Trip report: GRU - LHR - 4/5 July
Jul 7, 2020, 5:10 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2020
Posts: 2
Trip report: GRU - LHR - 4/5 July
Hi
I don't normally do trip reports but given the unusual times we're in, I thought I'd post about my recent flights GRU-AMS and AMS-LHR (KL792 and KL1009) on 4th and 5th July. Hopefully it's useful to someone. I was flying in business having been in Brazil since before lockdown started on a work trip that went in a different direction than originally anticipated. One caveat is that I don't often fly KLM for long haul so I'm not best placed to compare to normal times.
GRU-AMS
Ground experience
- A 15:05 departure, this was the only flight that was scheduled to leave T3 at GRU between when I arrived at the airport and a later flight to Frankfurt at c. 18:15. This obviously meant everything was very quiet
- I had to wait c. 10 mins to bag drop despite there being no-one in front of me in the queue but those being served all seemed to be taking a long time. I did bag drop in less than a minute
- Starbucks appeared to be the only place open before security in T3
- Unsurprisingly no queues at security or immigration
- Post security, vast majority of shops were shut. A section of Duty Free was open and a couple of different bars
- American Express Lounge was open. Bar service being provided albeit in plastic cups. There was also a limited food menu - I selected several different "snack" items (Pao de Queijo, Cheese Plate, Salad). All were served wrapped in clingfilm. Taste was fine but not sure I'd have wanted a whole meal from there. Parts of the lounge were sectioned off and certain seats cordoned off to allow for social distancing. It was my first time in this lounge so I can't compare to how things normally are. It was an ok place to sit for a couple of hours if you have included access but I certainly wouldn't consider paying to enter
- One bar/restaurant that I discovered was open on the way to the gate was the Paris 6 Petit Bistro. I stopped here for a beer to wait for boarding to actually start. If I'd known it was open would probably have eaten here as well given the better food quality. The beer was draft and in a glass and whilst the staff wore masks it was closer to "normal" than the Lounge
Onboard
- I was sat in 1A of this Boeing 777. Business was c. 1/3 full. I think Economy was a lot less busy than that. I'm not really a fan of the hard product but I suspect most people on here will already have their own views. The seat next to me was empty which avoided issues around aisle access and the limited privacy screen.
- One lavatory was cordoned off leaving only one toilet for the business class cabin (and occasional economy visitors). This did lead to some queuing even on a very empty flight.
- I didn't receive a Delft house although others had at their seats. I didn't ask for two reasons: 1) no cabin crew ever appeared; and 2) it's the type of thing that I think is a great idea and will then find in a cupboard in 3 years time
- The service was basically non-existent. The only interaction I had with a member of the crew was when they passed me my hot meal and collected that tray. I do think this was a little bit of profiling as a male in my early 30s with no real KLM status vs how some of the older travellers in the cabin were greeted
- A hot meal was served within c. 30 mins of departure. There was no choice - it was an ok cheesy pasta dish (presumably vegetarian) with a side salad, some cheese and an apple based dessert. I was offered my choice of soft drinks - this was the only drinks service during the 12 hour flight
- A plastic bag was handed out after meal service containing a water, a white finger roll with cheese and a selection of crisps, chocolates. This was to serve as breakfast/snacks. The quality of the sandwich was particularly poor for an international long haul business class flight
- A self service "bar" was put at the front of the business class cabin. This contained more of the same products that were in the plastic bags and some cans of soft drink
- We were under strict instructions to wear face masks throughout. Passengers appeared to comply with this. A number of crew members did not. One crew member in particular was often walking round without his mask on. Given that a) the crew had presumably overnighted in Sao Paulo - a hotspot of covid-19 and b) the other restrictions onboard this did frustrate me.
- Overall, the flying experience was fine but the service on-board was decidedly underwhelming. If, like me, you were flying out of necessity then it was fine - if you were flying expecting more of an "experience" then you'd be sorely disappointed
AMS - LHR
Transit experience
- All pretty straightforward - I think we had a temperature check on arrival but now not 100% sure that was the case. Not having to take out liquids/laptop at the security screening point is a real plus
- Mask wearing was far lower than it had been in GRU. Most passengers were wearing masks, but definitely not all. Similarly most, but far from all, staff were
- Far greater percentage of shops and restaurants open than at GRU - reflective of far more flights operating
- Lounge was largely open with just a couple of areas cordoned off alongside some seats designated as not to be used. Unsurprisingly still very quiet
- Breakfast was a bit confusing with no clear menu (but that might have been sleep deprivation and glasses that steamed up whilst wearing a mask!) but I got yoghurt and fruit alongside a mini croissant and a boiled egg as well as a fruit juice. Some of the coffee and water machines were also available. The bar was open serving alcoholic drinks in normal glasses
- Showers were available with no queue - equally things like lockers seemed to be operating as normal
Onboard
- Most notable thing about this flight was how quick AMS-LHR is when not having to queue or care about air traffic control restrictions!
