FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - DAL v KLM from AMS to ATL?
View Single Post
Old Sep 2, 2018, 5:19 am
  #2  
BenA
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Seattle, WA
Programs: DL Diamond 1.7MM, Starlux Insighter, Bonvoy Titanium, Hilton Gold, Hertz PC
Posts: 3,947
The KLM seat is acceptable, I guess, but not anywhere close to as good as the Delta A330. The only airplane KLM has with equivalent quality seating is their 787, which has direct aisle access and a similar herringbone design. The rest of their aircraft are a 2-2-2 lieflat config (like the 777/747) or, in extreme cases, an angleflat recliner that should have been replaced a decade ago (on some KLM A330 aircraft).

You may find the 2-2-2 seat less bad if you're traveling with a companion - you use 'we' a few times, and if that means you fly with a partner or friend you may find having a seatmate to be less troublesome than if you're traveling by yourself. The seat itself is comfortable enough, but it's seriously lacking in privacy compared to other options.

The real gotcha is that KLM meal service is absolutely miserable. Their food and beverage are awful - easily the worst I've experienced from any SkyTeam airline, and I've flown a lot of them. The food is usually just the acceptable side of edible, but poorly presented and made of cheap ingredients. My main complaint is that they favor lower cost cuts of meat than other airlines tend to use, though, which might not affect you when ordering vegetarian options. They do tend to also overindex on curry-based dishes, which might actually be a positive in your book. But the real problem is that the wine is unacceptably abhorrent - they spend less than half on average per bottle than AF or DL, based on an analysis I did recently, and while price isn't always an indication it definitely is reflected in how the wines taste. (We're in US$6/bottle territory here.) Combine that misfire with KL's hometown affinity for Heineken, and I struggle to find anything drinkable onboard other than the jenever.

If the KL flight times are dramatically more convenient, you'll certainly survive - choosing based on flight times or mileage earning may be the most rational choice. But despite my desire to grow my extensive collection of huisges, I'll pick Delta or Air France over KLM every time for long haul business class flights unless I have absolutely no alternative.
BenA is offline