KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

✅ Trip Verified | This may seem a long time since our flight last July 2023, but it has taken so long to ‘try’ to make a claim. Horrendous customer service and no concern at all about what happened to us. We were on a mission trip to Uganda in July. We originally flew from Dublin stayed overnight then took a flight from Amsterdam to Entebbe the next day, 10th July 2023. We were to stop in Kigali for fuel and picking up passengers. We were put off the flight literally told to get off the plane with no instructions as to what what was happening only that there was engine failure. We waited 2 hrs for 4 cases to come through, waited another hour on a bus to take us to an hotel. I was running around the passengers asking them for their boarding passes so the staff could gather them to make sure everyone got to an hotel. We went to Four Points Hotel in Kigali where we received the most beautiful meal albeit by now it was 1am. The next morning I got an email offering a flight from Amsterdam to Entebbe? They meant for us to travel back to Amsterdam ourselves at our own expense and do the same route we had just done. Obviously I refused. They then offered us a flight on Thursday 13th July, bearing in mind we were meant to arrive in Entebbe on 10th July. We then discovered there was a KLM office in the Marriot Hotel across the road so off I went. The girl there was amazing, the only time through the whole process we felt someone was on our side. She offered us a flight that afternoon (Tuesday 11th) with Ethiopian Airlines. She forgot to add on all our luggage which was 4 suitcases, remember we were on a mission trip, so they were full of toys, sweets, clothes etc, hence when we got to the airport in Kigali, we had to pay Ethiopian Airlines £353 for two cases. We had to fly to Addis Ababa then eventually onto Entebbe. We were by this stage delayed between 25-26 hours. I have claimed twice with KLM and my latest claim was rejected with the answer “ As per your correspondence, having checked our records, I note that you made voluntary changes before your scheduled flight and were also charged for voluntary changes per fare conditions, furthermore I note you have been charged for two bags by Ethiopian Airlines , therefore I ask you to contact Ethiopian Airlines for this charge”. WE NEVER MADE OUR OWN ARRANGEMENTS! And the only reason we had to pay for extra cases is because the KLM representative didn’t book all our luggage onto our flight. I have rang KLM again and been told I have to raise a new claim, I cannot contact another higher authority as it is an international flight. Where do I go from here? Who cares? It seems KLM certainly do not. I am stressed, distraught and very upset at the way we have been treated. Do not fly with this airline if you have any choice. I have told all my friends and as I intend to travel again on mission trips I certainly will not be going with KLM.

✅ Trip Verified | KLM is the worst airline I have ever used in my life, you cannot trust them. They downgraded my seat with no explanation and no compensation, just heartless instructions to change seat at last minute.

✅ Trip Verified | Seat was comfortable plenty of room lots of storage and wireless charging. Cabin crew were friendly. Food onboard was plentiful.

✅ Trip Verified | Lagos to Paris with Air France booked through KLM. I have had the worst experience speaking to KLM customer service staff that seem to be incompetent and lack knowledge of what they are doing. I spent over $10,000 on my family ticket to Canada. When we were unable to make the 2nd leg of the trip, I asked for a refund. It has been series of mail back and forth asking for one thing or the other. However, sometime in December 2023, I received 2 separate mail requesting for my bank details so the refund can be processed. I sent all information request and yet no word from KLM. Only for me to get this generic mail today saying “We are sorry to inform you that we could not accept your refund request, as either the reason for refund does not meet the criteria or the document submitted is non-refundable.”

✅ Trip Verified | The first leg of this trip was in a 737 with the usual awful European standard Business Class. That is an economy seat with the middle of three left vacant. A boxed meal was provided and two drinks on this 1-hour journey. The main flight was on a 787-10. On both legs, the crew was great and very helpful and the Jamco “Venture” business class seats are arranged in a 1-2-1 reverse herringbone layout. Roomy with good privacy, and direct aisle access. In bed mode, they are roomy as you can lower the armrest on the aisle side. The blanket is a bit thin, to be honest and the one pillow is too soft and pretty small. The food on board on our return flight took me by surprise. Airlines have a big problem as far as catering is concerned. The first is that at altitude, our taste buds change and almost everything is bland. The second is that airline meals are prepared in huge factories and reheated in the galley before service. Often the result is either hard and overdone or overdone and mushy. I was therefore amazed to be given my breakfast choice of Shakshuka with a poached egg and find the white perfectly set and first-class runny yolk! Wow! That egg had been cooked, speed chilled, packed into a trolley, stored for over seven hours, and reheated before service. On long haul, KLM offers passengers in business a Delpht Pottery house filled with Dutch Gin. There are over a hundred of these to choose from and each cottage is numbered. Very collectible. All the houses are based on real buildings in the Netherlands.

