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Not Even Worth Looking at

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2 Nov 5th, 2002  (Feb 7th, 2003)

19 Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful

Advantages:
They have Biscuits !

Disadvantages:
Uncomfortable, basic, etc .

Recommendable No:

Detailed rating:

Food Quality

Customer Service

Punctuality

Space

Value for Money

monkfeesh

monkfeesh

About me:

Howdy! For those who don't know/remember me,I'm a pretty average 17year old(how I do sell myself)fro...

Member since:12.09.2002

Reviews:37

Members who trust:30

So. KLM. Royal Dutch Airlines. You wouldn't have guessed it. Well, you might. But anyway, on with the op.

KLM is the Dutch (that's Holland, or the Netherlands, by the way) national airline. It says everything about Dutch culture (I would say Scandinavian, but Holland is really in Scandinavia). Plain, ordinary, the very basic comforts. There's no 'getting there in style' here.
KLM offer many, many flights from Amsterdam, to all over the world. They have lots of little sub-companies, that deal with different sections of the company. Whilst the main flights from Amsterdam, to places like America, and Japan, come under the name of a mere 'KLM', catch a flight out of Britain, and it'll be a 'KLM UK' plane.
There's also 'KLM City hopper, for charter flights, and 'KLM Cargo', if you happen to be a large crate. (Hey, it happens). KLM also have a partnership with NorthWest Airlines, an American operator.
KLM, in my opinion, have the worst livery of any transport company, ever. Think of other big airlines. Virgin Atlantic have a flash, modern livery. Even British Airways have some sorts of modern features on the outsides of their planes. But KLM, no.
The livery is basically, a large, pale blue coating covering the entire fuselage above the windows. Then a dull grey stripe over the windows. Then white all over the rest of the plane (wings, tail etc.) I mean, how boring can you get? But once again, the livery is just displaying what is to be found all over KLM in general. Plainness. (No, that wasn't a pun. Honestly.)
But in my experiences with KLM, I used 'KLM UK', to get out of Blighty, and 'KLM' to get my ass over to New York. Yep, New York. Please bear in mind that all of this happened just 6 weeks after the September 11 tragedies, so a fully normal service was not completely running on KLM at this time.

(Please Note: Due to the fact I am in fact 14, and, obviously, did not pay for the holiday, I am unable to tell you the full price of the flights. Sorry...)

We were catching a plane out of Newcastle, to Amsterdam. Then we would rush over to the main terminal there, and board a plane to New York JFK. After a week in New York we would do the same in reverse. Logical, eh?

So there we were, checked in at Newcastle, in the waiting lounge, staring out at the dull-looking plane that would carry us several thousand feet into the air, before pulling us down into the land of floods, cheese, and people in funny clothes. Someone in the room said 'It's nice to see people on a plane again'. And they were right. In the weeks between this day and September 11, people had deserted aircraft altogether in fear.
Once boarded on the plane, the pilot entertained everyone with his speech (well, not exactly 'entertained') before we took of for the runway. I noted how uncomfy the seats were, and the lack of, well, anything. A single, battered-looking magazine lay in the pocket on the back of the seat, wearing a look that said 'Please read me. Please...'(Yes I know it was a magazine, but it still wore a look!). I couldn't resist having a look. Inside was a brief note from Mr Edwin-Van-Der-Something Dutch, chairman of KLM, and a load of useless information that could only interest two kinds of people; financial and aviation enthusiasts.
After a vicious looking Dutch woman came along wielding a trolley, and threatened us to buy something. I asked for a cup of coffee, but quickly changed my mind for a glass of orange juice. When I suggested this, the woman seemed to scan her eagle-like eyes over the trolley as if looking for something to hit me with, but then chose to pour me a glass of orange juice bitterly. The orange juice tasted a bit crap, but I also got this strange caramel biscuit thing, which was delicious! That was the best part of the flight!

After a while we touched down in Amsterdam. While I know this is a KLM based op, I feel I should make some comments on Amsterdam airport as well. (plus KLM are the main operator in Amsterdam, so there).
Amsterdam Airport is fantastic! Full of great shops, excellent places to eat, and warm and friendly staff. The main shops there are all named 'See Buy Fly', and some of them seem to have incorporated Amsterdam's Red Light District into them... But not all of them. The airport is light and airy, and all waiting lounges have toilets.

Soon though, we had to get to the lounge, where we sat down. But, things weren't going right. After a while, they announced we couldn't board the plane because 'it was too hot'. This story seemed to continue, but get progressively worse. By the final announcement (an hour later) the plane's air conditioning seemed to be bust. But after various complaints, they let us on the plane, the air-conditioning suddenly fixed.
It was now dark, and we sat down in our seats onboard the Boeing 747. I was extremely disappointed to note the lack of back-seat television screens, instead there was just one small one every few aisles above the seats. That was bad. All the other entertainment consisted of a poor quality selection of radio channels. Yes. Now I've been on a few airlines now, and I have to say Air 2000 offered a fantastic selection of radio channels, including all time classics, latest releases and, a comedy channel. I felt glad that I had a Walkman, a Gameboy Advance and a book. (Make sure you do exactly what I did if you go on KLM) After a while they put Moulin Rouge on for our 'enjoyment'. Now I no I'm certainly not here to rate that film but it was AWFUL! Imagine being forced to watch a crap film, with good actors, because there was nothing else to do! (My books, Gameboy and Walkman had lost their novelty by now). Every so often a woman (nice one, this time as well) and offered things. I went after some more of those scrumptious caramel biscuits again...in fact; I bought a packet at Amsterdam on the way back, they lasted around 3 hours! :) )
Return flights were pretty uneventful. they put on 'A Knight's Tale' and believe me, the title says it all. Also, please note, JFK is a horrible place.
So anyway, enough about me. I imagine you'll be wanting some interesting information?
The seating are about as basic as you can get. Not comfort at all. They give you a handy 'blanket' (or in reality a smelly old rag) and a 'pillow' (a very worn out one as well)
They do give you a decent selection of food, though, and with the constant time changes, this can be very disorientating. Like early in the morning, Eastern Seaboard time, (but it felt like midnight to us) they came around (it was still dark outside) with a bright yellow breakfast box, reading 'Good Morning, here's your fresh breakfast'. That was very weird. (Note: it wasn't a particularly fresh breakfast either)
Staff are (mostly) friendly, both onboard, and on the ground. They will get you something if you need it, help you, etc. Definitely a good point.
But the comforts are basic. And I mean basic. Obviously, its not like you're loaded onto a bi-plane with some straw, but they hardly do anything to be nice to you. That includes the magazines. There's little legroom, and it's pretty darn hot up there.
From what I remember, prices are average, nothing cheap, and nothing amazingly expensive.

But if you're going anywhere, make sure you avoid this airline. From the facilities right down to the livery, everything is standard, or below. They have no unique features. So here's how to avoid them.
If you're going from somewhere like Newcastle, and your main destination is somewhere in America, go via London or Paris, not Amsterdam.
If you're going to Amsterdam, take a ferry. There are a variety of routes on offer. Or even fly with a different company if you must. Just keep this message in your mind: Stay away from KLM!

- THis op was copied from my dooyoo account, monkfeesh, just in case you thought I nicked it! - 

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Comments about this review »

Schmutzie 22.02.2003 21:56

A salutary warning !

buzios 19.02.2003 00:11

A very amusing op. I have never flown KLM and you have done a good job of putting me off.

andymcf 11.11.2002 00:02

Another great op. I have a certain affinity to KLM, but I respect your opinion(s). All the best! Andrew

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