First non-Delta SkyTeam flight in a while and first short-haul flight in Europe for today!
KLM has been a longtime user of the 737 NG, receiving its first aircraft, a 737-800, in 1999. Over the subsequent 27 years, the fleet has expanded to include the 737-700 and 737-900 in addition to the -800, with a total of 40 in the fleet across all variants of the 737 NG. However, the type’s days at KLM are numbered, with the 737s scheduled to be replaced by the A320neo and A321neo in the coming years. Because of this, I’ve decided to start including KLM 737 flights in my trip reports before it’s too late. Hope y’all enjoy this one!
Server: Solo
Airline: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
Aircraft: Boeing 737-900
Origin: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands (AMS)
Destination: Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, Madrid, Spain (MAD)
Flight Number: KL1505
Route: EHAM-LEMD
Seat: 12F (Economy)
Time En Route: 2 Hours 29 Minutes
Boarding at Schiphol’s Pier D. Our aircraft for our flight to Madrid today is a 24.5-year-old 737-900 registered PH-BXS and named “Buzzard/Buizerd”. Curiously enough, this aircraft is still painted in the airline’s pre-2015 livery (The actual PH-BXS received the 2015 livery sometime between 2016 and 2017).
Pushing back from Gate D61. For a narrowbody aircraft that’s almost a quarter-century old that’s on the shortlist to be retired, the cabin is actually somewhat impressive. It’s relatively bright and clean, and the seats are comfortable enough for a short-haul flight.
We’ve got a long taxi this afternoon to Runway 18R/36L, Schiphol’s longest runway at 12,467 feet from end to end and named Polderbaan. Right now, we’re taxiing behind a KLM Asia 777-200ER, going to Austin, Texas as KL667 as we pass the ILS antenna array for Runway 09/27, the Buitenveldertbaan. Taxiing to the Polderbaan can easily take close to half an hour on busy days, but hopefully it doesn’t take anywhere near as long this afternoon.
Departing to the north from the Polderbaan with Schiphol Tower way, way off in the distance. We’re going to fly approximately along the runway heading for a minute or so before turning southwest towards Spain.
Climbing over Belgium to our cruising altitude of 36,000 feet just after crossing the border with the Netherlands. It’s a pretty smooth ride up here today, without the slightest hint of turbulence.
In cruise over France around halfway through our flight. We were served a ham and cheese sandwich and a drink which, while not anything like KLM’s long-haul dining, are perfectly suitable for short-haul flying in Europe. Not to mention, it’s better than it would be on pretty much any U.S. airline except Delta, Hawaiian, and maybe United. Our cabin crew on this flight has been outstandingly warm and pleasant, too.
Final descent into Central Spain, with the southern Meseta Central below us. Our flight has continued to be silk-smooth throughout cruise and descent. Hopefully it stay this way for the rest of the journey.
Mid-afternoon arrival in Madrid on Runway 32L. Due to some unexpected gusts on final, we floated down the runway a bit but still managed a smooth landing.
Turning off the runway as we taxi to our terminal. Since MAD is the second-largest airport in Europe, larger than ever Amsterdam, taxi times here can also be inordinately long. Fortunately for us, KLM uses Terminal 2, located right beside Runway 32L.
Deplaned at Terminal 2 while our aircraft is readied to go back to Schiphol. KLM’s European fleet, while older than most, is still competitive for short-haul flying. We’d definitely come back to it the next time we’re flying to Europe on the airline, and we’re excited to try out the airline’s new A321neo in the near future.
