My opinion of KLM

Look for cheap wood cutlery more and more... it's one of nearly all airlines' sustainable initiatives. I can live with it.

Hopefully KLM is still handing out the porcelain houses in business class. Those are pretty cool!

Yes, I got given a little china house!
I didn’t realize until days later that they are full of what I assume to be Dutch gin!

I think you described pretty much the standard treatment for all flights. We have not seen a pillow or blanket (unless you ask for it) in years on any flight. Other than first or business class all the food is marginal. We tend to ignore those meals unless we are in business class. It is not that our expectations are low it is what we demand. When you want the lowest fare possible something has to give and it is not jet fuel. We have adjusted and plan accordingly.

Virgin always passes out blankets and pillows in premium economy on flights between London and NY. The food's not bad either-I love the afternoon tea.

We got skimpy “blankets” and pillows on all 4 of our United flights this summer but there wasn’t a set on each seat as we boarded. I discovered that they had huge stashes of them above the seats to the rear of the plane where we were sitting. It made finding overhead space for our carryons a little tricky but when they pulled out a few bags of the bulky pillows it freed up some space.

Food is always meh.

1/ Even economy on Turkish Air gives out pillows and the little kit with the slipper/socks and tooth brush, etc.
2/ I toss the insides out but the zipper pouches 3/ I have collected over the years now are part of my packing (meds in on First Aid in one, etc....).
3/ And the food is very good and for the main meal you get metal cutlery.

We just flew 11 hrs to Paris on Air France and 10 hrs back on Virgin.
Both airlines had pillows and blankets on every seat.
AF food was inedible.
Virgin food was meh.
They both served butter, salt, pepper.
AF had the balsa wood utensils (awful).
Virgin had plastic.

There was no Afternoon Tea on our 10 hr Virgin flight in Premium Delight.

We bring our own pillow and blanket (a two-in-one for travel) and an amazing neck pillow we discovered last year. We never use the pillows & blankets they provide, they’re so thin they’re useless and i have no faith that they're really clean. We put them in the overhead bin to get them out of our way and use our own.

Hi sj, sorry to learn that KLM’s food wasn’t up to par. I usually fly Delta (or KLM depending on the destination). The food on Delta is terrible. The last few years we’ve travelled Comfort Plus but that’s apparently not enough of an upgrade to get a decent meal. I can’t figure out why or how they decide to pair certain foods together. The result is always something weird and mostly inedible. A basic ham and cheese sandwich would suit me just fine.

Susan, what’s the brand of the amazing neck pillow?

I purchased a Blue Hills Premium Blanket , a Eyeshade and Neck Pillow(Nap Fun) on Amazon for my upcoming Amtrak trip in Coach and for my long flights to and from Phuket . $65 totally worth it. Plus I can wash my blanket and it comes in a case as does the pillow. You don't have to blow to inflate the pillow. It rolls up into its own case!

You may want to fly via Singapore Air JFK FRA or via Qatar Air or Emirates Air if they go via LHR or fly via Dubai or Singapore.

I flew KLM from Prague to Amsterdam as part of a longer journey on Delta. I was impressed with the leg room on my economy seat. The flight was too short for meals. I agree with whoever said that the food on Delta is terrible, it doesn't matter which class you fly, it is all terrible. Except they usually have Ben & Jerry's ice cream for dessert.

I also agree with Frank that the market determines what the extras will be on flights. I fly comfort plus on short flights and higher classes for longer flights. I am willing to pay for the higher services. Although it still doesn't get me decent food on Delta. I don't bother to eat the late night dinner on the way to Europe as I am trying to sleep instead and I have just had 2 weeks of terrific meals in Europe on the way home, so it doesn't bother me much. I have been buying some snacks at the airport for the flights back.

United still puts blankets and pillows out on Transatlantic flights (at least they did out of Dulles and Heathrow this fall). The food is still bad, but they do have butter, salt, and pepper, free beer and wine. They serve ice cream or sorbet for dessert which helps you forget the terrible meal.

Starting with the fact that pillows are no longer handed out!
They just don't have them on board to offer anymore.
There was a small blanket.

It's so funny that you mention this, as I have been thinking about this since my return to France on Friday.

On Delta, they still give you the packet of blanket and pillow. I was just thinking that I wish they wouldn’t. I don’t want to use them, and I end up just having to hold the stupid plastic bag on my lap or at my feet the whole damn flight. We spend so much time thinking about how to pack, what to have under the seat in front of us — and then I get saddled with this stupid extra thing.

Plus on this flight someone left THEIR pillow on my seat while I went to the restroom, so then I had to decide what to do with it for the rest of the flight.

I would be SO happy if I didn’t have to get a blanket and pillow !!

Look for cheap wood cutlery more and more... it's one of nearly all
airlines' sustainable initiatives. I can live with it.

