The Great KLM 747 Thread

Old Jul 24, 2019, 10:29 am
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The Great KLM 747 Thread

I figured we have a lot of excitement with regards to the KLM 747; for one, it is being discontinued (when is anyone's guess, or when the last ceremonial flight is is another). It is also prone to many maintenance and other issues forcing delays and unique experiences on board. It also brings delightful experiences with happy crews, cockpit visits and other quirks.

Let's share your KLM 747 experiences (and hopes!), memories and more in this thread.

My latest: AMS-LAX (KL601) on July 23rd went MX; the poor PH-BFT's cargo door couldn't close (after loading up 17 horses and 20 dogs among other cargo). Attempts were made to fix it, but eventually we swapped to PH-BFW (which wasn't doing anything, apparently?) which sat on the tarmac so long transferring cargo and pax that catered meals went bad in the heat and had to be re-sourced and replaced. SPMLs didn't make the cut. I bought a bunch of chocolates for the crew which worked overtime to get us to LAX.

I did have lovely chats with the crew that seconded my opinion that despite the now-frequent MX issues, it's still just the best damn plane in the fleet to be on. The chief purser even wistfully remembered the days where Royal Class was in the nose; that's likely from before I was born
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Old Jul 24, 2019, 2:13 pm
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Originally Posted by caliform
The chief purser even wistfully remembered the days where Royal Class was in the nose; that's likely from before I was born
But I'm old enough to remember Royal Class. Not only the cabin in the nose, but also the spiral staircase to the Royal Class lounge and bar on upper deck. The DC8-63 also had a Royal Class lounge, but that just consisted of a table with two seats on either side. Really good only for family dinners (If it was a family of four, which we happened to be).

Johan
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Old Jul 24, 2019, 2:18 pm
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And here's an anecdote as told to me by a purser:

On a night flight Herman Brood went missing from the business class cabin on the upper deck. A search by the cabin crew was unsuccessful, but fortunately the missing man was located some time later by Anton Dreesmann. The latter was seated in one of the middle row 4 seats in Royal Class, and found Brood all curled up and fast asleep between the back of his seat and the cabin wall.

Johan
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Old Jul 24, 2019, 2:20 pm
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Royal Class in the Good Old Days
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Old Jul 28, 2019, 11:20 pm
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I have been flying with the 747 my whole life.. and becoming 43 later this year. I love the 747. So many great memories.

And if Califrom also takes pictures of weddings... I actually think met him on a flight to SFO or LAX a few years back on row 1JK
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Old Jul 29, 2019, 1:06 pm
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Originally Posted by Meneer Guggenheimer
I have been flying with the 747 my whole life.. and becoming 43 later this year. I love the 747. So many great memories.
SFO/LAX - AMS in row 1? Sounds super likely! I usually have my camera out too. I've had some wonderful chats on the 747 with some cool passengers and celebrities.

I saw the old Pan-Am 747 featured in the new Tarantino movie. I don't think any modern plane will ever get that lustre.
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Old Jul 29, 2019, 2:31 pm
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747 Combi ICN-AMS, Business class on the Upper Deck.
Best sleep I have ever had on a plane. But the worst food.
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Old Jul 29, 2019, 3:41 pm
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I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the 747. Such a beautiful aircraft. I've probably flown 747s on KLM 60+ times over the years, thanks to my mom being in the airline industry.

I'm excited about flying in 1A for the first time at the end of the month!
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Old Jul 29, 2019, 6:41 pm
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On a trip to Tokyo in 2011 I managed to select a WBC seat (but with economy service) in the nose on an economy ticket due to that class being overbooked, not only on the outward but return leg as well.
I've also travelled upstairs on a 747 in economy. That was with JAL from Seoul to Tokyo on one of the 747s they operated on short routes with economy seating upstairs.
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Old Jul 30, 2019, 12:22 am
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Back in the early days, IFE was one of the exciting new features that 747s offered. However, KL charged pax US$ 2.50 (US$14.00 in today's money) to rent a pair of really crappy earphones (basically a hollow tube with earbuds at the end), even in Royal Class.


My parents would make my sister and me share a pair. They must have been very hard up.
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Old Jul 30, 2019, 4:23 am
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Originally Posted by johan rebel
Back in the early days, IFE was one of the exciting new features that 747s offered. However, KL charged pax US$ 2.50 (US$14.00 in today's money) to rent a pair of really crappy earphones (basically a hollow tube with earbuds at the end), even in Royal Class.


My parents would make my sister and me share a pair. They must have been very hard up.
I remember the tubes very well! Basically you heard noise which was inaudible due to the noise of the aircraft itself! Great memories of watching movies where all youd get was blabla bla PFFFT doing boing dzing bla-bla-bla, YES SIR, pfffft BZZZZZ. BOOM.
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Old Jul 30, 2019, 7:49 am
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1A or 1K........ do I need to say more about those seats.... with the right amount of wind is the best seat in any plane during landing or take off.

Cockpit is better of course..... I spend so much time when I was a kid in the cockpit... it is a shame we live in a world where kids can not be allowed in the cockpit anymore. Loved it... I once was allowed to throttle up!

7/10 I will be on one....... and I will be on the last one to go back to Amsterdam. Hope it is from NBO.. otherwise it will be a bit with 'Vliegschaamte'.

Wondering how many of you here in this tread I might have unknowably met during the flights I made. Sadly most of my flying these days are in 787 / 777 due to the destinations I am working.
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Old Jul 30, 2019, 12:44 pm
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Originally Posted by Meneer Guggenheimer
Cockpit is better of course..... I spend so much time when I was a kid in the cockpit.
Yeah, those were the days!

I've spent entire flights in the cockpit on numerous occasions. Once, when I was four years old, the flight was completely sold out, so they gave my dad the jump seat, and I sat in his lap the entire way.

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Old Jul 31, 2019, 2:08 pm
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That's pretty amazing. I've only done a short cockpit visit in-flight, it's definitely no longer a normal thing. I chatted with the family of the pilot on my last flight to LA and they did get a nice (illegal ) cockpit visit, of course.
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Old Aug 1, 2019, 8:02 am
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Originally Posted by caliform
(illegal )
This is a misconception, unless it was under FL100 over US airspace. Cockpit visits are not illegal.
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