Route AMS-NRT
Flight Number KL0861
Departure 1425 (Actual 1434)
Arrival 0925 (Actual 0920)
Seat 1A (World Business Class)
Aircraft 747-400 (Mixed Combi)



Todays Plane


I arrived at AMS around 1150 and was airside within 5 minutes courtesy of an empty fast track queue. Its the first time I've entered AMS from landside and I was impressed with the efficiency. That being said I had already checked in and with no bags to drop, it was as simple as it should of been. So much so that in future I may choose to overnight in Amsterdam when the 0555 flight out of Newcastle isn’t appealing or the connection is too tight.

Generally my route through AMS is arriving at gates D and connection through gates B/C or D (Schengen) and reverse on the return. I was looking forward to walking and investigating the other direction. Low and behold I check my gate and its D43, I can't get away from them. Main problem with this is the lounge is near F gates so a prolonged walk to and from ensues.

I had around 90 minutes in the lounge, just enough time for a spot of lunch, chicken rendang, a couple of drinks and to get started on the next section of my TR. Around 60 minutes before departure I made my way to the gate.



Until construction is complete in AMS, security is still at the gate for non Schengan departures. General boarding had a good sized queue but the priority queue was almost empty and would of been a breeze had it not be for one gent arguing over whether to take his belt off. Once through, I had 5 minutes to make a call and grab IMG codes from Photobucket to allow me to continue with my TR onboard.

Families were called first then Business Class and Skyteam elite card holders. I was 6th onto the plane through 2L behind a family of 4 and one gent who was also in WBC. Case and bag stowed, coat taken and hung by one cabin crew I managed to sort the general clutter at my seat. Pillow and blanket kept for what I hoped was a decent sleep and headphones ditched in favour of my Bose. Viktor and Rolf amenity kits, slippers and a pre boarding drink were distributed promptly.

Seat 1A


Seats 1J/K










My last trip on a 747 was for a business trip in April courtesy of BA to JFK. On that occasion I was 2 rows from the back, firmly in Y thanks to my corporate travel policy and the twin seats offering a smidging of extra legroom. It's was certainly nice to be propelled to the front on this occasion. Anyone familiar with BA 747 will know they are old and worn, especially in Y. The KLM 747 has recently been refurbished so I was looking forward to trying WBC and comparing it to BA Club World.

First impressions of the cabin were good with the crew being very proactive. The seat seemed well padded, wider, with more personal space. This was especially so in 1A where you don’t share the middle table/storage area with another passenger. One issue I noted was the lack to storage for personal items. There is a small pocket on the right of the seat, however this already full of the normal literature and a small slot under the TV. Not a great design as the contents including a menu, duty free brochure, slippers and iPhone all shot out as soon as we accelerated down the runway! I decided to leave my bag and items in the overhead locker to avoid problems before take off. Being in 1A I had no one to step over and the front WBC cabin give restful ambience. The front WBC cabin was full with 15 passengers and I noticed the rest of the plane looked fairly full when disembarking.

I had been fretting over whether to take an upper deck seat but the privacy of 1A and no one to step over got the vote for this night flight. Perhaps when I return I may venture upstairs, as sleep isn't a priority, however at the minute I've got 1A reserved. One thing I did feel was the noticeable lift and drop of the tug on pushback, being at the very front it was a slightly weird sensation.

Take off was just after 1445 after a short taxi. Whilst travelling a lot through Europe I always forget quite how much runway a wide body aircraft needs. We followed at 738 during taxi and that seemed to use half the runway length of us entering near the half way point whilst we continued to the end. I would of thought it would make sense to start at the end and take off early down the runway to give optimal area for deceleration if needed in an emergency or abort. Take off is not quite as elegant or as quiet as the A380, its never going to be due to the age and technology, however you can feel the power once you do eventually lift off the ground. I'm looking forward to trying the 787 in June and comparing the 3 aircraft. Once airborne I received a nice welcome from the Senior Purser which was offered to a few in the cabin.



