As part of a long-planned business trip that was moved several times during the lockdown period, I have to go to Stockholm for business over a weekend.
Dans ce cadre, je réserve l’option la plus simple depuis Paris, à savoir un départ sur Air France puis un retour avec une correspondance, forcée, sur KLM, Air France n’opérant la destination que 4 fois par semaine (et pas le samedi).
This KLM flight was absolutely catastrophic in every way, with an absolutely unmotivated crew.
Boarding
I arrive at Arlanda airport a little over an hour before the plane is due to depart. I give up trying to get my boarding passes at the counter due to the queue (including SkyPriority) and use one of the one-armed bandits.
The IT of the Air France KLM group is in such a state of disrepair that I can only get out the boarding pass for my flight to Amsterdam, not the one for my onward flight to Paris.
The machine offers me an upgrade for 89€… Fortunately I did not benefit from it, you will see why below.
As a precaution, I had obtained my boarding pass by forcing the check-in for the onward flight on the Air France website.
Boarding begins not by zone but by row. Sitting in the first row of the Economy Comfort, I board among the last passengers. My passport, the Dutch health questionnaire and my boarding pass are checked.
Cabine et réception
The welcome is cordial at first sight.
I settle into my seat, the 3D. The service is already on the seat. The Economy Comfort seat is very comfortable, the pitch being absolutely superb (the only thing that will be on this flight).
Je constate que des passagers sont installés au rang 2, alors que le plan cabine était totalement vide au moment de mon enregistrement. One of the passengers is a KLM co-pilot, legitimately seated in Business. Two other passengers, however, are non-status economy class passengers who have sat wildly in business class. The purser asks them to return to their seats, but invites them to come back and sit here after take-off… Unbelievable!
Service and catering
After take-off, the two passengers who were seated in row 2 return to row 2 quietly.
But that’s not all… 6 Economy Class passengers now sit in Business, including the middle seats… I would have been absolutely outraged if I had paid for my upgrade.
In the middle of the flight, I try to get to the toilet. The front ones are reserved “for the pilots”, according to the purser, and at the back, one of the two toilets is locked and also reserved for the crew… This leaves a very small toilet for the entire aircraft.
Unbelievable!
In short, KLM is undeniably protecting the health of its crews… But has very little consideration for its clients who are condemned to use a toilet of less than 1m2.
I will keep this in mind for my next bookings: I wrote it recently… It’s in crises that you see your true allies, and I wouldn’t be sad to see KLM leave the AFKL group.
Arrival and disembarkation
I arrive at Concourse D in the Schengen version, so I go to the Schiphol connections circuit.
Bottom line
A catastrophic flight, which shows the selfishness of the crew as well as the bullshit of the Dutch procedures, which totally kill an already not so great customer experience.
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