beverage. I selected both a glass of champagne and water, which were served in nice KLM glassware.
KLM business class pre-departure drinks
I was also offered an amenity kit.
KLM business class amenity kit
The amenity kit was well stocked, with a pen, eyeshades, socks, toothbrush, toothpaste, chapstick, comb, earplugs, etc.
KLM business class amenity kit content
At around 12:30PM the captain came on the PA to welcome us aboard and inform us of our flight time of 7hr40min, which he anticipated would put us into Chicago on time. Unfortunately there was a lot of traffic in the alley, so he said we would be about 15 minutes late pushing back. When the door closed the seat next to me was still empty, and there were a handful of other empty seats on the upper deck — score!
At around 12:55PM we began our pushback, and shortly thereafter the safety video began to play.
Amsterdam Airport KLM 747-400
Amsterdam Airport KLM A330
KLM safety video
Our taxi to our departure runway, 36L, took a long time.
Taxiing Amsterdam Schipol Airport
Taxiing Amsterdam Schipol Airport
Taxiing Amsterdam Schipol Airport
Taxiing Amsterdam Schipol Airport
KLM 777-300ER Amsterdam Schipol Airport
Taxiing Amsterdam Schipol Airport
The taxi took over 20 minutes, though the views were gorgeous, as I kind of felt like we were taxiing through a field to get to our departure runway.
Taxiing Amsterdam Schipol Airport
At around 1:20PM we made it to our departure runway, where we were immediately cleared for takeoff.
Taking off Runway 36L Amsterdam Schipol Airport
Our takeoff roll was pretty quick, and the views on the climb out were gorgeous.
View after takeoff from Amsterdam
View after takeoff from Amsterdam
The senior purser introduced herself on the climb out, and I thought it was amusing that she announced that “KLM can be reached on Twitter and Facebook where they will respond within the hour.”
View after takeoff from Amsterdam
Cruising altitude
About 20 minutes after takeoff the seatbelt sign was turned off and the senior purser came around the cabin to introduce herself to each passenger. She was incredibly charming, and I always find it to be a nice touch when pursers introduce themselves in business class. She also handed me the menu for the flight, and apologized that it wasn’t completely accurate, so they had an extra sheet describing the changes. I was also handed a duty free magazine.
KLM business class menu and wine list
I started browsing the entertainment system, which was fairly extensive. It’s not as good as Singapore’s KrisWorld system or Cathay Pacific’s StudioCX, but it was still a good selection.
KLM business class entertainment system
KLM business class entertainment system
KLM business class entertainment system
KLM business class airshow
KLM business class airshow
KLM business class airshow
KLM business class airshow
It seemed some people were having issues with the entertainment system, because they spent the next two hours trying to reset it, unsuccessfully. Fortunately I always bring my own entertainment, so it wasn’t a big deal for me.
Before lunch I changed into pajamas to get more comfortable for the flight. The 747-400 lavatories didn’t seem to be renovated recently, though they did have Zenology toiletries in the bathroom.
KLM business class lavatory
KLM business class lavatory amenities
Once I was back at my seat, the lunch service began. The menu read as follows:
And here’s the “change” to the menu:
The wine list read as follows:
I also found the “timeline” they had for the service to be pretty funny:
The meal service began with hot towels.
KLM business class hot towel
That was followed by drinks and the choice between cheese and nuts. I chose nuts, which I accompanied with a glass of Nicolas Feuillatte and a Diet Coke.
KLM business class drinks and nuts
Shortly thereafter the flight attendants rolled around the cart with the starter. It consisted of smoked salmon tartare and Thai papaya salad. While the portion wasn’t huge, it tasted excellent, and I loved the presentation. It’s ironic that on one hand they use trays (which usually doesn’t show much of a focus on presentati0n), but at the same time everything on the tray was gorgeously presented.
They had so many nice little touches. For example, for the Thai papaya salad the nuts were “sprinkled” on at the seat.
KLM business class appetizer and salad
KLM business class appetizer
KLM business class salad
I also loved the salt and pepper shaker, which was originally presented in a box.
