Review: KLM Europe Business Class

Dutch airline KLM started flying to Dublin in their own right relatively recently. I usually head over to an event in the town of Roosendaal each year and this time I decided to give KLM a try.

When I checked in for my flight, I was offered an upgrade and decided to purchase it. Besides flying in KLM’s Europe Business Class, it also allowed me Fast Track at Dublin Airport along with lounge access.

KL936 – Dublin to Amsterdam (DUB-AMS)
31 March 2017
Embraer 175 – PH-EXI
Seat: Business Class 1F
Departure: 13:20 Arrival: 16:55

KLM board from the side 200 gates at the moment meaning a large sign is put out to ensure you go to the right place. All the other 200 gates are behind one way doors so it’s important to get this right.

Boarding commenced minutes after I arrived at the gate and Sky Priority was a little bit useless because we boarded onto a bus. I hate flying business class and getting a bus as it makes priority boarding superfluous.

On Board The KLM Cityhopper Embraer 175

After a tour of Dublin Airport we arrived at our remote stand and boarded our little jet. Cabin crew are gaily decked out in KLM blue and we received a pleasant welcome on board. Once our bus emptied, no-one was boarding so it was time for a photo spree!

Immediate surrounds are quite pleasant and as a fan of blue I quite liked it. The cabin features two by two seating which is standard on this aircraft type. The carpet is quite jaunty compared to the bland colours of some other airlines. Of course, my view for the flight was the blue bulkhead immediately in front of me which suited me just fine.

Seating and Leg Room in Business Class

Red seat belts add a splash of colour on the otherwise grey leather seats. Leg room in the front row is tight enough. I clock in at 170cm tall or 5’7″ in old money and I could not stretch my legs out fully. Taller people would be best to avoid the front row.

In a shocking turn of events the head rests are not fabric! I’ve never come across this before and imagine it makes cleaning far easier. Nice idea! Once the second bus arrived, it was time for the safety demonstration and once that was complete we took to the air. Happily it was a really nice day for flight with some lovely views on the way out. Activity in the galley meant that it was almost time for lunch which I was looking forward to!

KLM Europe Business Class Menu

Interestingly, the menu pretty much had little to do with what we were offered. The fact the menu was delivered with the actual meal basically means it is useless. Here it is anyway and you will note it covers all the meals and all the drinks which I thought was a handy way to save money.

Passengers were asked what kind of sandwich we would like and there were three choices. These were ham, egg or club sandwich with chicken. Naturally I chose the club sandwich.

Lunch Is Served

As my first flight with KLM, I was very interested in what would be served. I certainly wasn’t expecting a rectangular cardboard box to be presented containing the meal.

My club sandwich came on a skewer and certainly looked very pretty. I like a bit of colour and this has it in spades! There is also a salad which is mainly lettuce and some kind of empty thimble of nothing with the vinaigrette resting in. I wasn’t entirely sure of how to eat the club sandwich off its skewer, so I just popped the end in my mouth and took a bite of the lower bit and progressed all the way until it was done. Very tasty!

More Meal Shenanigans

The cutlery is unfortunately plastic and comes in a disposable napkin. It is a high quality thick disposable napkin but it isn’t linen. Alas I didn’t get a picture of the plastic cutlery. It features the delft pattern and is very strong and sturdy so it’s not as crappy as it sounds. It certainly feels like plastic but it looks great.

Dessert was delicious with my only gripe being there wasn’t more of it! That didn’t matter too much as I had a small bag of tasty crisps to have after I finished. Asking to drink Champagne confused the crew but we eventually got there and I had the Cava. It tasted cheap and was not great – really disappointing. Ordering a sparkling water meant I was proactively provided with smoked almonds which was a nice touch. We descended into Amsterdam and after taxiing almost all the way back to Dublin we deplaned onto yet another bus.

Overall Thoughts

Europe Business Class on KLM is a mixed bag. The sandwich provided is delicious despite the skewer which took a little navigating to get things into my mouth. Seeing a salad, dessert, sandwich and crisps all come at once was a pleasure. It’s nice to eat lots of different items rather than just one thing.

The rectangular box the food is presented in is too big for the tray table. When I had my bottle of Cava, it was difficult to find space to put it on the tray along with the food box. A different shape would be better. I’d also argue that presenting the meal on a tray instead of in a box would be a better choice considering how much these flights can cost.

Plastic cutlery in 2017 in business class is not great and they should do anything to replace that Cava. Despite the downsides I enjoyed the flight and found the crew to be friendly, proactive and professional. Thanks for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

Like planes? See my “Does anyone remember” series.
Flight reviews your thing? Mine are all indexed here.
Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Featured image by Alf van Beem via Wikimedia Commons.