Hello,

This is my first post on this forum.

Background:
Including the flight described below, I have flown KLM on 3 long-haul sectors (all Tourist class). General impressions of the airline: reliable operations, polite service though neither especially personal nor highly efficient, good connections and smooth transfers, economical fares. Seat comfort is, however, poor with the older seats. They are in the process of re-fitting their long-haul fleet with new seats, so I was thrilled to see the new seats when I boarded this flight. See comments below.
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Date: April 21, 2001
Flight: KL806 KUL 10.50 AMS 17.20
Flight time: 12.30 Class: Tourist class
Equipment: Boeing 747-406Combi PH-BFM

Check-in:
My travel companion and I arrived for check-in at around 9.15 and joined one of several lines for Tourist class check-in which, at the Kuala Lumpur airport, is handled by Malaysia Airlines ground agents. The process was relatively hassle-free and we received our pre-assigned seating 29B and C.

Boarding:
The boarding was uneventful. Approximately half the passengers had already boarded when we arrived at the approximately 30 minutes before the scheduled departure time. We passed a nearly empty cart of newspapers on the bridge just before entering the aircraft. It appeared that the passengers had kept within their respective carry-on allowances, so we had no problems stowing our carry-ons despite this being a full flight. The aircraft was pushed back on time as the welcome announcement was broadcast on the main screens throughout the Tourist cabin. I was fascinated to find out that the welcome video included footage from the cabin of the very same aircraft and that the purser on the screen was the very same purser we passed at the entrance. I concluded that they had an on-board / portable camera with which they had filmed the footage used in the welcome video clip. If this is a routine practice, it is certainly an interesting way of attempting to personalise the onboard service.

Seating comfort:
Tourist class seating was the standard 3-4-3 in B747s. They had installed the new seats on this plane. The new seats featured an adjustable headrest with foldable wings and additional lumbar support while the legroom was unchanged (seat pitch estimated to be a not-so-generous 31-32 inches with little room for recline). They are a substantial improvement over the old seats but I found the headrest too small (unlike the larger ones at e.g. QANTAS), benefiting only passengers 170 cm or taller. The seat back was not contoured and padded enough to offer effective lumbar support. KLM’s seating standards still fall short of the better ones in the industry and are probably the only major complaint I have about their inflight product.

Meals:
The main meals (two on this flight) were preceded by a hot disposable towel service for passengers to freshen up, which is a nice touch. A round of peanuts and drinks were served before the first meal, which consisted (from what I could see and taste) of a roast beef coleslaw side salad, a semi-warm bun, a choice between Chinese stir-fried beef in soy sauce with rice and vegetables or spaghetti with tomato sauce and vegetables, cream cake, fruit salad and coffee/tea. Both choices were palatable but neither terribly exciting nor satisfying. Personally I rather enjoy perusing a menu in anticipation of the meal and mainly to combat boredom but KLM does not provide any in Tourist class. Approximately halfway through the flight, a snack of either instant soup noodles or ice cream was served. I had become quite hungry by then, not having taken advantage of the small selection of chocolates and nuts available from the galley in between the meal services. Meanwhile, the cabin crew did a good job of going around every hour or so with trays of orange juice, apple juice, coke and water. The second main meal, served a couple of hours before landing comprised a smoked chicken coleslaw side salad, soy beef (similar to the stir-fried beef earlier) with tofu and noodles, a slice of fruit cake and a Snickers bar, semi-warm buns and coffee/tea. It was, again, rather pleasant but not inspiring.

Inflight entertainment:
Cabin monitors (No personal TV)
The Family Man, Charlie’s Angels, Pay It Forward, + documentary + sitcoms. 12 music channels (2 not functioning).

Cabin crew:
Generally polite and professional. Service slightly more efficient and friendlier than previously experienced.

Hope you enjoyed this trip report.