For me, the biggest let down with KLM short haul J is not the box, but their Embraer fleet.
- This configuration, with the neighbouring seat not blocked offers no difference with economy comfort. It's simply uncomfortable and does not deserve the name "business", other than for the "mind your own business" look you're gonna give to your neighbour for looking at your phone.
- The Embraer farm is a guaranteed 10 minutes bus drive + time waiting for the bus to leave, or for the crew’s approval for boarding (and often a walk in the rain).
- The distance between lounge 25 and the tip of the B gates is quite long. And the B gates are old and so crowded.
- The ERJs are flown on a large section of their EU network, including business heavy routes likes LHR, LCY, FRA, BSL, everywhere in the UK, Ireland and Scandinavia. Even flights more than 2 hours where LH, LX (even IB !) offer better J products (seat/food). Flights that comes to my mind (in terms of J seating) that I find especially unacceptably being operated in ERJs with no seat blocked are ARN, BUD, TRD, FLR, KRK, VLC, OPO (2 hours 45 minutes) !
Even you say "It only make sense if you're connecting to/from long haul." Sorry, but PaxEx-wise, If I fly from BOG to OPO, or from DXB to VLC, how does it makes sense that my journey starts in a nice lounge, goes from a really nice Safran Cirrus NG seat to having to eat on a plate the size of my hand in an overcrowded high-school cafeteria, then take a bus, and sit for two hours (not including taxi time) shoulder to shoulder with someone ?
If KL decided to change their vision on J seating on the Embraer fleet, I would not hesitate that much on picking them over AF (or LX/LH), unfortunately on some destinations, it's the only option.