Klm is Dead - Long Live KLM

I was recently upgraded to WBC on a euro 160 R/T V class ticket xxx-AMS-JFK as FB PFL where the back was almost but not completely full. Online check-in was broken, I checked-in at out station. Boarding pass beeped upon boarding as one of the last (sweaty backpacker rule) at gate at Schiphol.

I suspect the computer and its special attention codes about had a heart attack to actually see me on board again on a paid ticket and wanted to flirt with me with.

The gooey, wink-at-Dutch-pastry, raw, bitter, tuna tampouce served as the no choice appetizer was probably the singularly most repugnant dish I have ever been served in long haul premium class in more than three decades of flying. I did however sleep better than I would have in 11D.

nickyboy

I didn't ask anyone, when I presented my BP at boarding it was rejected and I was given a nice new one

The other two were similar - I asked about the possibility of an upgrade (once at check-in in PEK, once in transit at CDG) and was given the new boarding passes there and then that had already been printed before I enquired

nickyboy

johan rebel

Yeah! Wow! I got an OpUp to free-newspaper-class CPH-AMS today.

Given that all five KL flights were completely zeroed out, I was not taken completely by surprise.

The spectacle at the gate was something to behold. I calculated that they would finish scanning BCs about 30 minutes after our scheduled time of departure, but then somebody hit upon the idea of checking passports as pax waited in line, so we only pushed back 15 minutes late.

Apart from the free paper, I must mention the amazing ES meal.

The first surprise comes when you are handed the famous box: it is so light that you suspect they have given you an empty one by mistake.

Fortunately, they box contains a credit card-size printed menu, which does aid identification and ensures that most pax can tell the difference between the dessert and the starter (there is no main course).

I was the lucky recipient of meal I05943:

Marinated crayfish with a couscous raisin salad, presented with oranges slices.

Vermicelli porridge with pineapple coconut compote, topped with pistachio and shaved almonds.

The starter ingredients were actually identifiable, and could easily be counted on the fingers of one hand. It tasted OK.

The dessert looked like a, well, bird dropping. Admittedly a biggish dropping, like from say a vulture that had just fed on a dead donkey. Not a freshly dead donkey though, judging by the generous (for a change!) sprinkling of greenish blobs. It tasted like . . . . not anything I can think of.

Having taken the precaution of boarding well-fed, and having been given an extra two bread rolls (on request, no seconds were offered), I disembarked reasonably satiated.

My heartfelt thanks to KL for reminding me why ES is such a wonderful product, without doubt worth every cent of the modest and resonable fares they charge.

Johan

jms_uk

Just figured out today [what I didn't know last week] that Premium Voyager BP would get me into the Lounge @CDG.

Now when I think about it - I got upgraded twice:
First from Voyager to Premium Voyager, then at boarding to Biz.

The best benefit was having a nice companion for about 3 hours [turned out she was also op-up]

chunk73

I have been upgraded maybe 5 times in the last year. At least twice from CDG - JNB got shifted from business to First. Once from LIS to AMS and also from AMS to ABZ (travelling with my Ivory member girlfriend on award tickets....) so it does happen. Most recent was last week from JNB to CDG from business to First. Very nice it was too to get the flat bed. Even the food was OK (some sort of Chili squid and then fish). It almost made up for the truly sh*t flight down in business. The food was totally inedible. I mean revolting. The video system was the new AVOD one and was complete crap - nothing on it worh looking at and the staff were indifferent at best. Who'd have thunk they were struggling?

COFF-Platinum

First op-up on KLM after only 162 flights in a lifetime, yesterday AMS-MAD. Beep-beep: seat change. GA proudly mentioned that she had a much, much better seat for me, which was questionable as a I had 14A before, but I wasn´t going to pass on the free news-paper and booze.

