After 4 long months, the day of departure finally arrived. I left my office in downtown Dallas at about 1 PM and began the familiar trek down I-45. Usually, there’s little traffic on this route, but Murphy’s Law had other plans for me that day. Traffic came to a standstill just outside of Willis, which is about 35 minutes from my parents’ house. I had planned to leave my car there and have a friend bring me to the airport. Traffic began moving again at 4:30, so I was cutting it a bit close. I called my friend and told him to meet me at my grandparents’ house, which was closer to the airport. I finally made it there at a little after 5. After fighting Houston rush hour traffic, I finally made to Terminal D at 6:30. There was no line at the KLM desk since the 747 Combi flight had already departed. The agent quickly tagged my bags, with florescent yellow KLM priority tags, and handed me my boarding passes and gave me directions to the lounge and gate. I then headed toward security, where I found a long, winding line around the terminal due to the evening bank of international departures. Fortunately, there was no line at the priority security lane. I cleared security within 10 minutes and decided to take a walk around the terminal to admire the Qatar, Emirates, and Singapore heavies being readied for their respective flights.

After 15 minutes, I made my way to the KLM Crown Lounge located across from the BA Terraces Lounge at Gate D-8. Upon entering, the lounge dragon asked for my name and seat assignment. She then crossed me off the list and welcomed me into the lounge.



The lounge is small, but pleasant enough. Most of the furniture seemed to be in good repair. There is a self serve bar, a hot item (baked ziti), cream of mushroom soup, and several cold items on offer.



I grabbed a cup of soup, a little baked ziti, and fixed a gin and tonic. Bombay Sapphire was the gin available. The lounge was quite full, due to the full flight. I can imagine it may be a bit overcrowded if the 747 J cabin was full. At about 25 minutes before departure, I made my way to the departure gate, D10.

KL664 (Operated by PrivatAir)
Houston (IAH)-Amsterdam (AMS)
Thursday May 26, 2011
Depart: 8:10 PM
Arrive: 12:55 PM
Aircraft: Boeing Business Jet (BBJ)
Seat: 8F (Business Class)




My aircraft.

As previously mentioned, the BBJ is a 737-700 modified for intercontinental service. PrivatAir’s BBJ features 44 angled lied flat seats arranged in a 2-2 configuration. I had monitored the seat map in hopes of procuring a seat with no neighbor. Alas, that was not meant to be as the flight was full. It is worthwhile to note that KLM actually “wet leases” from PrivatAir. In other words, the flight is operated by a PrivatAir aircraft, by a PrivatAir crew with KLM flight number. It is pretty similar to how regional carriers in the U.S. operate.

Upon entering the aircraft, the cabin seemed a bit bigger than other 737-700s I’ve flown, due to the low number of seats. The big advantages of only 44 passengers are the ease of boarding and plentiful overheard space. A good size pillow and a blanket were placed on each seat. I settled into my seat, 8F, and placed my pillow and blanket in the compartment underneath the seat in front of me. The seat was a bit firm, but decently comfortable. Legroom was excellent.



As the boarding progressed, the purser made a welcome announcement and added coats and jackets would not be hung due to the abundance of overheard space. Boarding finished in about 10 minutes and cabin door was closed soon after. We ended up pushing back approximately 15 early. As we pushed back, the cabin crew began offering orange juice and champagne and the safety video began playing. I chose the champagne. It was pretty nice, although I don’t have much experience with champers other than occasional glass at New Years. Taxi was relatively quick and we were soon holding short of Runway 15R to allow a Continental 757-200 to take off. Only then were PDB glasses collected. After about a few minutes, the flight crew taxied us into position and we were airborne after a reasonable take off roll.

After crossing 10,000 feet, the cabin crew was dinged out their seats and sprang into action. The purser made usual announcements about electronics, etc. Afterwards, she came through the cabin to distribute menus and Viktor and Rolf amenity kits. Each passenger was greeted by name. Although she was reading off a list, it was definitely a nice touch.


Amenity kit. Picture taken after return.

