Suitcasejockey,

before posting your rant, maybe you should take some time, calm down and most importantly do some research…

First of all, if my airline decides to pay the operator of a certain lounge/club I can use every lounge on this planet, it has nothing to do with being nice or so. In addition to that I cannot use any Sky Team domestic lounge in the US, if I am not on an international same day itenary, which sucks big time ( NW clubs are excluded, Thanks to smart NW/KLM coop.)

Why is KLM violating Sky Team rules by not offering you a shower or free internet access ??

The Mercure will charge KLM quite a hefty fee, so if CO does not reimburse KLM for that, I do not see why KLM should pick up the tab. AFAIK you will get a shower / health club voucher from CO, when you fly Biz First across the pond, so CO indeed takes care of its premium pax. Why they do not give out a pass to their own Plat Elite customers should be addressed to Continental Corporate…

On a related side note, KLM is refurbishing the massive Schengen Crown Room Club, so there is hope that this club will have showers….

As pointed out by others, there are rules how much bags are allowed on particular flights and as a Sky Team Elite you are allowed add. pounds, piece concept flights are excluded. Same on all airlines worldwide..

Calling the airline to get a seat pre assigned is a table stake for a frequent flyer, if you fail to do so, you are left with what is leftover at the airport. I was seated in a middle seat on my last CO flight, because I thought I do not need a seat reservation on my MSY-IAH flight, which was stupid. To blame KLM BKK for putting you in a bad seat is a long shot without any seat reservations.

KLM is historically known as the airline with the highest intercontinental load factors, those flights are full ( tough to imagine for US customers these days, but European airlines tend to make money… ) and especially flights to/from BKK are full, so if you fly KL make sure to call ahead and get Select Seating seats pre assigned with your Sky Elite Plus status…

Pre domestic upgrades are offered by NW ( and theoretically CO ) because they decide they need it to get revenue from KL flyers, not because CO or NW is so nice to us and KLM is not nice to you guys. Smartly European airlines do not give out free upgrades and make people pay for it, probably a factor why they make money…

IMO, not one single point of your rant is a valid one, one can definitely blame KLM for a lot of things, but not for the issues described in your original post…

And the bottom line is still the one that KLM is making money, so critisizing a business that is making money in an industry that lost more than $ 30 billion since Sep.11 in the US alone, is a very long shot…