squirk

I am a Delta Platinum Medallion, so I qualify as Sky Team Elite Plus.

I am flying into AMS from the US on a Delta-operated flight, and then connecting in AMS to OSL on a KLM-operated flight. According to both the Delta and KLM sites, as Sky Team Elite Plus connecting between flights operated by Sky Team partners, I am eligible to enter the KLM lounges in AMS.

I know I have to make my way from non-Schengen to Schengen to connect, but the layover is over eight hours. I was looking to book one of the sleep cabins in the non-Schengen KLM lounge to take a snooze for a few hours, and then move over to Schengen.

When I go to the KLM Lounge site to book the sleep cabin, and enter my ticket number, I am told "You are not eligible for lounge access with this ticket." After both calling and texting, nobody at KLM could tell me why the site says that - they agreed that I should have access, but their best advice was to just make my way to the lounge when I arrived in AMS, and try to book the cabin then.

I have no idea if these cabins are in high demand, so I was hoping to reserve ahead of time, just so I didn't show up day-of to be told "all the sleep cabins are booked, unfortunately."

Since no one at KLM is able to help, I was hoping someone here had first-hand knowledge that would be useful. Any thoughts? Is there a legit reason the site might be telling me I am not eligible for lounge access? Or should I chalk this up to a glitch?

Please and thank you!

dkeng

I'm guessing a little bit but on the few cases I have used it I have logged in to the lounge site using my FB account, which has my status attached. It may be that using the ticket details it only knows to check if you are in business class, with no way to verify your Delta status.

I'm afraid I don't know demand levels of the sleep cabins.

ohitsascythe

I'm having the same issue, and I paid cash for business class tickets, so I think it might be a bigger problem than that. I'll keep trying as the date gets closer. At the moment, I am just hoping they are available because nobody else can book them either.

dkeng

I happen to be in lounge 52 this morning so asked the question to the agent at the desk for the cabins.

She didn't seem very sure at all about the booking procedure but suggested maybe it would only be possible to reserve a place after check-in for the first flight.

I also asked about general availability and she said it is generally quite busy.

ohitsascythe

Thanks very much! That was very kind of you. That would make sense, as a policy. A bit odd that they wouldn't spell that out on the website. Anyway, thank you for asking!

Ezrp

Has anyone been able to book a sleep cabin after checking in? I have a business award flight on 12/25 and get the same notification (I.e., not eligible). Thank you.

Arpoador

I seem to be able to book a sleep cabin through the website prior to check-in. The dummy reservation above is for a booking 2 weeks out.

dkeng

I am entirely unsurprised that the statement I got from the agent is not in total alignment with reality.

squirk

Thanks for posting. Did you reserve using your ticket number or your FB number?

Arpoador

Logged inn using FB account.



When reserving the only option is ticket number.

I checked with multiple bookings and it is working for all of them.

squirk

Thanks. I can only guess that the system is not seeing that I am SkyTeam Elite Plus, and that's why it says I am not eligible for lounge access.

The CSR I spoke to weeks ago said she was going to "fix that," but given how much she struggled with familiarizing herself with my issues, my hopes were not high. I'll bet you can guess how that went.

robs810

Hi squirk. I was just wondering if you ever resolved this issue. I have the exact same situation. Were you ever able to find a way to reserve the sleep cabin prior to arrival and check-in at the lounge?

ohitsascythe

We travelled mid-December. We booked business class tickets and paid cash so you would think we would be the easiest case in terms of eligibility. Nevertheless, we couldn't book the cabins - neither before or after check-in. We tried quite a few times - on the website, app, etc. We arrived at the lounge around 7am on a Thursday, and there was no problem getting two cabins. I told the agent about the problems - she was politely interested but ultimately offered no information, and I was at that stage far more interested in the bed than the booking process! It seemed like availability was not a problem - maybe it never is?

One thing I would say though is that a shower is included in the price; when we checked in she said we could book that later but when we woke up there was a prohibitive wait (c. 1.5 hrs) so we didn't bother. I wish we had. The cabins were great though - dark, quiet and comfortable. There was a sink, soap, and drinking water in there.

robs810

Thanks for the data point. Our flight is scheduled to arrive at 8:15 am on a Sunday. I'm not sure how long it will take to deplane and walk to the lounge but I expect we should be there between 8:30 and 9:00 am as long as our flight is on time. One good thing for us is that we only really need one sleep cabin. As long as my wife can get the rest she needs, I'm fine with just hanging out in the lounge. The layover is just about 7 hours. There is still about 2 months before our flight so I'll probably keep investigating to see if there is anything I can do to pre-book.

Arpoador

I used one of the sleep cabins last month without having pre-booked it online. I arrived at the lounge at around 7-7:30am and enquired about the sleep cabins. The agent told me he had 18 out of 20 left and that it usually only gets busy some time after 10-11am.