The last time I flew was January 2020, right before the pandemic was in full swing. Since then I've waited like everyone else for things to return to some kind of normalcy. Unfortunately so far that hasn't really happened, and by October of this year I got tired of waiting for this pandemic to be over so I could travel with more ease. With that I decided I was going to travel to somewhere in Europe sometime in November or December. While I preferred Oslo they still aren't letting in any American travelers, even people like me who are fully vaccinated. I also looked at Copenhagen since I'm an avid biker. However, one late October day I was looking at fares to Amsterdam in December and was surprised how cheap it was on KLM. I believe the total airfare roundtrip was around $850 including the cost of checking one bag. Whether that's actually cheap or not I don't know to be honest, but the other times I looked at airfares the price was at least $1,200 roundtrip. Another bonus was that the cheap fares were offered on days right after Thanksgiving and right before Christmas, so I could still be with family for the holidays. I booked it plus a hostel in central Amsterdam. While it was concerning seeing the rising cases of COVID in the Netherlands plus the new Omicron variant, I wasn't going to cancel the trip. I'm fully vaccinated, plus I received a booster a week before leaving on my trip. With all my documents that I needed plus packed up (I actually ended up packing too many clothes, but I guess better than under-packing), I was ready to go.

Here's the video of my flights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP-fFvW3VOY

When checking in online I decided to purchase an exit row seat on the MSP-JFK flight. However, I kept getting an error message and that the payment didn't go through. After a few tries I gave up, but on my credit card statement I noticed I was charged for it despite not getting an exit row seat. I tried getting in contact with Delta but they never got back to me. I don't know if there's anything I can do at this point, which is disappointing.

November 30th
MSP-JFK
Endeavor Air/Delta Connection
Flight 5203
CRJ-900

I arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. In fact after check-in and security there was still 2 hours before boarding would begin. I spent most of the time walking around the entirety of Terminal 1 and checking out the observation deck at Concourse D.

Air Force One was scheduled to arrive at MSP just 45 minutes after my flight was scheduled to depart, which was slightly concerning since I didn't have much time connecting to my AMS flight at JFK. To make matters worse our flight was delayed for around half an hour due to computer issues. Taxiing from the gate to the runway was also long and took around 10 minutes. I was waiting for our plane to abruptly stop and the pilot tell us we would have to wait on Air Force One, but we continued to the runway and took off. I'm pretty sure we were one of the last flights before a ground stop was put in place.

This was my first time on a CRJ, and I wasn't surprised by how cramped it was for me considering I'm 6 feet and 4 inches tall. It didn't help that our flight was fully booked. It wasn't the worst experience, but I prefer not taking a CRJ unless it's a short 1-2 hour hop. Although the snack and drink offerings were small, they were free, and I had a cup of water and two small cookies which were a good snack. Upon arrival at JFK I was pleased to see that my connecting KLM flight was in the same concourse and only a 5-minute walk away. That gave me just enough time to buy dinner before boarding began.

November 30th-December 1st
JFK-AMS
KLM
Flight 642
Boeing 787-10
Registration PH-BKC (named "Vlijtig Liesje")

Unlike the CRJ this flight had a little more room for my tall legs. The flight was mostly full, and I believe we took off pretty much on schedule. The IFE was nice and simple to use, and I especially like that the screen can be dimmed. Dinner was served, and I believe I had beef and potatoes. About an hour after departing JFK I took two Benadryl so I could at least try to fall asleep. If I did sleep it was only for 1-2 hours, while the rest of the time I could only rest my eyes but remained awake. Thick clouds covered Amsterdam and there was heavy rain upon our morning arrival. Customs was smooth and it didn't take long for me to hop on a train to Amsterdam Centraal Station, and then a quick ferry hop to the hostel I was staying at.

