It had been over fifteen years since I last flew with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, from Curacao to The Netherlands and then onto Zurich, and if my memory serves correctly, the longest leg of the flight was okay, nothing fantastic about its Economy Class, but it was reasonably comfortable. However, the second leg from The Netherlands to Zurich, I clearly remembered it being on a smaller aircraft, not very comfortable, but again, it was okay considering how brief the journey was.
It had been a while, over which time my travels around the world was aided by SWISS, Condor, Easyjet, Aer Lingus, Edelweiss, Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways and some others.
After having a half-satisfied experience on Qatar Airways, from Zurich via Doha to Cape Town (meaning the outbound flight experience was good and the return was terrible), I decided to use another airline on my next trip to Cape Town from Zurich.
And that’s what I did. As options, there were some familiar names, including SWISS, Qatar and KLM.
Considering that my last experience with KLM was recalled as generally good, I opted for them in September of 2023, which had the expected route plan of Zurich-Amsterdam-Cape Town. I was not expecting much from the first leg of the flight and to that satisfaction, it was a smaller aircraft, a snack, not worthy to talk about, and a quick flight; let’s not omit the fact that it was smooth, the captain was informative and the stewardesses were fairly pleasant.
So, what we are truly discussing here is the longer legs of the flights, which were both on 777-300ers, much bigger planes.
Gone are the days of just First Class and Economy Class; some genius has found a way to hustle more money from the pockets of travellers by jolting their ‘I-am-better-than-you’ egos.
Some in the financial sector may label it as genius, but if you know the mindsets of people then it is just a simple trick; split First Class into two halves, call one half First Class and the other half Business Class, and while we are at it, let’s do the same to Economy Class, call one half Economy Comfort and the other half, Basic Economy.
By the way, this has become an industry norm and is being mentioned to highlight my biggest discomfort throughout both journeys aboard KLM Royal Dutch Airlines 777-300, which was the lack of leg-room. No need for me to say in which class I flew; it is transparent.
My observation led me to believe that the accommodating of Economy Comfort Class has forced a squeeze on those who will fly Basic Economy; after all, Economy Comfort must possess a perk above its lower class. This squeeze will negatively affect any adult person regardless of height and statue.
Secondly, the foods served were the worse that I ever had on a flight.
I am a seasoned Economy Class flyer and airline foods, in Economy Class, are generally nothing to write home about, but every now and again, airlines surprise their Economy passengers with great menu choices and delicious meals, so my expectation of KLM’s meal was going to be basic or above basic, but to my disappointment, all meals served aboard were below the general standards. In emphasis and for transparency, it was the first time that I had ever flown and did not consume more than 50% of each servings.
Other than those facts, the aircraft was clean, almost pristine, the pilot was very informative, the steward and stewardesses were fairly pleasant and the flight was smooth…. Oh, there was one other “first experience” that I had aboard the flight from Amsterdam to Cape Town; the pilot had to announce the closure and inaccessibility of all toilets, I had never seen that before.
Still, the flight had a reasonable amount of entertainment, free Wi-Fi too, but don’t get too excited, it is very limited; to do more, you must ….that’s right, you must pay.
So, in conclusion, the question is, “Would I fly with KLM again?”
The answer would be “Yes, but not in Economy Class!”
The psychologic arm of the squeeze worked, because the discomfort of the ‘hood’ aka Economy Class has forced me to consider flying only in suburbia aka Economy Comfort, which I believe will eventually force me up the ladder of the hills aka Business and First Classes because of the food options; well, Business Class, I doubt that I’ll ever afford First Class.
© Ian T. Sebàs 2023
Bleeding Pen 