KLM business class salt & pepper shaker
For the main course I had braised beef with onion compote. It was served with potatoes, asparagus, carrots, etc. It was really great — one of the best beef dishes I’ve had in business class.
KLM business class main course
KLM business class main course
Lastly the dessert cart was rolled around. I had a raspberry mousse tart, some cheese, and a glass of port. In terms of presentation and taste it was definitely the low point of the meal.
KLM business class dessert
I finished off the meal with a cup of coffee, which was served with a praline.
KLM business class coffee
Service throughout the meal was fantastic. To be honest, I was expecting KLM business class to be rather bland (I figured they injected all their personality into the livery and uniforms), though there were so many nice little touches about the presentation of the meal. Both of the flight attendants working the upper deck were spectacular. They were charming and attentive.
After lunch we had a bit over five hours to go to Chicago, so I decided to take a nap. I reclined my seat into the fully flat position, and found the bed to be comfortable. The window seat was better than the aisle for sleeping, given the extra legroom by the side of the fuselage.
KLM business class bed
KLM business class bed
I napped for a bit over an hour, at which point I woke up and was offered a bottle of water. The flight attendant also informed me they had some snacks in the rear galley.
KLM business class bottled water
I wasn’t hungry, though did take a look at the selection. They had a few types of granola bars, chocolates, and mints.
KLM business class snacks
At that point there were about four hours left to go to Chicago, and I decided to watch a few TV shows on my iPad.
KLM business class airshow
KLM business class airshow
KLM business class airshow
I then got some work done, and before I knew it we were over Canada and 90 minutes out of Chicago. I watched an episode of “2 Broke Girls” on the entertainment system, which is always amusing enough.
KLM business class entertainment system
The pre-arrival snack once again began with hot towels. In terms of food, I had the choice between an Indian vegetable pie and a Turkey club sandwich. I went with the former, and it was quite good. It was served with chips, chicken salad, and Dutch apple pie.
KLM business class snack
KLM business class snack
KLM business class snack
For the Dutch apple pie I was asked if I wanted whipped cream, which was added at my seat. Yum!
KLM business class snack
About 45 minutes before landing the flight attendants came around with the little KLM houses, which are handed out in business class at the end of every longhaul flight.
KLM business class houses
KLM business class houses
Interestingly I seemed to be the only person in the first three rows of business class that wasn’t related to one of the pilots, so I was also the only person in the first few rows of business class that didn’t get a cockpit tour during the last hour of the flight. 😉
KLM business class airshow
KLM business class airshow
As we descended over Lake Michigan the senior purser came around the cabin again to thank everyone for flying KLM and wish us a pleasant day. The two flight attendants working the upper deck also came around to thank everyone for flying with KLM. The crew was great.
KLM business class airshow
At that point I changed out of my pajamas and back into my jeans and t-shirt, and stowed all my carry-ons.
Approach into Chicago
At 2:20PM we touched down and began our taxi to the gate. I’m used to getting quite a few emails and texts after landing from a longhaul flight without Wi-Fi, though I’ve never had as many as after this flight. MH17 left from Amsterdam around the same time as my flight, so that was kind of surreal. I remember spending the whole taxi just mouthing cuss words under my breath in complete disbelief.
Approach into Chicago
Taxiing in Chicago
Taxiing in Chicago
We eventually arrived at Terminal 5, where we parked right next to a Swiss A330.
Taxiing in Chicago
As we deplaned the senior purser apologized for the problems with the entertainment system, and told all business class passengers to pick up vouchers in the arrivals hall for the inconvenience with the entertainment system. While my entertainment selection worked for a vast majority of the flight, I was still given a $100 Delta voucher. Not bad, given that I wouldn’t really have used the entertainment system anyway.
Compensation voucher
KLM Business Class Bottom Line
I was pleasantly surprised by KLM business class. Their new hard product is great, especially with an empty seat next to me. The catering and presentation on the flight was excellent, and the service great. The $100 Delta voucher was just the icing on the cake. 😉
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