Service started with dinner orders taken and two rounds of drinks before the starter arrived. I went with the western option however there was a slight mistake with my starter. I had asked for Sushi in place of the quinoa appetiser, this was mistaken as asking for the Japanese menu. What is the airline fascination with quinoa, BA offer it a lot also and today it was in the appetiser and a main option. Once I had clarified and showed the crew member the menu it was resolved, it appeared he didn't realise that the menu offered this as an alternative. The same mistake was also made further back the cabin.

Menu for todays flight












Another round of drinks, I decided to stick to lager and then the main was served followed by the dessert. One great design feature is that the tray table bows upwards in the middle. I used my iPhone to support one side of the tray to stop it moving about and this also give me a place to store it during meals. That's why design and innovation pays big bucks.



During the main course I started to watch The Imitation Game which was easy to follow and not too taxing of a story line. I prefer this on flights due to interruption during dinner service. One negative to the cabin is the poor screen resolution which is odd for a newly refurbished cabin. The screen also doesn't point to the centre of the seat, it's slightly to the right. It didn't affect the film too much however due to the film being shot in a different ratio it left very little screen for the film to be shown on. What should of been a good size screen was reduced to a thin, wide picture. Due to this text at the end of the film was very difficult to read.



Once the film ended it was time to bed down for the night in the hope of getting some sleep. I kept my earphones in to remove the aircraft noise and listen to a podcast. Tonight choice was Bad 4 Business with Jerry Ferrara and guest Dean Delray. From this I learnt that Dean Delray also does a podcast which I subscribed to. I had a couple of these stored up thanks to listening to others over the past week. I use a variety of podcasts whilst driving, travelling or trying to fall asleep which are either comedy or radio based.

One further negative point is that it seems the window seats have a smaller ottoman that the aisle. I could just about get my size 11 feet in when in seat and bed mode. The headrest also doesn't make use of the full seat frame so there is about a 4 inch gap above your head which means you lose your pillow into it. I resolved this by also using my inflatable neck support to bridge the gap.

I lay in my seat for around 2 hours without drifting off to sleep but I wasn't too restless. I did eventually drop off for what I think was approximately 2 hours but is was awoken several times due to a noises cabin, even after the lights were turned off. I think I've heard less noise on a day flight, not conducive to sleep. Of the several complaints there was lots of noise from the galley, opening and closing of doors, a lot of doors! So much so, they may need a little oil in NRT before the return flight. I certainly wouldn't like to of been closer. Several people bringing down cases from over head lockers and then a final complaint which I also had in the lounge but had decided to omit as I thought it made me sound weird. It concerns gents and blowing their nose or more accurately not, and simply sniffing very loudly during the course of their day. Handkerchief sales must be at an all time low on this evidence. In the lounge earlier I had been sitting in a peaceful corner until 4 men came along, sat next to me and proceeded to sniff loudly for the duration. Not just to odd one quietly, it seemed like stuff was being propelled from the tip of their nose to their lungs. I’ve just had a thought as I am writing this, perhaps it's a hint butchecked my armpits and all seems well so it can't be that. Anyway people, handkerchiefs at the ready please, I don’t believe this to be a generational thing as most of these people were older than me.

Around 7am local time and 2 hours before arrival I decided to freshen up and brush my teeth. Shortly after, breakfast was served where I choose the scrambled egg, granola, yoghurt and fruit. I attempted half of the croissant but it was just too much dust for my liking even with a liberal dowsing of jam.



Just before landing the Delft Blue Houses were given out by the Senior Purser.



Starting our decent into NRT the Captain pointed out a great view of Mt. Fuji, unfortunately this was on the right side of the aircraft. Luckily when turning to come into land it switched and the left hand side got the view.





After landing at 0915 a short taxi took us to our gate. WBC passengers were asked to leave first through both 1L and 2L and a walk through immigration and security took all of 5 minutes. I was landslide with my feet on Japanese soil by 0930, very efficient. First impression was the great calm in the terminal, especially just after leaving the plane, very nice after a long overnight flight. Time to let the adventure begin.

Our gate at NRT