FRI 12DEC COLOGNE - AMSTERDAM 0645 0805 KL 1804 F50 Seat 11F

I have taken this flight (usually connecting to the Nairobi service) more times than I care to remember. I took a taxi from my flat in Bonn to the airport at 0530, arriving a few minutes to six at the KL check-in counter in Terminal 2. There was nobody waiting at the two open counters, so I checked my bag swiftly all the way to Nairobi. I had used OLCI the night before, but the SWISSPORT agent insisted on printing new boarding passes for me. I have yet to figure out why they do this, in particular since they donīt do it all the time. The wait at security was also only brief, even though the airport was fairly busy at this early hour.

Unfortunately, the Airport Business Lounge (which is the contract lounge for KL and all other carriers operating out of Terminal 2) opens only at 0600 on weekdays and since boarding was scheduled to start at 0605, there was little point in waiting for it to open. So I went to Cafeteiro, a coffee bar near the KL gate, to grab a coffee and a sandwitch. My pet peeve about the Cityhopper flight to Amsterdam is the fact that they donīt provide anything but OJ and cookies. Since I need my coffee fix in the morning, this is not quite sufficient for me.. KL started to call boarding just when I was finishing my breakfast and I went down the stairs for the bus gate.

This morningīs flight was about half-full, so boarding went quickly. I picked up a newspaper and settled into seat 11F. A side-note: I have been "upgraded" several times on this flight and "business class" on this service gets you precisely the same seat and service as economy class. I donīt really see the point about this and would be seriously unhappy had I paid for a premium ticket. With nobody sitting next to me, I had a pleasant flight to Amsterday, arriving and departing on time. Service consisted, you guessed it, of a small container of OJ and some pre-packed cookies. The only notable issue was the fact that I was handed a survey form by the flight attendant, asking about the check-in and flight experience. I did mention the lack of lounge access and the meagre service offerings.. I also wish they would upgrade this service to somewhat more modern equipment (the F50 fleet is showing itīs age), but I think the chance for that is remote in the near future..

To be continued..