In addition to Amsterdam, which I explored extensively by foot, bike, bus, tram, and train, I also took a few day trips: one to a village near Stuttgart to visit a friend, one to Paris, one to Dubai (which I posted about recently in a separate trip report) and one to Ghent to visit another friend. Although the weather was cloudy, rainy, and windy several days, I still enjoyed my time in Amsterdam and I am very glad I took this trip. While the COVID rules were confusing at times, I managed and of course wore a mask often plus got tested occasionally. Despite this trip being nearly 3 weeks it flew by and felt like only a single week.

I'm really glad I arrived 3 hours before my flight because it took an hour just to check-in at AMS. By the time I got to my gate boarding would begin in half an hour.

December 19th
AMS-ORD
KLM
Flight 611
Airbus A330-300
Registration PH-AKB (named "Piazza Navona - Roma")

This flight was originally scheduled with a 787-9. Three years ago (September 30th 2018 to be exact) I took this same flight, which was my first time on a 747 (I forget the registration but it was 747-400M named "City of Jakarta"). I purchased an Economy Comfort seat for $100, which I'm glad I did for the extra legroom and getting on/off the plane quicker. However, I was seated near a child that screamed and cried for around 2 hours during the flight. It was so bad that the elderly woman seated next to me seemed stressed, talked with a FA and received some kind of medication, and moved to a different section of the plane (looked like she went to Business Class). The IFE was good, though some passengers were having technical issues with theirs and a couple times the FAs rebooted the IFEs to try to solve this problem, but it didn't work. Also several passengers including myself didn't realize the IFE isn't a touch screen like on the 787 and instead you use a controller in the armrest. My IFE worked during the beginning and towards the end of the flight, but it too was having technical issues so I purchased Wifi for 16 Euros that I could use for the whole flight. The Wifi was somewhat slow, but it kept me entertained.

Connecting from my KL flight to my DL flight was relatively easy and didn't take as long as I was worried it would. The airport train worked fine and customs was smooth. Security was hectic though, and it's always a pain having to figure out what stuff I need to remove from my bag. I had a lot of time before my flight was scheduled to leave, and upon clearing security I noticed a DL flight to MSP was boarding. I figured it wouldn't be possible for me to get on that flight, but I asked anyways and the flight was full. With that I walked around the terminal, had a small dinner and dessert, and kept myself awake. The plane taking me to MSP hadn't even landed yet, and when it did it was right when we were scheduled to depart. However, the delay was only just over half an hour.

December 19th
ORD-MSP
Delta
Flight 2103
Airbus A319

This flight was fully booked, and they needed people to check-in their carry-on baggage. As we were boarding the gate agent had a short temper with two passengers and ordered them to move to the side to let other people through or she would call the police. Not sure how that conflict started, but I assume it was resolved.

The interior of this aircraft looked like it was updated recently, and I was surprised that even Economy Class seats have IFE. Although I was very tired at this point and leaned my head on the wall, I kept myself awake by playing Solitaire. The FAs swiftly handed out small drinks and cookies, and right after finishing we began our descent to MSP. The flightpath took us right over my neighborhood, so it was nice to see many familiar spots from the air.

After arriving I took a quick walk to the G concourse to see a KL 787 parked at the gate that would leave for AMS in an hour. In case you're wondering why I didn't take the non-stop MSP-AMS-MSP flights, it's because the cheap airfare wasn't offered for those flights. After taking a quick photo of the KL 787 which made me miss Amsterdam even more I headed to the baggage claim, got my bag within 5 minutes, and headed to Terminal 2 via the light rail where my mom picked me up. Terminal 1 is always hectic and a pain picking people up at, while Terminal 2 is typically peaceful and it's a lot simpler picking up someone there.

That concludes this trip report. Hopefully sooner rather than later I'll be flying again, and I hope when that time comes the pandemic will have at least a little less impact on society.

I tried getting in contact with Delta but they never got back to me. I don't know if there's anything I can do at this point, which is disappointing.

You can use the official complaint form on their homepage, or much better, post something on their social network (like facebook)! Airlines tend to act fast, if something negative is posted on their account... Good luck!