KLM Business Class, Amsterdam-London Heathrow

At the airport

I was only in transit at Schiphol, and with my boarding pass printed and my baggage checked for the whole journey, it was only security control that remained, something you always have to do when passing through Amsterdam and onto a destination outside the Schengen area. With 90 minutes between flights there was plenty of time for a visit to the KLM Crown Lounge in the non-Schengen section, located in the near the F-pier one floor above the shopping area. The lounge is large but, despite this, it can become quite crowded at certain times of the day due to KLM's large intercontinental network. As this visit was made in the holiday season, there was, however, not a lot of traffic this particular morning and the lounge was very comfortable. Overall, I like the lounge. The interior is attractive and comfortable armchairs offer convenience by each housing electrical sockets. A large part of the lounge has views of the apron and some of the runways through large panoramic windows. In contrast, it feels like the supply of food has become both smaller and of poorer quality than it was a few years ago.

Lounge: KLM Crown Lounge, Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS), non-Schengen

The lounge is reviewed separately from the flight. You can read more about the lounge in the lounge review. READ MORE ABOUT THE LOUNGE VISIT»

Boarding and first impression

The flight to London left from gate D6, which turned out to be a bus gate on the basement floor of the D-pier. The entrance to the bus gates were preceded by boarding pass checks, followed by security control, something you always have to pass through at Schiphol when travelling on to a destination outside the Schengen, otherwise, it is usually not necessary. At both security control and the gate there was a separate queue for Sky Priority, something I could utilise as a business class passenger. This meant that after clearing the gate, I was one of the first on the bus, however, the same bus was used for all. A mix of aircraft are used on the Amsterdam-London route, depending on time of day and demand. Everything from a fairly large Boeing 737-800, to, as we had this day, a regional aircraft, an Embraer 190. Before take off I was offered Dutch, British and international newspapers and a hot towel. Departure was punctual at 11:40am and flight time to London was estimated at just over 50 minutes.

The seat

The aircraft, an Embraer 190, had a total of 104 seats; 26 rows in a 2-2 configuration. Business class occupied the first two rows. Normally on KLM business class within Europe, there is always a vacant seat beside your seat, but this is not the case on the Embraer aircraft where the 2-2 configuration is in force even in business class. On this flight, five of the eight first class seats were occupied and I got an empty seat beside me. The seats were in black leather and were quite comfortable. Legroom was perfectly acceptable for a short flight, at least in the 2nd row. I think the legroom is slightly smaller in the back of the plane.

The meal

Shortly after takeoff the safety belt light went out and the cabin crew began to prepare the food cart for service. With a flight of just under 50 minutes and a full aircraft to serve, It was important for the staff to work efficiently. A cold meal was on offer in business class, consisting of a salad with olives and feta cheese. A choice of sandwich was also available from the flight attendant working on the food cart. There were two sandwich options - one with beef pastrami and sun-dried tomatoes, and a vegetarian option with brie cheese and cucumber. For dessert there was a coconut mousse with fruit, something that seems to be a signature dish of KLM, there is almost always some sort of mousse served for dessert. Although this might not be lunch in the true sense of the word, the sandwich was quite satisfying. The meal was served in a paper box with a removable paper lid. This is not so desirable for business class, a tray would have been more appropriate, but the box was most likely used to save time. On the positive side, inside the box was a printed menu containing meal options for breakfast (at 05.00-10.00), lunch (10.00-15.00) and dinner (15.00-midnight). In addition, there was a wine list with a sparkling wine (a Spanish cava, Codorníu Clásico, no champagne in Europe), a white wine (Chardonnay Corette 2012, Pays d'Oc, France) and a red wine (Paddock Shiraz 2010, Hunter Valley, Australia). I ordered a small bottle of white wine followed by a cup of coffee.

Service

Two flight attendants were on duty. They were polite and did their job, but did nothing to stand out. One flight attendant, the purser, worked in the front galley serving us passengers in business class before she would disappear behind to assist her colleague in economy class, where drinks and cakes were being offered. On her way back it was possible to order additional drinks. The two flight attendants had to work pretty hard to find the time to serve everyone on board this short flight.

Arrival

No queues at Heathrow was somewhat surprising, plus we managed to land 15 minutes before the scheduled time. Just like other airlines in the Skyteam, KLM uses Terminal 4 at Heathrow. Passport control was fast due to the help of an e-gate, a machine which reads your passport, however, it took a remarkably long time before my checked baggage arrived on the band, the yellow priority tag seemingly making no difference. My bag was no.30 on the band, although there were a number of premium passengers on the flight.

Conclusion

A quick flight with good staff who done their job well. The simple lunch, however, ought to be served on a tray in business class.