20 November 2006

Boeing 777   Business Class 

8 hours in one of the new BC seats and all I have to show for it is a chronic back pain and red eyes from lack of sleep. The new seats are abysmal. I defy you to get comfortable in one: they put you in a banana- like position if you lie on your back, and in an ultra-foetal position if on your side. Who bought these monstrosities? The footrest is way too short, the massage function is a joke, and the hood does not come up enough to shield anyone. There is no head rest so you end up staring at the ceiling, which is probably the right position to contemplate why you spent so much on the ticket and when the stewardesses will ever appear again.

15 October 2006

Boeing 777   Business Class 

Agree totally with last comments. KLM had the chance to instal a decent product - and they ended up with these poor comfort angled lie-flat seats. They must feel rather stupid, seeing not only how many passengers complain, but also to now see many other airlines installing proper flat seat / beds in Business class. KLM sadly continues to decline and portray more and more of its Air France ownership.

30 July 2006

Boeing 777   Business Class 

These seats are a retrograde step for KLM. The so called "lie flat" seat is useless. I keep sliding off seat when trying to sleep. Any window seat / middle passenger cannot get out when neighbour's seats are fully extended. The centre seat is atrocious, you can get trapped in there all night. The leatherette finish adds to the sliding problem. The footrest does not extend far enough, one travels/sleeps with knees bent if it is used.

1 June 2006

Boeing 747-400   Business Class 

Do Not Fly KLM business class. I was appalled at the equipment in business class between Los Angeles and Amsterdam. Two weeks before this flight, I had flown to Dubai from LAX on Lufthansa. The new business class seats were fine with electrical ports and Internet access all the way across, although I didn't get them on the segment from Frankfurt to Dubai and back. This ticket cost me $7400 USD. The KLM LAX-Amsterdam flight was $8300. That was half as far, with old seats and not even an electrical outlet for my laptop, never mind about Internet access. On returning to Amsterdam I will use Lufthansa and connect.

1 June 2006

Boeing 777   Business Class 

Unfortunately I have to admit KLM is not a "royal" airline for quite a while. Not royal in service, not royal in the configuration or their aircraft and not certainly not royal in their Flying Blue program. Don't fly KLM if your expectations are high. Average and below is what you get. The comfort of their WBC seats are average if you compare them with what you find on BA flights. The only plus in the 777 is the Video on demand system. Seats in the old 747-400 and the WBC cabin at the uperdeck are more comfortable.

27 March 2006

Boeing 777   Business Class 

The lie-flat beds are not the best in the industry, but are certainly good enough for a good sleep (6ft 3"). The inflight entertainment system is excellent, as well the cabin-service. So all in all a very good product.

28 October 2005

Boeing 777   Business Class 

After the decided pessimism found here, I am happy to say that the new seat and cabin was appreciated. I am 6ft 4” and found no problem with the seat or bed, I could fit in the new seat in any position and did not suffer any slippage when I slept. Indeed, I even managed to have an excellent sleep during a daytime flight. The IFE and screen were capacious in scope and scale. Although less private than the upper deck of the 747, I was impressed and view it as a positive improvement over the previous WBC.

13 October 2005

Boeing 777   Business Class 

What a complete disappointment. Every time I fly to the US, we use KLM or Continental. Being over 6' means that sleeping is nearly impossible. The footrests don't extend far enough, and I constantly feel like I'm sliding off. And that hood? Please someone tell me why they even bothered. Utterly ineffective. Just another example of how KLM's 'prestige' status is more myth than reality.

11 October 2005

Boeing 777   Business Class 

Toronto-Amsterdam. What a terrible product. New seats look awful and feel awful. I agree with other readers that there are too many rows and 7 across just won't do. The whole cabin has that "bus" feeling with cheap materials used throughout. Other airlines are increasing the size of their toilets in business class, KLM is going the other way. 777 toilets open awkwardly into the cabin, illuminating the cabin constantly during night flights whenever a passenger has to answer the call of nature.

19 January 2005

Boeing 777   Business Class 

NRT-AMS on one of the new 777's. What a disappointment. First to find the 2x3x2 middle seat set-up, second to see the cheap, hard, plastic grey seat tops, and third to actually sit in them. Although not uncomfortable, this is no improvement at all compared to the old seats. And because of the plastics used, cabin atmosphere is very 'Nissan Micra'. IFE on the large touch screens is a big improvement though.