- The flight was reasonably full - the two rows of business had two spare seats. Economy looked to be about 75% full. A significant proportion of the flight appeared to have been connecting from Cape Town
- Wearing of masks was vigorously enforced - it needed several messages over the tannoy to get certain passengers to oblige. Crew appeared to wear their masks at all times
- Provided with a bag containing a mini bottle of water and a muffin
- As with the flight from GRU, asked to only stand to disembark when the row in front had emptied. This seemed to be largely ignored
Arrival into LHR
- Arrived at a gate that led straight into passport control. Having completed the UK return forms online I was able to use the e-gates and was through in literally seconds
- No temperature checks and nothing really on quarantine, etc. other than a couple of generic bits of signage. At one level, I had completed a form online so maybe signage would be seen as surplus to requirements but I had anticipated some more formal guidance. I assume the e-gates could match my passport with the form I'd filled in online but it wouldn't surprise me if that wasn't the case
- There was a bit of a wait for luggage - maybe 30 mins - but that is partly a result of getting from doors open to baggage reclaim in under 5 mins. It's clear the priority sticker I had on my case meant nothing as it was pretty much the last one out - I think this was partly because the luggage of the transferring Cape Town passengers came out first
Overall
- Flights were fine and I'd have no reservations about travelling if I needed to
- Given the low loads on long haul economy, I wouldn't be paying for business class if it was my own money paying for the seat. On the flight from GRU I would have definitely had my own row in economy which, for me, would be comparable enough to the business class seat to not justify paying a premium given the very limited other amenities
- I wouldn't choose to travel long haul for leisure at the moment - however, once quarantine restrictions end in the next few days I'd happily consider flying short haul
I don't normally do trip reports but given the unusual times we're in, I thought I'd post about my recent flights GRU-AMS and AMS-LHR (KL792 and KL1009) on 4th and 5th July. Hopefully it's useful to someone. I was flying in business having been in Brazil since before lockdown started on a work trip that went in a different direction than originally anticipated. One caveat is that I don't often fly KLM for long haul so I'm not best placed to compare to normal times.
GRU-AMS
Ground experience
- A 15:05 departure, this was the only flight that was scheduled to leave T3 at GRU between when I arrived at the airport and a later flight to Frankfurt at c. 18:15. This obviously meant everything was very quiet
- I had to wait c. 10 mins to bag drop despite there being no-one in front of me in the queue but those being served all seemed to be taking a long time. I did bag drop in less than a minute
- Starbucks appeared to be the only place open before security in T3
- Unsurprisingly no queues at security or immigration
- Post security, vast majority of shops were shut. A section of Duty Free was open and a couple of different bars
- American Express Lounge was open. Bar service being provided albeit in plastic cups. There was also a limited food menu - I selected several different "snack" items (Pao de Queijo, Cheese Plate, Salad). All were served wrapped in clingfilm. Taste was fine but not sure I'd have wanted a whole meal from there. Parts of the lounge were sectioned off and certain seats cordoned off to allow for social distancing. It was my first time in this lounge so I can't compare to how things normally are. It was an ok place to sit for a couple of hours if you have included access but I certainly wouldn't consider paying to enter
- One bar/restaurant that I discovered was open on the way to the gate was the Paris 6 Petit Bistro. I stopped here for a beer to wait for boarding to actually start. If I'd known it was open would probably have eaten here as well given the better food quality. The beer was draft and in a glass and whilst the staff wore masks it was closer to "normal" than the Lounge
Onboard
- I was sat in 1A of this Boeing 777. Business was c. 1/3 full. I think Economy was a lot less busy than that. I'm not really a fan of the hard product but I suspect most people on here will already have their own views. The seat next to me was empty which avoided issues around aisle access and the limited privacy screen.
