The return home

I grabbed breakfast in the hotel and then gathered my things. The car I had pre-booked arrived early so I was at the airport with more than enough time until departure. Check-in was very efficient as was security. The lounge KLM use in BOG in Avianca's lounge. It was absolutely heaving with standing room only when I got there. Thankfully on one of the loops of the lounge, a guy was away to leave so I asked if I could take his table. I had a few beers whilst reading a book and watching a hilarious older married couple. They were seated at a table each for some reason (a domestic?!) but she was always asking him to do her stuff - "go to the desk because the wifi isn't working for me"... "go get me another coca cola" and so on. Poor guy. At one point, he started speaking to me asking if I'd recommend the book I was reading just so that he didn't have to speak to his wife!

KL749, BOG - CTG - AMS, PH-BKH, B78X

Boarding was a well managed affair with clear signs for the various group numbers at the gate. Interlopers were sent away to join their own numbered queue. This was my first time flying KLM long haul J so I was excited to see what lay ahead.

I boarded a found my seat in Row 6. Waiting at the seat were a pillow and blanket. First impressions good - seat seemed spacious enough and very private.





View into the cabin from my seat.





The crew were just working the BOG - CTG leg. It wasn't clear if they also operated the AMS - BOG leg that morning or whether this short hop was their only duty today. Boarding was soon completed and were leaving Bogota with minimal delay. Flight time to Cartagena was announced as being 1 hour.



The only 'service' on board this leg was s tiny bag of popcorn which I thought was a bit stingy. There wasn't any offer of drinks. I could understand not offering a full bar service but even if they just offered orange juice, water or champagne to customers sitting in J would have been better than what we did (or didn't!) get.











We landed in Cartagena and then there was a whole hoo-ha about what security checks had to be done whilst those of us connecting to AMS had to stay on the plane. "YOU MUST HAVE YOUR HAND LUGGAGE WITH YOU ON YOUR SEAT OR IT WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE OVERHEAD LOCKERS".... "YOU MUST STAY IN YOUR SEATS" (to which a large proportion of the cabin who were travelling together ignored). The new crew boarded and installed themselves and got going with the service. First order of the day was water and an amenity kit with the menu and a PDB to follow.























Flight time was around 9 hours 40 minutes which I hoped meant that I'd get a relatively quick dinner and then a decent sleep across the Atlantic. Service started with a drink before starters were delivered.



The sweet potato, carrot and curry soup was delicious.



As was the tortellini for main course!



Cheeses to finish and chocolates were also handed out.







After around 5 hours of sleep, I woke as breakfast was being served. This was good and hit the spot. The crew were also proactive at offering champagne as it's specifically mentioned on the menu!





And the bit I had been looking forward to most... time to choose my Delft house!





So, a really impressive first experience with KLM on their long haul product. I had read reports about indifferent crew but I'm the type of guy who will just talk away so there were absolutely no issues there. Landed in AMS and made my way through security to the KLM Crowne lounge. I had about a 6 hour layover I found a table upstairs.





I made friends with an older lady working the bar who made a great Old Fashioned.



KL917, AMS - ABZ, PH-BXN, B738

Unfortunately, the flight posted a 90 minute delay which wasn't what I wanted after a long day but time passed relatively quickly. It was also nice having a B738 on this flight meaning that we boarded directly to the plane rather than having to take the bus to it.







Another tasty snack on the way to Aberdeen of tuna pasta.









We started descending just as the sun was starting to set which made for some nice views...





...before turning left to land from the north.



So that's the end of what turned out to be a fantastic trip. I was really taken with the charm of Colombia and enjoyed my time there. Also very happy with the flights with Air France and KLM - a great start to continuing to fly with them!

Thanks for following along!