11 October 2004

Boeing 777   Business Class 

I cannot understand why KLM is investing so much money in an inferior new seat, when they know that the future business class seat will be a horizontal one. 20 years ago KLM was a trendsetter with their business class, now they are ages behind. Too many seats in the business class, too crowded and one row should be taken out. Although some of the competition have also a row of three in the 777 like KLM, but for so much money it is a disgrace to be seated in the middle of a row of three. Ideal is 2-2-2. Seats are not long enough and the support to the legs are insufficient. Very unpleasant to sleep with the legs down. Horizontal beds are the only solution, but this will take at least another 5 years!

19 July 2004

Boeing 777   Business Class 

The seats on the 777 are indeed better than the previous old World Business Class product. However, the third seat in the middle (yes, a middle seat!) is very disturbing and is only an indication as to how bad KLM's premium services are becoming. Sleeping in the new seats is worse than in the older ones. Even though the older ones are not very modern and flashy, I think they are a lot more comfortable. Crew was however very kind and attentive. Food was ok, but served at a wrong time on the leg back (departing very late) so I was completely full even before I got to the second course. Compared to other big European carriers I don't think KLM is doing very well. What amazes me as well is that many other airlines have, over the past decade, keep upgrading and improving their business and first class product while KLM on the other hand has been using the same product for several years, and only upgraded their new 777s.

16 July 2004

Boeing 777   Business Class

To say I was disappointed by the new KLM Business Class product is an understatement. In it's own communication is claiming it is receiving lots of praise in regards of the new seat, but speaking to fellow passangers and cabin crew (on many flights) I hear mainly negative experiences. Seat is uncomfortable in sitting, dozing and sleeping position. A benefit of fewer seats is a better crew to passenger ratio. 2 crew to 35 pax is not enough to be able to offer any kind of personal attention to premium passengers.

25 May 2004

Boeing 777   Business Class

This seat is indeed an improvement over the old standard. It's a very decent seat for relaxing, reading, watching TV etc. It even feels rather nice when fully stretched in sleeper mode. But really sleeping is a tough one. it's not better or worse than any of the other non-horizontal flat seats across the industry. It's more or less the same. That means that in order to really sleep - you must be able to fall asleep on your back while pushing yourself against the foot-rest with your knees locked - if you can't do that, you won't get much sleep. If you turn on your side or try to relax your knee-lock to stop pushing against the foot-rest, you will quickly find yourself slipping and sliding down. It's tends to frustrate you because you are brainwashed through advertising that you're about to get a real bed and flying will be totally different. So it's not too much fun. Having said that, it is only fair to say that it's not worse or better than the new Lufthansa angled bed or other airlines. it seems the same. That is an improvement on the old one, which was way way behind the industry par. A sad note is that KLM has not advertised any plans to upgrade their fleet to the new business class and it appears that it will be limited to the 777 fleet.

2 March 2004

Boeing 777   Business Class

This new seat is an improvement on old standards, but KLM have got it wrong by not going for the proper flat seat product. Why do KLM try to save costs in the short term by having an inferior product - it will cost them dear in the long term - but of course Air France will be picking up KLM losses in the future! Even the KLM staff service carries on getting worse, so even the hope of a top quality new business class cabin compensating for this will not now happen.

30 January 2004

Boeing 777   Business Class

Oh dear, the new KLM business class seat is really not very good. The cabin feels more cramped than before (although the pitch is, apparently, the same). The layout is 2-3-2 so, unlike the KLM 747s, there are middle seats in business class. If you are in either of the centre section aisle seats, you get stepped over and this disturbs you even if the seat is angled down. The seat itself is quite steeply angled to the floor so you do feel as if you are sliding off. The flip down footrest can hold you in place but it is unpadded and hard. There is a gap between the seat and footrests, which seems to cut off circulation. The massage function on my seat was very noisy. The hood which comes up around the headrest gives very little privacy and is a poor substitute for the kind of hard shell on, for example, Kenya Airways. It also means the seat can be jarred from behind - there is still a pocket in the back of the seat for use by the passenger behind. I got a better sleep on the old seats (which aren't lie flat but seem to offer much more support).