Doing a pretty unique flight today with the world’s oldest continuously-operating airline. Now, some of y’all might ask what’s so unique about Los Angeles getting a KLM 777. After all, isn’t the type part of the backbone of the airline’s long-haul operations? Well, yes and no. While the 777-300ER is a frequent sight in many U.S. cities, it has been almost entirely absent from the West Coast since 2023 or so, when service from Los Angeles switched over to almost exclusively the 787-10 Dreamliner. Thus, getting to see a KLM 777 in L.A. these days is a rare treat indeed. I caught PH-BVC (named “Nationaal Park Sian Ka’an”) departing LAX last Sunday and immediately put it on my to-do list. Hope y’all enjoy this one!
Server: Solo
Airline: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Origin: Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California (LAX)
Destination: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands (AMS)
Flight Number: KL602
Route: KLAX-EHAM
Seat: 7A (World Business Class)
Time En Route: 10 Hours 38 Minutes
Waiting to board our aircraft at Gate 202 at the Midfield Concourse. KLM has been a stalwart of transatlantic operations in Los Angeles since the 1950s, when the DC-7C ruled the rooster at the Dutch airline. Non-stop service began to LAX with the DC-10-30 in 1979. Today, the 787-10 and to a much lesser extent the 777-300ER represent the latest generation of KLM’s investment in the L.A. market.
Beginning our taxi out to Runway 24L. The seat we’re in today is, as usual for KLM, comfortable and modern.
Off we go to Amsterdam! We’ve got some condensation flickering in the engines as we get airborne.
Climbing over Malibu near the campus of Pepperdine University. The big General Electrics have throttled back to climb thrust for a smooth ascent to 31,000 feet.
Sunset over Montana. Dinner will be served soon, fairly early into the flight, and we’ve decided on the slow-cooked steak in morel sauce.
Over the North Atlantic at the southern end of the Denmark Strait. Sleeping in our seat has been almost ludicrously easy.
Final descent over the North Sea as we approach the Dutch coast
Arriving in time for breakfast on the Buitenvelderbaan, Runway 09/27. The flight crew absolutely greased this one, with there being no sign we’d touched down until the thrust reversers activated.
Taxiing clear of the runway on the way to the E Gates, with another KLM 777-300ER on final
Deplaned at Gate E20. KLM has once again hit it out of the park. Everything, from the food, to the seats, to the service was top-notch, reaffirming why the airline has arguably the best overall business class in Europe, in the opinion of this writer.