- One lavatory was cordoned off leaving only one toilet for the business class cabin (and occasional economy visitors). This did lead to some queuing even on a very empty flight.
- I didn't receive a Delft house although others had at their seats. I didn't ask for two reasons: 1) no cabin crew ever appeared; and 2) it's the type of thing that I think is a great idea and will then find in a cupboard in 3 years time
- The service was basically non-existent. The only interaction I had with a member of the crew was when they passed me my hot meal and collected that tray. I do think this was a little bit of profiling as a male in my early 30s with no real KLM status vs how some of the older travellers in the cabin were greeted
- A hot meal was served within c. 30 mins of departure. There was no choice - it was an ok cheesy pasta dish (presumably vegetarian) with a side salad, some cheese and an apple based dessert. I was offered my choice of soft drinks - this was the only drinks service during the 12 hour flight
- A plastic bag was handed out after meal service containing a water, a white finger roll with cheese and a selection of crisps, chocolates. This was to serve as breakfast/snacks. The quality of the sandwich was particularly poor for an international long haul business class flight
- A self service "bar" was put at the front of the business class cabin. This contained more of the same products that were in the plastic bags and some cans of soft drink
- We were under strict instructions to wear face masks throughout. Passengers appeared to comply with this. A number of crew members did not. One crew member in particular was often walking round without his mask on. Given that a) the crew had presumably overnighted in Sao Paulo - a hotspot of covid-19 and b) the other restrictions onboard this did frustrate me.
- Overall, the flying experience was fine but the service on-board was decidedly underwhelming. If, like me, you were flying out of necessity then it was fine - if you were flying expecting more of an "experience" then you'd be sorely disappointed
AMS - LHR
Transit experience
- All pretty straightforward - I think we had a temperature check on arrival but now not 100% sure that was the case. Not having to take out liquids/laptop at the security screening point is a real plus
- Mask wearing was far lower than it had been in GRU. Most passengers were wearing masks, but definitely not all. Similarly most, but far from all, staff were
- Far greater percentage of shops and restaurants open than at GRU - reflective of far more flights operating
- Lounge was largely open with just a couple of areas cordoned off alongside some seats designated as not to be used. Unsurprisingly still very quiet
- Breakfast was a bit confusing with no clear menu (but that might have been sleep deprivation and glasses that steamed up whilst wearing a mask!) but I got yoghurt and fruit alongside a mini croissant and a boiled egg as well as a fruit juice. Some of the coffee and water machines were also available. The bar was open serving alcoholic drinks in normal glasses
- Showers were available with no queue - equally things like lockers seemed to be operating as normal
Onboard
- Most notable thing about this flight was how quick AMS-LHR is when not having to queue or care about air traffic control restrictions!
- The flight was reasonably full - the two rows of business had two spare seats. Economy looked to be about 75% full. A significant proportion of the flight appeared to have been connecting from Cape Town
- Wearing of masks was vigorously enforced - it needed several messages over the tannoy to get certain passengers to oblige. Crew appeared to wear their masks at all times
- Provided with a bag containing a mini bottle of water and a muffin
- As with the flight from GRU, asked to only stand to disembark when the row in front had emptied. This seemed to be largely ignored
Arrival into LHR
- Arrived at a gate that led straight into passport control. Having completed the UK return forms online I was able to use the e-gates and was through in literally seconds
- No temperature checks and nothing really on quarantine, etc. other than a couple of generic bits of signage. At one level, I had completed a form online so maybe signage would be seen as surplus to requirements but I had anticipated some more formal guidance. I assume the e-gates could match my passport with the form I'd filled in online but it wouldn't surprise me if that wasn't the case
- There was a bit of a wait for luggage - maybe 30 mins - but that is partly a result of getting from doors open to baggage reclaim in under 5 mins. It's clear the priority sticker I had on my case meant nothing as it was pretty much the last one out - I think this was partly because the luggage of the transferring Cape Town passengers came out first
Overall
- Flights were fine and I'd have no reservations about travelling if I needed to
- Given the low loads on long haul economy, I wouldn't be paying for business class if it was my own money paying for the seat. On the flight from GRU I would have definitely had my own row in economy which, for me, would be comparable enough to the business class seat to not justify paying a premium given the very limited other amenities
- I wouldn't choose to travel long haul for leisure at the moment - however, once quarantine restrictions end in the next few days I'd happily consider flying short haul