The amenity kit contained the usual socks, eye shades, earplugs, toothbrush, etc. The bag itself was of nice quality. Two of the other flight attendants followed the purser with another cart distributing media players, as the aircraft does not have a built in personal IFE system. The overhead LCD screens displayed a moving map and other flight info, through out the flight. The remaining flight attendant followed with the drink cart and ramekins of (cold) mixed nuts. I went with another glass of champagne.



And then it was time to peruse the menu. The menu included the card to fill out indicating breakfast preferences. You could also choose the option of not being woken for the breakfast service. The card was collected by a flight attendant, while taking meal orders.

Main Service

Appetiser
Crab Salad
With avocado and red bell peppers

Main Courses
Please choose from the following:

Hazelnut and goat’s cheese fagottini
With saffron tomato sauce, butternut ravioli, cherry tomatoes and Parmesan

Southwest seasoned breast of chicken
Served with mango habanero sauce, rice with apricots and coconut, squash, zucchini, red bell pepper and onion

Traditional Hutspot
A Dutch specialty featuring mashed potatoes, carrots and onions served with braised beef

Dessert
We invite you to select your choice of dark chocolate tart, dulce de leche, Camembert and Cantal cheese or fresh fruit.

Your choice of brewed freshly brewed coffee or tea served with Belgian Chocolates.

For Your Comfort
Bottles of mineral water will be distributed after your meal.

Refreshments
At any time during the flight an assortment of refreshments is available upon your request.

World Class Wines

Champagne
Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut

White Wine
The Ned, Sauvignon Blanc 2009
Marlborough, New Zealand

Cimbron, Verdejo 2009
Rueda, Spain

Dessert Wine
Lillypilly Sweet Harvest
Riverina, Australia

Red Wine
Antinori, Ammiana Santa Cristina 2009
Rosso del Veneto, Italy

Gayda, Cuvee Occitane 2007
Pays d’Oc, France

Port
Taylor’s 2003
Late Bottled Vintage Port

Croft Pink Port
Portugual

Aperitifs
Campari bitter

Spirits
Chiva Regal 12 years blended Scotch Whiskey
Highland Park 12 years single malt Scotch Whiskey
Jim Beam Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Bols Genever
Bacardi White Rum
Absolut Vodka
Bombay Sapphire Gin

Cognac
Remy Martin VSOP

Liqueurs
Drambuie
Cointreau
Amarula

Beer
Heineken

The crab salad was served on tray, with a tablecloth already on the tray. I washed it down with more champagne.



The plate used for the appetizer was of nice design and quality; however, the salad was served in a plastic bowl which seemed rather cheap. A box containing the salt and pepper shakers and the salad dressing was also on the tray. The shakes were also made of plastic, but they were in a pretty neat hourglass design. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of it. The crab and avocado was delicious. I am sucker for anything with avocado. Olive oil and vinegar was provided as salad dressing. I am not a big fan of vinegar, so I did my usual olive oil and a little salt and pepper. The salad topped with a cherry tomato and pine nuts. It was very fresh and tasty. Another run by the drinks cart was made and I went with a gin and tonic this round. As I was eating, I soon discovered the biggest drawback of the portable media players, besides the limited content. I was constantly knocking it over while I was eating since the tray table was not quite big enough.

After the appetizer plates were cleared, the mains were brought out. I got my first choice: the tradition Dutch Beef Hutspot. I figured since I was on a Dutch carrier, I might as well try Dutch dish. The crockery used to serve the dish was also of good quality, although the course wasn’t particularly well presented



The beef was decently tender and mash potatoes were…well, mashed potatoes. You can’t go wrong with that. Overall, main was tasty but it wasn’t anything special. One of the flight attendants, who was very cute, made two passes with the bread basket with a variety of breads. More on her later. I chose olive bread, which was delicious, on both occasions. The bread was warm, crusty on the outside, and warm on the inside. The rest of the cabin crew went about clearing trays as passengers finished their mains. The dessert cart was rolled down the aisle, soon afterwards, followed by the drink cart. I chose the chocolate tart along with a glass of Lillypilly Sweet Harvest and a glass of water.



