KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

Singapore - Cardiff yesterday in Business Class was a good experience all the way home after a couple of weeks working in the area. The long-haul B-777 had a very good cabin crew on board with excellent service and every little request handled promptly and efficiently. Departure was slightly behind schedule but the arrival was on time if not a bit earlier. No flat-beds but I seldom go full flat on seats with this function and still slept well. The lounge in Singapore was of poor quality compared to others e.g. Emirates in Kuala Lumpur or even the shared lounge used by KLM in Cardiff. The short haul flight across to Cardiff was equally as good.

Istanbul-Amsterdam-Dusseldorf. We checked in quickly at the airport using the machines and bag drop. Our first leg was on a B737. Due to runway congestion at Amsterdam the flight left 15 mins late but arrived on time. The extra 30€ we paid for a premium economy seat was well worth it for the extra space. A large but bland breakfast was served. Our second leg was on an F70. The plane developed a technical fault at the gate. Another plane was ready and loaded for departure within 30 mins. A comfortable short flight with a juice and biscuit served. Both the crews were friendly.

I have used KLM several times now and reasonably pleased with the service provided. The entertainment system has a long list of good movies and seat comfort is good even with my glass back though it could improve with the addition of a foot rest. An extra tour with the beverage trolley would be nice on long-haul flights but you can always buzz if necessary. Planes are always clean and tidy. Cabin staff are pleasant. But the best part about KLM? Using Schipol Airport.

AMS-SFO-AMS-SFO. Both good and on time. We paid extra for extra leg room seats in Economy. Nice lot of leg room - but I am glad my hips were not too wide as they are tight! The reason for this is the sides are rigid as they have the IFE screen and meal table included. So whilst the leg room is super the width is not so take that into consideration! FA's were nice on both flights-can sometimes be a little direct on other flights (some would say rude) but that is the Dutch way and not meant to be offensive - but can leave you a bit cross sometimes! On the whole a good experience for a long haul flight.

Cardiff - Singapore: May 10th/11th - Business Class. For various reasons I was unable to book this flight until the day of travel so it was an expensive flight but my phone reservation was handled promptly and efficiently. Check in at Cardiff was smooth and the lounge offered a selection of Welsh drinks. There was priority boarding onto the old F-70 which was not full and only 2 in business class. The aircraft looked like it had recently been refurbished. A smooth but short transfer at Schipol into 1J on B777-300ER where pre-take off drinks were offered. The whole flight was good although my AV didn't work for the first two hours. It was my birthday the next morning so I was woken with a champagne breakfast. Great crew.

AMS-BKK. I have flown this route multiple times and with a few exceptions I find the flight KLM crew rather rude and disinterested. On the website (when I bought the ticket) I had ordered a child's meal for my 10-year old and this had not come through. The flight attendant rebuffed me by a range of arguments ranging from "you should ask at the check-in counter" to "he is too old for a child's meal". None of which answered my simple question how and why my request had not come through. IFE did not work properly. Generally seats are small but IFE screens are too small. The whole experience (this one and previous ones) shows KLM is not interested in the passenger/customer at all. It seems for KLM crew the passenger is merely an obstacle to a good salary and lots of free time in exotic locations than a purpose to serve.

AMS-CPT-AMS. All in all a good flight. Friendly flight attendants good food and onboard entertainment.

LHR-AMS on April 27th. KLM staff were able to check our luggage all the way to Sydney even though we were changing airlines in Amsterdam and travelling via Bangkok with a long stop over in Taipei. Paid extra for extra leg room seats. $25 well spent. FA's very friendly. Offered a large Cheese Sandwich with drinks for the short 45 minute flight. Didn't use inflight entertainment.

AMS-WAW with the B737-800 "Swan". Boarding started on time and went pretty flawless. After takeoff everybody received a fresh chicken sandwich which was pretty good. Drinks service was also decent staff were friendly and polite. Flight was uneventful and well before scheduled arrival time we arrived at Warsaw. Overall a pretty good performance seats were comfortable enough no inflight entertainment but for a 1.5 hrs flight it's no big deal.

WAW-AMS-MAN return flights on time comfortable B737s. As a Flying Blue Gold card holder 3 times out of 4 I was approached personally by Purser and offered Economy Extra seat. Generally cabin service is the same as other European airlines but cabin crew were helpful friendly and professional (except the last sector AMS-WAW while despite almost empty flight cabin crew responsible for recognizing top customers didn't do anything).