Hello, and welcome to flight number three of my flight series exploring the world on all sorts of airlines! Today, we flew on the Dutch flag carrier KLM in business class after a quick drive down from Milwaukee the day before.
Server: Solo
Airline: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
Aircraft: Boeing 787-10
Origin: Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois. (ORD)
Destination: Amsterdam Schiphol International Airport, Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS)
Flight Number: KL612
Route: KORD-EHAM
Cruise Altitude: FL350, FL370, FL390
Seat: 9A (World Business)
Time En Route: 7 hours 28 minutes
We arrived at the airport two hours early and checked in through the Sky Priority lane, checking in for our first business flight of the series! KLM uses Terminal 5, the International terminal. Once we got through security via the priority lane, we started our walk to the AF-KLM lounge at ORD. On our way, we passed an Ethiopian 787-8 and an ANA 777-300ER.
After spending some time in the lounge, we walked over to our gate to see PH-BKC, a 6.4-year-old 787 delivered to KLM in 2019. This shot was taken while we were boarding (Yes, the jet bridge wanted another day off). I’m incredibly excited for this trip as it’s my first time on KLM!
After boarding and settling into my seat. I decided to go for a glass of OJ as my PDB, and it was very enjoyable. The cabin is in a reverse-herringbone layout, configured in a one-two-one. Every passenger has direct aisle access, and there’s decent privacy too!
At cruise with our dinner service coming down the aisle right now, I went for the Chicken and Vegetables, and a glass of Coca-Cola. After the dinner service, which was thoroughly delicious, I had one of the very nice F/As turn my seat into a bed while I checked out the restroom. It was stocked with all the essentials and was very clean. When I returned to my seat, the mattress topper was on, the fluffy pillow I received was placed perfectly, and the thicker-than-usual duvet was fluffed and ready for me. I settled in for about two hours and then woke up just south of Greenland (attached Photo). Eventually, I was able to get back to sleep.
When I woke up again, I found one of the most beautiful sunrises I’ve seen crossing the Atlantic. My F/A, Mark, noticed I was awake and offered me a Coffee, which I happily accepted. Breakfast came shortly after this, and I took the Sausage, potato, and egg combo along with my second OJ of the flight.
Starting our descent into Amsterdam over the English Channel. I’ve really enjoyed this business class experience on KLM and look forward to many more!
On final landing on runway 10C. The Dutch countryside is beautiful, and I saw some spotters in someone’s field too.
And to top it all off, an absolute masterclass of a landing from our Captain today. Landing will never get old to me, and doing it in a 787-10 for the first time was cool.
Deplaned in Amsterdam. Now we’ll be off to passport control and then spend a few days flying around the wonderful continent of Europe!
Previous Reports:
LaGuardia to Milwaukee | Delta/Endeavour CRJ-900LR
Santa Ana to Newark | United Airlines 737-700