I needed a one-way ticket back to Singapore from Bali. I came upon this amazing rate on KLM which is even cheaper than the budget! So why not? My family flew back on Scoot earlier in the day and their tickets were more expensive than mine! KLM offers great value on this 5th freedom route! This is one of KLM’s 5th freedom routes and it can always provide great value. The timing on the outbound isn’t that good since you get into Bali in the evening but the return flight is perfect! Furthermore after booking. I realised that I actually hold Skyteam Gold Status which will give me a free checked bag and lounge access. I got this from Hilton a while back. That makes the deal even sweeter for just 67 SGD. This is a no brainer fro a full fledged airline over a budget. While I don’t usually do reviews on economy class, I decided to give this a go since I got really nice pictures of the cabins including the premium cabins. 

Checking In

I got to the airport at around 6pm or so. I didn’t want to get in too early as Bali airport is pretty boring. My Delta Status accorded me Sky Priority and I can use the business class counters. I have also checked in online earlier and surprisingly, I can even choose the Economy Comfort seats for free. It is chargeable for my partner. KLM also offers a pretty well-priced upgrade cost if you are keen. We got quoted 1,800,000 IDR for business class and 1,150,000 for Premium Economy. This can be a very affordable way to try out KLM business class. I got rather tempted but decided to just stick with my Economy Comfort seats for this short flight. Lounge access is also provided with a choice between the Garuda Lounge and the Tujuwan Lounge.  

Boarding

I was one of the first to board which allowed me to get a really good picture of the cabin. Boarding was delayed due to the late arrival of the aircraft. With Sky Priority, I can board together with business class passengers. I managed to get nice pictures of the cabin including the Business Class and Premium Economy. Weirdly, they didn’t just hand out the headphones upon boarding or just do it the SQ way. I guess it is a measure to cut costs and only provide them upon request. 

Boarding was neat with not much service on the ground. There isn’t any welcome drink or hot towel service. I did witness a very distasteful interaction by the purser on the couple in front of me where she called them out for being on the plus side and trying to wing an empty middle seat. She also spent the next few minutes questioning if they switched seats and took offence to the issue of them changing seats with the passenger who was originally assigned the middle seat. This is even though no one complained about it. Both passengers were fine with the swap.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Economy Comfort Class

KLM uses a 777-300 aircraft on this flight. This aircraft comes with business class, Premium Economy and economy class. I am not sure if the Economy Comfort counts as a separate class. KLM is the only airline offering a Premium Economy cabin on the SIN – DPS route. You can check out the seat map of the plane here. It is also nice that KLM is using their planes with the newest business class product on this route. They look amazing. It comes with 35 Business Class, 26 Premium Economy and 322 Economy Class. 56 of them are Economy Comfort seats. Economy class is in a 3-4-3 configuration.

The extra legroom seats are in rows 30 and 50. These are the best seats on this flight in economy class. Depending on your status, you can also choose certain seats for free at the point of booking. I managed to choose normal seats at the time of booking. After online check-in opens, can choose exit rows and even Economy Comfort seats. This is a slight upgrade with a wider legroom. They are still in a 3-4-3 configuration. The legroom is generous and it will be great even for the longer SIN-AMS leg. Here are some pictures of the seats. 

The KLM inflight entertainment system is pretty decent. Comes with a good number of movies. You can also sort by the language option. It comes with touchscreen controls and they are pretty intuitive by itself. The main issue is actually the headphones. Despite requesting it from the staff, I only got it about an hour into the flight. 

Wi-Fi is also available onboard the flight. You can find various wifi options and packages over here. They also offer a free messaging plan that works with certain apps including What’s App. While I appreciate this, free Wi-Fi is already a norm these days, especially on full fledged airlines. 

The seat recline was quite generous and I am really pleased with what I got in terms of the hardware. I wish that they could have provided a pillow on the seat. I am not sure if blankets are provided. 

Business Class Cabins

Premium Economy Cabins

Meal Service

The meals were served roughly about 45 minutes after take off. There is no menu and options. They provide a vegetarian curry biryani. It was really bad and I left it almost untouched. Furthermore, I always have a stomach issue after this. I am unsure but this happened the previous time as well.

Drinks are also offered with a choice of water, tea, coffee, soft drinks, juices, beers and wines. Of course, Heineken is served, this is after all a Dutch airline. The budget is low for this flight meals, It won’t be difficult to have some proteins. I will be annoyed if I pay anything more than this. Service was cold and the crew just went through the motions. Call bells took quite some time to be answered. One of them even blatantly just walked past me after noticing my call bell. 

Conclusion

I certainly got my value for this flight. You really can’t complain much about this price. The hardware was good but the service can be further improved. If I would to rate this with budget airlines, they are definitely a lot better. For a fully fledged airline, they will rank pretty low on my list. The crew interaction with the passenger seated in front of me was distasteful. I do am looking forward to try their business class products one day.