KLM Flying Dutchman - Polderbaan to gate - who's holding the record

This morning, from the end of the runway to Gate D23 - 14 Minutes and 37 seconds.

Anyone beat that?

If you mean has anyone taken longer then Yes, by quite a stretch :) . From gate to lining up is longer due to the usual queue to line up.

Do we have a competiton starting here ?

No chance to beat you, COFF Platinum, at least not on the fastest ride, but maybe for the longest taxi.

Back in late January, IIRC it was Thursday before Superbowl Sunday we left the gate ( I believe it was F4 or 6 ) for the deicing procedure ( ;) )followed by a taxi to the Polderbaan :(

Easily 50-60 minutes for the 744 bound for O`Hare on that day...

A few weeks ago we left F3 at 11.09, after the first six hours into a stiff head wind we needed to make a crew change. This was quickly done and we took the opportunity to refuel. We noticed that one of the tubines was getting rusty from the long trip to the runway at such slow speed so we pulled over on the hard shoulder and replaced the emgine. NIght time was fast approaching so we bunked down some 4km from the runway. Dawn brought a clear sky but our crew had now been on baord for almost 18 hours so we drove back to the terminal and picked up a fresh crew. The families of the first crew were all really happy to see them return safely as that part of Holland is unfamiliar territory to most of them and obviously the families were concerned for their loved ones. We pushed back again at 09.00 and made good speed back out towards Belgium. I could see the cathedral on the horizon and wondered which one it was and the captain announced it was Koln. We needed to be in the air by lunchtime if we were to make it to Rotterdam before night fall. The captain pushed on and soon we had the runway in sight. The whole plane was excited at finally reaching the runway but the enthusiasm didnt last long. The sandwiches were now out of date and we called in for emergency supplies to be driven out to us at once. Due to the cut backs a batch of labels was issued and a guy wearing Nike clogs on a very plush Gazzelle racing bicycle turned up in under an hour. He climbed on baord and quickly re-labelled the sandwiches with a new best before date which made us all feel much bettter. It was obvious he was an expert as he told us he did this everyday since the cut backs. NIght time was approaching fast but so too was the runway and we eventually took off at 18.22 to a raptous round of applause for our hard working crew :D

Steve - LMAO :D

:D

I'm 4/4 for landings last month, with one faster than usual trip. Taxing behind 'experienced' KL/NW pilots helps...

No idea about takeoffs, as I have never managed to stay awake during a taxi to the Polderbaan, if any. Isn't it used mostly for landings though?

Isn't it used mostly for landings though?

Driving to Schiphol last week I could see aircraft lading in parallel on both the Polderbaan and the Zwanenburgbaan. A few hours later the process had been reversed. My flight of course ended up on the Polderbaan. Taxiing slowly behind a smelly Martinair 742 and parallel to the Zwanenburgbaan, I had a great view of one aircraft after the other taking off beside us. I wonder how ATC allocates the slots. Do aircraft that are late departing get to use the Zwanenburgbaan? It certainly didn't look like first come, first serve.

johan

42 min - that included a 10 min bus ride that stopped at every possible departing plane....

I was not a little pleased to discover yesterday that we were landing on 36L, right on the doorstep of our assigned gate D84. Hooray, only 60 seconds from runway to gate! To my surprise, we continued past the runway exit directly opposite the D pier. Having thoroughly inspected 36R for almost its full length we finally turned left, trundled past the E pier, and after stopping at various intersections to let other aircraft cross our path, we ended up at a remote stand by the name of P1. The captain announced that our gate was occupied, we had to wait here for 5 minutes. Yeah, sure! I had a great view of the runway, one aircraft after the other landed and headed straight for its assigned gate. I even saw a GIV or GV land at the runway that Schiphol always forgets to count, 22. An enjoyable time was no doubt had by all, although I'm not sure how the pax in middle or aisle seats entertained themselves. We finally moved off again, and arrived at our new gate D82 only to discover that the ground crew had not been notified of the gate change. I'm not sure why they should have been, as D82 and D84 are adjacent, but there was no reception committee to greet us. After a suitable time they arrived, the gate was connected, and we were able to disembark. To my surprise the door to the non-Schengen gate on the lower level was wide open, allowing anybody who so desired to avoid immigrations and customs.

The bottom line : we might as well have landed on the Polderbaan, which would have allowed us to proceed "straight" to our gate.

johan

ROTF LMAO :D

I think our 777 from SFO also landed there, the runway in the middle of nowhere....

KLM692 on July 18th... 15 mins from the Polderbaaaaaan to F4 (and no my key didn't stick, that's the scream!)

Took around 26 minutes from gate C8 on Tuesday evening.