The dark chocolate tart was good, though a bit rich. Plates were cleared soon after as we were crossing the border into Canada. My seatmate went to use the forward lavatory. So I took the opportunity to use the rear lavatory. The lavatory was your standard run of the mill Next Generation 737 lavatory. There was lotion, moisturizer (I think), and nicer soap than what is usually found in an aircraft lavatory. Water bottles were placed at each seat while I was in the lavatory. After I returned to my seat, I put my seat into the flat position and tried to get some sleep. The seat was decently private in this position; I didn’t really notice my seatmate. Both the pillow and blanket were very comfortable. The blanket was made of wool and was of much higher quality than what is usually found in domestic first class. The seat was lumpy and a tad bit uncomfortable, but I was tired so I fell asleep just as we were going feet wet over the Atlantic. Somewhere over the Atlantic, we hit some pretty good turbulence and I was awakened by automated seatbelt sign message. I rolled over and tried to get back to sleep. However, a few minutes later I felt a something reaching underneath my blanket. Whoa. I opened my eyes and saw the aforementioned cute flight attendant. Well, hello there. Apparently, the cabin crew was making sure all passengers were wearing that seatbelt. I have never experienced this on US carriers, and I’m not sure if this is standard procedure for KLM and/or PrivatAir. I found this a bit strange. Anyways, she smiled at me I smiled back and she moved on. I fell back to sleep pretty quickly after that.

There was about 2.5 hours of flight left the next time I woke up. I put my seat back into reclining position. Unfortunately, I unplugged my media player before I went to sleep and I couldn’t get it plugged in after I woke up. I didn’t want use my Kindle because I would have turn on my reading light, potentially waking up my seatmate. So I decided just to kind of zone out. One of the flight attendants was making a pass through the cabin noticed I was awake and offered me something to drink. I went with a glass of water.





Breakfast was served soon after.

Breakfast a la carte
Please fill out your breakfast choices on your “breakfast card”.

Bruschetta omlette (savoury)
With turkey bacon and rosemary roasted potatoes

Apple cinnamon French toast(sweet)

First, the drinks cart made a round. I ordered orange juice and it was served with a fruit cup, consisting of cantaloupe, honeydew, strawberries, and blueberries. The fruit were ripe and pretty fresh. Breakfast trays were brought soon after. I got my first choice, the omelet. It was served with granola, strawberry yogurt, and smoked salmon and cream cheese.





The potatoes and turkey bacon were edible, but the omelet was worse than what I’ve experienced in domestic first class. As expected, the smoked salmon, granola, and yogurt were good. The same flight attendant made several passes with bread basket. She smiled and gave me a little wink. Well, a guy can dream, right? I went with a croissant, but I don’t quite remember what the other choices were. The croissant was flaky and nicely warmed. There were extra fruit cups that were distributed to whoever wanted them. I’m also a sucker for blueberries so I got another cup. At this point, most of the cabin, including my seatmate, had woken up. I took this opportunity to run to the lavatory to freshen up. We went feet dry over England by the time I got back to my seat. I was hoping for my first glimpse of the European continent, but England was shrouded by thick cloud cover, which I guess is pretty typical. After all the breakfast trays were cleared, the purser distributed the KLM signature Delft House souvenir.


Taken after return

The Delft House is filled with gin; therefore, it was presented in a sealed bag in order to pass transit security. Two other flight attendants followed with the duty free cart, which I did not partake in.

We began to descend after we went feet wet over the North Sea. At that time, the cabin crew began tidying up the cabin for landing. We finally broke through the cloud layer during the final descent and I could finally see the lush green fields below. About 30 minutes later, we touched down in Amsterdam, 40 minutes ahead of schedule. Taxi to the gate took another 10 minutes or so. Deplaning was quick and I was soon making my way into the terminal.

Before the flight, I read some mixed reviews about KLM so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. And quite frankly, I was just happy to be back in an international J cabin. Overall, the flight certainly exceeded my expectations. The cabin crew wasn’t particularly chatty, but they were professional and attentive. Food was decent for the most part, except for the omelet. The seat was just ok, but it was certainly better than being in. In the future, I would not hesitate to fly KLM in the future.