✅ Trip Verified | Flew Amsterdam to Bangkok 5th Feb. 2024 as a partial result of a rerouting by Kenya Airways. Ticket issued by KLM and paid by Kenya Airways. Came from Nairobi by Kenya Airways. Transfer in Amsterdam was in a narrow timeslot, but bearable and fairly fast: no immigration checks transiting as both destinations are non-Schengen. Only security consumed time. Boarding effective. Huge, spacious, B777-300, fully loaded with passengers. Lounge 52 in non-Schengen terminal is spacious and good as always. Noisy aircraft. Got an acceptable seat. On time. The issue with KLM is the poor onboard catering and drink service. And, the surly, patronising, despotic, and arrogant staff. Passengers are de facto humiliated and treated like pigs in a pigstall. Nothing is allowed, seatbelts always on as to minimise their work. Nothing extra given or special provided for anybody. There is no recognition of frequent flyer status, even elite passengers. KLM need to up their game and renew the ageing stewardesses, though it seems too late. Hardly any drink rounds and always disallowed to order two drinks while finally being addressed. On a 10 hours flight we were offered meals only 2 times. First drink round was after 3 hours since take-off, way after the first meal service elapsed. Food of low quality and without any true options. Breakfast inedible. IFE OK, WiFi must be paid for; internet works with some hiccups, though. Call bells not answered and even if so, you are getting a rude, cold attitude slammed in your face so you regret to have called them, as anything appears to be too much of a trouble. The crew despise their clients and elite fliers are not getting any premium. The staff appear consistently to be Dutch and and respect for passengers is far, far away. Never any honest smile, no charm, no joy, no jokes to break the ice. KLM has a long way to go compared with its colleagues on Kenya Airways and Air France.

✅ Trip Verified | What to say, just excellent from start till finish. We enjoyed every minute, not a single complaint. Staff welcoming always courteous and listening. Seats comfortable, menu well balanced + choice between 3 different dishes, aperitif, wine and digestif. Ice cream, sweet or salty bits during the flight, drinks. Entertainement system modern, large selection of programs & movies. Wifi was available but we did not try it. Thank you KLM, we'll be back.

✅ Trip Verified | Delayed more than 3 hours on a long distance flight (over 3500km). The flight attendants who spoke the local language did not even on one occasion say sorry from the beginning till the end of the flight. Applied for a compensation. Now I’m arguing with a very uncooperative, incompetent and rude agent from their customer service who tries to reduce my compensation by 50%. I am still requesting to quote the legal basis for the reduction. His reaction: “I’m going to give you a 50% compensation, so give me your bank account info. Until then I’ll keep sending you an automatic reminder”. After all this experience I am seriously considering not using Air France - KLM ever again.

✅ Trip Verified | I realised in December 2023 that KLM uses an algorithm that deliberately separates families in seating arrangements in order to charge them at least 50 euros each to sit together. This practice of separating families (even with same surnames) in order to extort money from them is immoral and should be contrary to regulations for the airline industry. We faced this on the trip from Brussels to Port of Spain (POS) and from POS to Amsterdam (AMS). And to my amazement, KLM even charges 50 euros for people to sit next to each other EVEN in row 41 next to the stinky toilets. I have heard about airlines looking for new revenue streams but this is ridiculous. Furthermore, these were tickets that each cost 800 euros more than they did 2 years previously for the same trip, even though they were bought as early as August! Another issue is KLM has no information on the ingredients in the meals that they serve on board. I asked for this and flight attendants did not know; and when I asked them to check with the information supplied by the caterer they said that there was no such information on the flight. When I tackled the Purser about this, he claimed that they have information on all their meals on a database but after several minutes of searching that database, he was embarrassed and had to admit he could not tell me what was in the meal I had which was simply labelled vegetarian. I find this unacceptable because European law is very strict about labelling regulations concerning the ingredients in food sold anywhere in Europe. So, how come European airlines break the law when they are in the air? I found the same thing with Lufthansa on flights from Brussels to Nairobi and return last week. KLM also claims on its site that one can take a carry-on and another small bag (handbag, computer bag, etc.) on board; but it then sends emails to travellers saying that the cabin may be full and you should check your handbag. A very rude Swissport woman insisted that we check in our carry-ons in Brussels but I refused. She then insisted that I check at least 1 bag and made a rude comment in Dutch about me in a sarcastic tone. I would appreciate comments and feedback on these observations, particularly the first. I fundamentally believe that airlines should be prohibited from separating families when a booking is made by 1 person and then charging them extortionate fees to allow families to sit together. And ALL airlines MUST have information about the ingredients in all the meals they serve on all flights. This can be simply done by requesting that caterers provide this with all meals supplied. British Airways has this information on all flights I usually fly. So, I cannot see why other airlines do not have this.

✅ Trip Verified | Booked premier economy, twice upgraded to business, as the first attempt kept me in the same premier economy seat according to the system. Both times I did receive receive a confirmation I booked business. Arrived at the airport and was told that due to a change of plane I was downgraded from Premier Economy to Economy. Clearly, none of the two paid upgrades was registered in their systems. Money taken though, once through credit card, once through a Dutch bank. So what was supposed to be a relaxed business class flight ended in 12+ hours economy. On the 31st of December. Staff at airport very friendly and understanding, but this was a ‘software glitch’ and nothing they could do as plane fully booked. Ok, software issue, happens. Staff in the plane professional and friendly as well. I received an email from KLM I would get refunded 75% of the value of the ticket coupon in Premium Comfort Class due to the downgrade. I received another email stating I would receive the fare difference between economy and premier economy. So thats not the same. I requested through their website a refund of the double paid business class upgrade. It was rejected ‘we have rejected your refund request, as your document has been fully used, according to our systems. “ Yes, in economy although paid twice for business. So far still no refund, not for the upgrade to business class, not for the downgrade from premier to economy. The staff on the airport and in the plane is great, it’s the systems and online customer service that doesn’t seem to function well. Thanks for a lousy start of the year. Be careful booking upgrades, seems their systems can’t handle it.