For the final leg of this amazing trip to see the Northern Lights, we needed to get back to Austin. For the third time in six months we were back on KLM’s 4x weekly nonstop on their Boeing 787-9 in Business Class. While it’s not the most exotic option, the convenience is hard to beat.
Booking
Three European airlines offer service to Austin. British Airways offers daily service between London-Heathrow and Austin using an Airbus A350-1000. KLM and Lufthansa operate 4x weekly flights from Amsterdam and Frankfurt respectively utilizing Boeing 787-9s.
With British Airways charging extremely high fuel surcharges on award tickets touching London and Lufthansa’s stingy award availability with partners, KLM was the obvious choice. We booked our one way flight in Business Class (ARN-AMS-AUS) for 50,000 Flying Blue miles and $158 in taxes and fees each.
Lounge
KLM Business Class passengers have access to two lounges at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. Passengers flying within the Schengen area have access to Crown Lounge 25 while Non-Schengen passengers, the vast majority of which are flying on long-haul international flights, have access to Crown Lounge 52.
Since we arrived from a Schengen country and were departing to a Non-Schengen country we could have accessed either lounge, though Crown Lounge 52 is the nicer of the two lounges. The lounge was also closer to our departure gate and on the airside of the transit checkpoint.
KLM Crown Lounge 52 is the airline’s flagship lounge at Schiphol Airport. The lounge is quite large at over 70,000 square feet and spans two levels. The entrance is easy to spot thanks to the hundreds of miniature delft houses lining the escalator up to check-in. My full review from a previous visit to the lounge can be found here.
Boarding
Our flight to Austin was scheduled to depart from Gate F6. This was only a couple minutes from the lounge which is located near where the F gates meet the main terminal. We arrived at the gate at 11:15a, an hour before our scheduled departure, and saw PH-BHI, a 8 year old 787-9 nicknamed Lavender, waiting at the gate.
Preboarding began as we arrived at the gate. This took a bit as there were a lot of wheelchair passengers on this flight. Boarding began at 11:20a, 55 minutes before our scheduled departure time with Group 1. This included Business Class and Sky Priority passengers.
After a quick scan of our boarding passes we headed down the jet bridge. I find the portal windows on the jet bridge a quirky touch which I’ve only seen in Amsterdam. Dual jet bridge boarding was being used, one for Business Class and the other for Premium Economy and Economy Class.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
KL 667
AMS-AUS (Amsterdam Schiphol – Austin-Bergstrom International)
Seat: 8F (Business)
B787-9 (PH-BHI)
Scheduled: 12:15p-3:45p
Actual: 12:08p-3:22p
Cabin and Seat
We boarded through door 1L and crossed through the forward galley before turning right towards our seats. We had a few passengers board ahead of us so some of the cabin photos are from a previous KLM 787-9 flight.
KLM’s 787-9 Business Class features 30 seats spread across 8 rows in a 1-2-1 configuration. The Business Class cabin takes up the entirety of the space between the first and second set of doors on this aircraft. In place of seats 1D and 1G, there is an extended platform where the crew placed snacks throughout the flight.
On our two prior KLM 787-9 Business Class flights, we sat in the center of the aircraft. While this is better if you want to be able to chat with your seatmate, we decided to choose the window seats for the views. I assigned us seats 7K and 8K, the last two seats on the right side of the aircraft.
Waiting at each seat was a full size pillow and a blanket. Having flown this product before, I knew there was plenty of space for these items in the footwell. At 6’2″ there was also plenty of legroom under the footwell.
To the right if the seat was a shelf that housed a storage compartment as well as the seat controls. The controls were simple and intuitive.
The storage compartment was large and had a mirror with a small tray attached to the door. Inside the compartment was a bottle of water and a set of headphones. The IFE remote was also attached to the outside of the compartment if you didn’t want to use the touchscreen.
The headphone connector was magnetic and attached underneath the IFE remote.
