Very litle choice from NCL - BA is hugely expensive (and it means going through the hell-hole that is LHR); AF don't seem interested in providing decent through fares.

But there are positives: Schiphol must be one of the best designed airports there is, the benefits from FD are good (as previous respondents have noted), and KL dominate the market from here for good value fares both in Europe & to N America.

It wouldn't take very much for KLM to become very good indeed as a mid-range carrier - attention to their 'customer interface' in all its forms - website, callcentres, FD etc - would be a very good investment for them. They offer a product that is essentially good and competitively-priced; it's surprising that their own market analysis hasn't pointed them in this direction.