KLM YYZ - AMS

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Member for

17 years 5 months

Posts: 43

This trip was back in January but wanted to document it anyway as I was so impressed.

Our evening transatlantic to AMS from YYZ was to be aboard a KLM 744. As I entered the aircraft the Chief Purser set the tone for the flight with engaging banter well beyond the usual "welcome aboard".

I settled into my window seat and my unknown travel companion, a woman in her sixties, settled into her aisle. We shared the hope that no one would sit between us. However, the Purser advised us that there were 104 empty seats on the flight, so, no need to worry. I couldn't help but wonder why employ a 744 on a route that could clearly be sufficed with with a 777, MD11 or A330?

An on-time departure and no deicing meant that we quickly made our way from Toronto's terminal 3 to runway 6L for a northeastly departure. Take off was smooth and powerful and we quickly ascended as Toronto slipped away under our right wing. Many people who take this flight will know it's a virtual straight line on this departure to the east coast of Canada, with only a few subtle adjustments to the heading.

KLM's inflight service was very good. Staff were friendly, genuine and helpful. The seatback entertainment was diverse and seemingly unlimited. The food was tasty and the cabin crew continually ensured hydration by frequently passing out water.

It seemed in no time we were crossing UK airspace, having thundered over a sleeping Manchester, and began our gradual descent into AMS over the English Channel. It was smooth and with a 180 degree turn at the final few thousand feet that saw our massive wings sweep over the many lights illuminating the Dutch countryside, our flaps were deployed to full and we were hanging over the threshold.

The taxi was short and direct. Schipol was being revealed to me for the first time.

When we disembarked and I waited for my connection to Berlin's Tegal, I was really blown away by the scope of AMS. As KLM's morning rush hour got underway I was stuck to the panorama glass of the terminal deciphering landings and takeoffs from various directions. And the KLM MD11's, how fantastic are those?

Also, for an older facility, I believe the Dutch have done a good job of making AMS spacious and comfortable inside. Security was friendly and efficient and there were a number of retailers if one wanted to browse the wait time shopping.

Original post

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 6,503

A nice report. KLM is an airline I have always been quite fond of. Both their short and long haul service are hard to beat.

What is the situation with entertainment on the aircraft? I flew a 747 combi a few years ago and we had only shared screens, but I noticed a photograph of a cabin on Airliners.net yesterday, showing individual screens for all.

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 4,887

As of a few weeks ago the entire wide-body fleet (all types) has been updated with personalised IFE.

Wow, a trouble-free, on time flight. That is a rare entity. Are all KLM flights like that? The last time I flew KLM was from Amsterdam to Johannesburg around 1991. If I remember correctly it was quite a pleasant flight. Een goede vlucht!

Member for

14 years 11 months

Posts: 311

KLM main priority has always been customer care. (and I'm not saying that because I work at KLM). You can look at flightstats:

http://www.flightstats.com/go/FlightRating/flightRatingByCarrier.do?airline=(KL)+KLM

Compared to Lufthansa/Airfrance/Iberia/Alitalia/Easyjet and many other carriers KLM is doing (on an avarage day) a better job.

http://www.flightstats.com/go/FlightRating/flightRatingByCarrier.do?airline=(LH)+Lufthansa

http://www.flightstats.com/go/FlightRating/flightRatingByCarrier.do?airline=(AF)+Air+France

http://www.flightstats.com/go/FlightRating/flightRatingByCarrier.do?airlineCode=IB

http://www.flightstats.com/go/FlightRating/flightRatingByCarrier.do?airlineCode=AZ

http://www.flightstats.com/go/FlightRating/flightRatingByCarrier.do?airline=(U2)+easyJet

I'm on a KLM flight upcomming saturday so let's see what happens! Only some snow is expected..... let's wait and see. Maybe it will be a report from the cockpit;)