Squerez

I like this kind of humor...or I should say irony!

johan rebel

After a bizarre upgrading process (the object was apparently to split large families and reward those who howled loudly), I had the good fortune of retaining my aisle seat in the first row of economy, instead of getting a middle seat in Europe Neglect. From my vantage point, I could see that 6 out of 10 premium pax refused the mystery meal box, even though it was served directly from the galley, not the cart, with two bread rolls ingeniously placed on each box (why come round with the bread basket, right?) to entice the hungry and convince them that they were getting real food.

Johan

KLeM

Yesterday I flew from Heathrow to Amsterdam and it seemed half the plane got upgraded... for a 45 minute flight, what's the point... But anyway it seemed like they were all plat elites. I didn't get any upgrades as I'm just ivory and decided to only fly KLM when I can use my FB miles to buy the ticket so will probably never make elite...

estam127

Well not a upgrade as you would like but for me it was.
Last October I had been 3 hours early at LHR for AMS when as normal when to early the machine refused to give me a boarding card so I went to the check in counter if they can make a card.
The lady behind de counter looked at me and asked ”would you like to go a flight earlier??”
Can you do this I asked ,she replied “No problem, you even have the same seat as requested”
That made me smile, every hour less at terminal 4 is a blessing.
So even a small gesture can make a difference

Gajan

Well, they must have been overbooked [IMHO].

I was at T4 in Feb'09, arrived at 1700 for my 8 o'clock flight. I decided to try my luck to see if I could get on the 7 o'clock flight, but that was not possible. They wanted to charge me the change fee (€50) and the fee for changing a flight booked through a travel agent (€50). I declined, and decided to wait for my flight. The lady behind the ticket desk said that "the headoffice monitors all tickets changed without a charge, so she had to charge it".

I decided to have a look at the gate for the 7 o'clock flight and that flight was just as lightly booked as my flight (40 pax max)

estam127

Possible, can not tell. sometimes it's full front to end and sometimes you can pick any seat you like when the doors close.
She gave me the offer so you maybe right.

I don't find them helpfull most of the time, but this was at the check in desk and not the ticket desk.
Maybe try there for a change.

Henry III

At the risk of drifting even further off-thread (but I really want to tell the tale), I recently checked in for a DL flight ATL-BOS, arriving 12:30 the following morning - and I had a quite early flight that day. The check-in robot offered me a flight 1½ hours earlier, but for a $50 fee. I tried my luck with a human check-in agent: I asked if the fee could be waived/reduced as I was a Platinum Elite Plus ... the response, "Sir, you are the wrong sort of Platinum! If you were a Delta Platinum rather than an Air France Platinum, the fee would be waived!" (Do the folks at DL understand what an "alliance" is? NW would have accepted me as one of their own!)

Anyway, I went for it and got a "Seat Request" BP. At the gate, I was assigned (by the computer) seat 41E on a B752; I was upset and broke my normal 'rule' of not being an argumentative numpty (that's what FT has taught me ): I approached the 'Podium' and asked the GA, somewhat sarcastically, if there was actually a worse seat on board; she gave me a rather comforting smile and said, reassuringly, "I can give you a better seat than that, Sir," and put me in 19D (best Y seat on the B752).

DirkAmsterdam

Got upgraded twice last week.. One was from CDG - HEL and the other one was AMS - CDG.

I got these because the flights were totally overbooked.... not because I made 150+ skyteam flights last year and they want to reward loyalty

africanfrog

unable to do online checkin for cdg/jnb ysday, was given 19F at the checkin counter. asked if there was availability on 18 (leg room..), was told yes.. but next to a baby.. that's is fine by me, and as the boarding pass was being printed, the AF man said.." one minute... hummm... looks like they just upgraded you to biz...." and proceeded to hand me a J class boarding pass with seat to be assigned at the gate.

needless to say, though food was pathetic, had a great 8h sleep on a 10h flight!

have to head back up to europe next week for another quick RT, guess I'l go AF again (though am very tempted to try emirates...), as all my return legs into JNB in the past 6-7 month have been opup to C! fyi was on an H fare this time and yes i showed up at checkin 5 minutes before they closed the flight..