I guess cutting down trees is a better idea than wasting precious water to wash.
Did those come in little single use plastic bags or wood and chemical produced paper?
The only sustainable solution is virtual tours from the comfort of your living room (of course the materials in the electronics in your computer come from some pretty destructive and inhumane mining operations).

They switched to wood to save money.

You’re on an airplane, the food was cooked a couple of days ago.

Have yet to fly out of an airport that didn’t offer at least one option that was better than the reheated day-old food. . Eat before you board or bring food with you. There’s no need to eat the garbage the airlines serve . You wouldn’t eat this if they served it to you at any restaurant in the world but on an airplane it is gourmet dining 😂😂😂

My last business class flight was on Air France earlier this year. The Frenchman across the aislr from me actually stood up and apologized to the entire business class cabin on behalf of France, because he could not believe a Frenchman actually produced food that bad. We were all just howling with laughter. The incredibly rude flight attendants were not impressed, but they had already shown us their true colors, so it was OK.

Air Canada seems to have lousy service also; there is no guarantee. The healthy approach to airline food service is simply to eat before or bring your own or to fast. I miss Norwegian Air as they encouraged this and that kept their airfare low. People just eat that crap airline food to pass time. No one that can afford a flight out of the country is that desperate.

Welcome to the new world of economy flying. If you want cheap tickets, this is what we are going to get. It will only get worse.

Regarding the wood utensils...rather than that being some cost saving or other measure by the airlines, it is a bit more widespread. You can expect throughout the EU (So KLM, Air France, Lufthansa...) in the air, and on the ground an effort to eliminate single use plastics and even other single use products...similar to the elimination of straws for the last several years.

Oh god I can't stand the airline food..I had brought cheese, crackers, and grapes with me for my evening snack on the plane -- it ended up being my dinner after I checked into my hotel after midnight.

The next day before boarding my rebooked, now afternoon flight, I ate lunch in the terminal and then bought a simple Boar's Head sandwich. I didn't have to eat dinner on the plane, and when they brought out the morning "breakfast," I was so happy to have my nice sandwich instead of the crap they were serving.

Carol I would have loved to have witnessed the Frenchman's declamation !!! That is awesome.

Now Kim: we need to know what is in a Boars’ Head sandwich !

"Now Kim: we need to know what is in a Boars’ Head sandwich"

SJ, not Kim, but Boars Head is a brand of deli meats/cheeses/etc and has deli counters in several US airports. There is at least one in Atlanta airport where Kim transited thru and I have also seen one in the SLC airport. Their products are also sold in grocery stores.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boar%27s_Head_Provision_Company

Carol! That must have been hilarious! I will say that the food on Delta One has been delicious the times I've bought up to that level. Regular food....bleech.

If anyone is transiting thru Seattle, Floret by Cafe Flora is excellent for some carry out food especially their coconut cake which is unbelievably awesome.

Pam, thanks for the Floret recommendation at SeaTac. We are familiar with Cafe Flora in Seattle’s Madison Park! Great food. We will definitely try Floret. Nice to have a Good alternative to take on the plane!

Carol, That story was hilarious.

If you haven’t read the ”best” complaint letter ever (about Virgin Atlantic airline food), you will get a good laugh from this:
https://dearcustomerrelations.com/best-ever-complaint-letters/virgin-atlantic-in-flight-food/

Laura, that complaint letter was brilliant!

That letter was hilarious!
I suggest we all hone our writing skills and start writing similar letters to airlines when our "food" served on board is unidentifiable.
I did write to KLM about my experience, but got the usual "We hope to see you fly with us again soon" response.
Not a hope.

The free airplane food definitely seems to be going downhill. I thought the food on Virgin Atlantic a few years back was okay. On Lufthansa last summer it was pretty bad--especially the "breakfast" before landing. I will say that when I have ordered kids meals for my kids, the food is marginally better and at least edible. I've flown Icelandair quite a few times, and either bring my own or buy something. I'd rather pay $10 for something I will actually eat, even if it's a less than exciting sandwich.

That's hilarious about the French person apologizing for the terrible food!

I've found when flying economy that ordering special vegetarian meals is the best policy. Most of my meals are actually tasty, I fly BA usually and in business I usually get whatever they serve since one is usually meatless. I don't expect meals to be tasty but if they are edible it's even better.

Japan has vending machines that sell airline food from JAL airlines. It's weird watching Youtube videos of people actually paying money to get them but apparently it's pretty popular. Can't see that catching on in the US.

Heather:
I too have ordered vegetarian meals for years on flights.
Mainly to get served first so that I can nip to the still-clean bathroom afterward, before the hordes get there to mess it up.
Usually, they are very tasty.
However, on this last KLM trip, I ordered Indian vegetarian as usual, because it's always been so tasty, colourful and spicy; but what I was served was a dish of beigey/grey slop with some chickpeas bobbing around in it.
On the return flight, it was the regular meal, and it was a chicken curry which was much tastier.