I have a pair of KLM flights (KLM646 and KLM1127) this Friday/Saturday JFK-AMS-CPH with a connection time of 1h25m in AMS. How worried should I be that I'll miss that connection? Is the baggage situation that dire that I should avoid checking a bag?

They just cut another 1,800 through August.

Johan

Not checking bags is my standard policy, regardless of circumstances, so it is something I always recommend. If nothing else, you will have less to worry about.

The connection is perfectly doable in theory, provided your inbound flight is on time. You'll need to go through immigrations, the lines can be rather long at times. Hard to predict how long it will take you.

Johan

This still works, if the flights are operating on time.

Checking an empty disposable bag is used by some to buy extra minutes to make a transit more likely to work out.

Even before this year’s mess at AMS, most often for me at CPH it’s been KL’s ground handling contract agent at CPH that has had to arrange for bag reunification after an airline — KL/AMS mostly for me — repeatedly failed to get my checked luggage onto my flights from AMS to CPH for luggage checked in at US airports. This irregular handling of luggage happened so often with KL@AMS that I started to make a habit of planning on it, in hopes that KL would have to deliver the heavy stuff for me to homes in Sweden and free my hands sooner than later. Nowadays, this way for me to outsource delivery to the doors has become more possible, but it also takes longer for me to see the bags get to the doors. Assuming you want to port the items in the luggage sooner than later when you arrive at CPH, better to avoid the gamble of checked luggage at AMS for connections and do carry-on only.

KL’s doing both, but it is better for me that they lighten the crowding on the flights than cancel flights.

Interesting to learn.....

My lads spotted Dutch foreign minister Kaag in SQ business class and she was polite and well-behaved towards the crew.
They wanted a selfie with her but she was most of the time sleeping.
We bumped into her in transit at Singapore airport as she is going to the G20 in Bali.
Her attachés told her to go to the SQ lounge to take a shower before their flight to DPS.

One of my lads asked her if she was on our Singapore Airlines flight too but her lackeys said yes but on the first one out.
We looked puzzled as we were sure to be travelling on the first Singapore Airlines flight out at 9.25
What seems, her flight departed at 7.15 on a SQ codeshare operated by TR (Scoot = transavia of Singapore Airlines)

They ofcourse missconnected as TR departed from Singapore airport's T1 and we all arrived at T2, meaning you have to travel via T3 to get to T1 due to terminal refurbishments.
An impossible feature to get there in time, i thought.....let alone try to reach the lounge to shower.....

We bumped into them again at the gate for our flight to Bali at 9.25.
They were rebooked on our flight due to missconect and told us they tried to enter the lounge to shower but were denied.

It seems:
Passengers booked on TR as operating carrier(even when connecting from arriving longhaul SQ business) "never get lounge access (even with status)
" Source: https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/m...krisflyergold/

A major mistake from whoever booked Kaag her ticket and sloppy that they booked her a short connecting time....
So i believe johan rebel that travel bookings for BuZa are done with much proffesional self assuredness....without any Mr.Spock logic

Our delight to report:
Our 6 bags made it all the way to DPS!
SQ's groundhandler Swissport at Schiphol seems to be reliable to check in luggage to your destination!

Datapoint: on Finnair today. Arrived about 1045 by train, had to do a document check because of transit to SIN, so checkin was a bottleneck. Finnair's priority desk was also a normal desk for Icelandair and I had to jump the queue given departure at 1155 (got permission from staff, but dirty looks). Decided to try priority security in t1 with Privium - I think this was a bad idea (though I don't know what SkyPrio Privium was like) - the line was a mix of priority, families and Privium and took about 15 mins to clear. Bag sent to secondary again by a very diligent agent who sent 4 bags in a row, including a tray WITHOUT A BAG, i.e. just stuff laid out on the tray. Lady at secondary looked at the scan for a while and gave me my bag back without opening it...

Made it through security at about 11:15-11:20 and at gate D73 by 11:25

Regular security looked messed up.. edit: asked a Y pax who showed up late (they are holding the flight) and he said 3 hours

As long as they don't cancel any flights you are booked on, I presume.

They are not easing the crowding on the remaining flights. What they are doing is only selling a small number of seats at extortionate prices, and filling the remaining seats with those rebooked from canceled flights, as well as those who have missed flights due to Schiphol's Summer Clown Act. All this applies to shorthaul, KLM is not canceling any longhaul flights, and will happily fill every single seat on those.

I've not been on a single KLM flight this year that wasn't packed. All shorthaul, the longhauls were fortunately on other airlines and didn't go anywhere near AMS. My colleagues also report nothing but full flights. YMMV, if you have any examples of flights that were not crowded, then please do tell.

Johan

Except for the AMS->CPH flight a few weeks ago, where the seat map was the actual situation on the aircraft, I have to concur and say every single flight has been packed to a brim. As a witness, the numerous opups I've received for Schengen flights over the last 3 months.

Must've had more than 5 items in it. They can't count that high and panic.

I was on a FRA-AMS during the whole May meltdown that had, myself included, 16 pax on it.

But other than that I echo this sentiment.

Not sure how you can plan rather than just gamble on this, but I guess it's one way of doing it, provided:

- you are willing to wait for the last bag to finally appear on the belt and then go through the hassle of filing a PIR.
- are willing and prepared to deal with the vagaries of airline lost luggage handling.
- have the time and opportunity to hang around at home waiting for delivery, which may or may not happen as promised, or have somebody to do the hanging for you.

Can't see how it can ever be worth it, would rather just lug the stuff home myself. Or better yet, make sure I have nothing to lug.

Johan

:D

Johan

12 KLM short-haul flights since April, not a single one was not full. Often a few available seats in J but zero or 1-2 middle seats empty in economy only. Only one opup for me.
So I report the same as you and your colleagues, only crowded flights.

He sort of scrunched his face as if thinking on every bag... and the tray without a bag (in fairness it had a laptop case and one of those tiny fanny-pack style manbags that's so popular with the TikTok generation).

AMS security lines
 

Update for anyone not flying J through AMS. Still a sh$tshow.

Took us just over 2.5 hours to clear security. Happy we arrived 4 hours early per recommendations.

I have to say, when people ask me 'what is happening at Amsterdam airport?' I can't help but comment on the fact that pre-2022 meltdown, it was already known (in this particular thread, actually) online and in person that Schiphol had a major security training and policy issue with an extremely high false secondary rate.

I was 'delighted' to find that even on peak days where there were hours out the terminal doors with thousands of people waiting that indeed, a camera lens that goes unflagged in any airport on the planet still flags a full secondary check at Schiphol. I wonder if there's ever any qualitative review done of the security screening procedures at AMS? Surely there's statistics being collected on secondary rate and actual hit rate for finding violating items vs. what was essentially a huge waste of time for all involved? As this has been happening for literal years, I am guessing this isn't a thing. I suppose I'll have my bags checked repeatedly for the years to come, being as audacious as I am to pack more than five items in a bag and something as dangerous and rare as camera equipment.