The IFE screen was located in the seatback and swung out at a 45 degree angle. The touchscreen was responsive and i mainly used this throughout the flight. I displayed the moving map on the remote. It’s a minor touch, but I really like how KLM displays images of the destination on the home screen.
The tray table was located on the underside of the shelf and popped out with a push of a button. It could be folded in half or opened fully and was adjustable. Unfortunately on this flight, along with some of my previous flights on KLM’s 787-9, the tray table didn’t want to stay in place and instead slid towards me throughout the flight.
Underneath the tray release was a storage pocket that held the safety card. There was enough space here form a tablet, magazine, or a small book. 110V and USB-A power outlets were also located here.
A reading light was built into the seat and could be activated by pushing the light open. Individual air nozzles were located in a panel overhead.
The amenity kit was distributed by the crew after we were seated. It came in a canvas pouch and contained a pen, socks, toothbrush, toothpaste, earplugs, eye mask, face moisturizer, and lip balm.
Menu
As boarding was wrapping up, the menu and wine list for the flight was distributed. The full menu and wine list read as follows:
Departure
As boarding was wrapping up, the flight attendants working the Business Class cabin came through with pre-departure beverages. Water, orange juice, champagne, and Heineken beer were offered.
We pushed back a few minutes ahead of schedule and taxied out towards the runway. During our taxi, the safety video was screened.
While Amsterdam is clearly KLM/Delta territory, there were a few unique visitors I spotted during our taxi. This included a World2Fly A350-900 that has been leased to Corendon Dutch Airlines.
I also spotted a JetBlue A321, a new visitor to Amsterdam, operating flights to/from New York-JFK and Boston.
We were assigned the Kaagbaan runway for departure which made for a quick taxi from the terminal. 10 minutes after pushing back we were airborne and climbing out of Amsterdam.
While the weather was gloomy on the ground, we broke through the clouds and were greeted with bright blue skies soon after departure.
Main Meal Service
As we climbed out of Amsterdam, I fired up the IFE and started watching Ford vs. Ferrari. Meal service began 35 minutes after take off with hot towels being distributed and orders taken.
The service flow was slow on this flight and it took twenty minutes before our drinks arrived. I had sparkling water and champagne. They were accompanied with a ramekin of warm nuts.
Appetizers were served 35 minutes after our drinks, though refills were offered. I had the homemade tomato soup which was very good.
The salt and pepper came in a fun little envelope which I thought was unique. Unfortunately, these seem to have replaced the little clog shakers that were present on my previous KLM flights.
Mrs. ATX ordered the other appetizer option, the smoked salmon rouleaux on a beetroot panna cotta, which she enjoyed.
Thirty minutes after our appetizers were served, our trays were cleared and the main course brought out. I had the Beef Jawa which looked terrible from a presentation standpoint but was actually very good.
Mrs. ATX decided to go with the “Tasting of Delicacies” which she said was decent, but not great.
Thirty minutes after our main course was served it was time for dessert. I’m not a huge fan of sweets so I had the cheese plate. The selection on this flight consisted of Blue, Beemster, and Goat cheeses.
Mrs. ATX on the other hand has a sweet tooth and ordered the traditional Dutch dessert which she really enjoyed. Miniature chocolate KLM houses were also handed out by the crew.
The meal service took two hours from start to finish. This was a daytime flight so sleep isn’t as important but it was still quite a long time for a 3 course meal. The tray decided to stick around even longer as the crew didn’t clear it for over 30 minutes after we finished.
In-Flight
After the meal service, I decided to try and get some work done. I paid €18 for a full flight pass but the connection wasn’t great. The Wi-Fi cut in and out throughout the flight.
I worked for a bit and then decided to visit the lavatory. There are two lavatories for Business Class passengers located at the front of the cabin. They were average size but I really appreciate KLM’s commitment to the theme as the wallpaper was covered in little Dutch houses.
A very fake, and very limp, tulip was in a small vase attached to the wall. Rituals branded toiletries, including lotion, body mist, and hair gel, were available.
After returning from the lavatory I fought with the Wi-Fi for a few more minutes before giving up over the North Atlantic. I put my seat into bed mode and slept solidly for roughly three hours. I woke up with roughly 3.5 hours remaining in the flight as we overflew northern Ontario.
I noticed that the cabin crew set up a snack basket on the shelf directly in front of seats 2D and 2F. Sandwiches, cookies, chips, ice cream, and bottled water were available.
There was also a box of miniature chocolate houses in dark, milk, and white chocolate varieties. These were addictive and I think I ate most of the white chocolate houses during the flight.
The crew did a good job of keeping the snack basket filled and I made a couple of trips for Mrs. ATX and I throughout the flight.
As we continued south towards Austin the landscape gave way from snow to green grass as we flew over Omaha, Nebraska.
Pre-Arrival Meal
Approximately two hours before arrival the cabin crew began the second meal service. Hot towels were once again distributed.
The pre-arrival meal was a kohoko salad with chili prawns and served with either Thai red curry vegetables or chicken Sudachi. A panna cotta was served for dessert and everything was brought on one tray. Mrs. ATX had the veggies while I had the chicken.
I ordered a Heineken to accompany my meal which the flight attendant working our section poured for me. In all my years on earth I have never seen a worse pour. Somehow she managed to pour me a glass of only foam.
Finally, to round out the meal, I ordered a cup of coffee which was served on a small tray with cream and sugar.
Arrival
With an hour remaining in the flight, the Captain announced that we were starting our descent into Austin. He also cautioned us that they expected a bumpy ride during our arrival.
As the crew prepared the cabin for arrival, they came around with KLM’s traditional miniature houses filled with Bols Dutch Genever. These are given as gifts to long haul business class passengers and there’s even an app you can use to track your collection. I chose house #37, the Stadsbank van Lening (Credit Bank).
We had mostly clear skies in the Austin area which gave us great views of the Tesla Gigafactory, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, and Circuit of the Americas during our descent.
We approached the airport from the north before turning around to land from the south on Runway 36R at 3:14p local time. We had a 7 minute taxi over to our arrival gate as we waited on traffic to clear the ramp.
We pulled into Gate 6 over 20 minutes ahead of schedule, next to a Lufthansa 787-9 bound for Frankfurt.
Once off the plane we had a short walk to Customs and Border Protection where we had to wait on bags before being welcomed back home.
Summary
KLM’s 787-9 Business Class us a familiar product to me after multiple trips over the last few months. While not a cutting edge business class product, their newer 787-10’s and refurbished 777’s have updated seats with doors, the convenience of one stop connections to/from Europe keeps us coming back.
Couple that with the fact that FlyingBlue has great award availability and Amsterdam Schiphol is easier to transit than Frankfurt or London Heathrow (The other two TATL destinations from Austin) makes this a winner in my book.
In This Trip Report
- Introduction
- Delta B737-800 Comfort+ (AUS-JFK)
- Delta Sky Club Terminal 4 Concourse A (JFK)
- Lufthansa Business Class Lounge Terminal 1 (JFK)
- Lufthansa Senator Lounge Terminal 1 (JFK)
- SWISS A330-300 Business Class (JFK-ZRH)
- SWISS A220-100 Business Class (ZRH-PRG)
- Andaz Prague
- Three Days in Prague
- Erste Premier Lounge Prague (PRG)
- KLM Cityhopper EMB-195 Economy (PRG-AMS)
- KLM Boeing 737-800 Economy (AMS-BGO)
- Widerøe EMB-190 Economy (BGO-TOS)
- Clarion Hotel The Edge Tromsø
- Exploring Tromsø and Chasing the Northern Lights
- Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) A320 Premium Economy (TOS-ARN)
- Sheraton Stockholm
- Exploring Stockholm
- KLM Boeing 737-800 Business Class (ARN-AMS)
- KLM B787-9 Business Class (AMS-AUS)
