Announcement

**Carfield** · 28 August 2011, 09:15 AM

Dining Area

Familiar sofa seating area with sky/clouds pictures

Beverage self-service stations

Cold fridges with soft drinks, beers and salad dressings

Liquors station

Starbucks Coffee Machine

Tazo Tea Station

Vegetables dips

Cheese

**Carfield** · 28 August 2011, 09:17 AM

Sandwiches

Assorted Potato chips

Assorted Snacks – savory snacks, sweets and chocolate bars

Warmed food – Pasta

Soup Station – Chicken Tortilla soup – nice and spicy

Corridor with newspapers

Dutch newspapers

Second seating area

**Carfield** · 28 August 2011, 09:20 AM

Business Station

A plastered war

My lunch � turkey sandwich and Chicken tortilla soup � delicious

Flight Information:
The inbound flight from Amsterdam arrived around 4:10pm and I caught its arrival into Houston IAH. HB-JJA looked like a hard-working bird and had possibly glazed this airport many times.
Gate D10 � its temporary home at IAH for the day

A beautiful bird � caught the Privatair sign operated for KLM sign

Parked

Tail shot

I left the lounge around 7:20pm to do some plane spotting and shot this BA 777 shot.
G-YMMO looks beautiful this late afternoon � getting ready for its return to LHR at 8:30pm.

For the outbound flight, boarding began at 7:34pm, as the loading was very light and a little less than half full. There were no gate lice and the pursuer was personally escorting the first passenger down the jetway. It was definitely atypical KLM and service was more personable with this Private Jet service.

Another shot of the plane at boarding � parked next to BA 777 G-YMMO second daily LHR flight

Two well-groomed F/As immediately greeted passengers on boarding and assisted with hanging coats and carryon. A third F/A came around the cabin with glasses of water, orange juice and champagne. Everyone was settling within minutes and there were the obligatory newspapers and magazines rounds. Amenity kits were also passed out. There were a total of four F/As � two men including the purser and a galley F/A in the aft, and the two young women F/As worked most of the service. They were all professional groomed and well trained. They spoke perfect English and had experiences working with a more exclusive group of passengers. The service was more personable and warmer than your typical World Business Class experience. It definitely displays a private jet aura. With a light load, door was closed at 7:45pm. Flying time was announced at 9 hours and five minutes. We pushed back early at 7:48pm, and taxied towards R/W9. Very short taxi time with near zero traffic at IAH, we took off at 7:57pm, thirteen minutes ahead of schedule.

Routing:
The pilot made a detailed announcement before takeoff and due to the night flight, he would keep his announcements to a minimal due prior to descent into Amsterdam. The Skyshow decided to go out of order, and the only source I had was www.flightaware.com. The routing took us at 36,000feet initially, until we crossed Memphis, which we climbed to 37,000feet for the rest of the flight. We flew past Louisville, Cincinnati, Columbus, Ontario, Canada, and then towards Dublin and Manchester. It was a smooth flight most of the way, except the first few hours. However as typical with most European airlines, the seat belt sign was not turned on at all.

Cabin and seat comfort:
This BBJ1 has 44 seats and eleven rows of four abreast seating. The cabin was fitted with the extended overhead bins and was cleaned. My original seat 8A was changed to 8C due to a broken seat situation. I did not change row since I could just sit in the window during takeoff and landing. I have a feeling that recline function might have gone wrong and they are not going to fix it till its arrival in Amsterdam. Row 10 and 11AC can be blocked as crew rest, and I presume on light flight, that will happen, just like this particular flight. There are two economy style seats behind 11AC, so those are possibly rest seats for the crew if the flight went out 100% full. Three bathrooms � normal size � one in front and two in back, and you can find the usual array of KLM amenities like various lotions and sprays. Best seat in the house � Row 1 because it has extra legroom and closed to entrance. However, due to the sliding nature of the seats, Row 1 may not be too good in full recline position. I don�t know how to explain it but you will understand why I am cautious after seeing the seats in recline position. Row 6 is the exit row, but no additional legroom and all cabin baggage, pillows and blankets have to go to overhead bins during takeoff and landing, so it might not be my preferred row as well.

Okay the seats are sliding lie flat types and obviously first generation. It is very uncomfortable in full recline position, and the lumbar support is on the hard side � that is obviously a personal preference. There is a personal lamp in addition to the overhead light. All the buttons for recline and tray table are on the sides. There is adjustable headrest as well, but the you can only extend the legrest by pulling the lever in the bottom cushion. I actually miss the usual seat illustration card. Legrest operates in an interesting manner and the photos will illustrate them. My English is just not good enough for explaining the mechanisms. There are also plenty of pockets for gadgets in the back of each seat except row 1. Individual universal power outlets are available at each seat and they work very well, as I recharge my cell phone during the flight. However I could barely catch an hour of nap on this flight because it was just so difficult to sleep, as the seats are very narrow and closed to the floor in sleeping positions. The seat is definitely disappointing, and I hope in the future, they can figure out a full flat and solo access seats if they win any new all-business-class service from major airlines.

**Carfield** · 28 August 2011, 09:21 AM

Cabin shot – from Row 9 to back

Looking forward

Best seat in the house – 1A and C

8D and F before the passenger arrived

Closeup of seat
Magazine pockets and storages for small item – note the shining stainless steel legs

Buttons for recline and tray table ejection

Seats in recline position

Seats in full recline position

**Carfield** · 28 August 2011, 09:23 AM

Legrest and seat lever in leg cushion

Funny illustration of the legrest – note the lever and the legrest was in different positions

Amenities
Same as KLM World Business class
Amenity kit
A full-sized pillow and blanket are placed at each seat prior to departure

Catering:
KLM has introduced the Marcel Wander’s tableware, glassware and china, and of course Privatair features the same service as your typical WBC service. The catering is the same and the purser passed out the menu to each passenger after takeoff and also did his first greeting and we were addressed by our last names. I still have mixed feelings about some of these KLM enhancements. I still don’t like the plastic salad bowl, also used to carry various side dishes. They look alright but it was just un-premium when you are use it in business class meals. The small paper boxes used to carry butter, salt & pepper shaker, and peppermint candies are okay, but not sure whey they need it.

Red boxes used on the main meal

Blue boxes on the second meal

The plastic salt and pepper shakers are cheap no matter from what perspective. Its light weight is possibly the thing KLM likes the most, but I just feel that it cheapens a premium product. However, the new eating utensils are nice, and the new product came from interesting accessories that assisted the crew in serving the meals, especially hot entrees. I really like the new snap tray used to hand out the casserole dishes, and the new tea cover, which doubles as a holder for tea bags and keeping the tea warm. The new stirrer is also nice and I actually bought a set on a previous flight. Breakfast cards are available on this flight and I like this service as well. It speeded up the breakfast service and despite the smaller casserole sizes for main courses on second meals, it is nice to get all kinds of appetizers and side dishes. Breads featured are mini cinnamon rolls, croissants, and French rolls. They also introduced a new fruit cup service that the F/A served along with the usual juices service. It is interesting that no smoothie or yogurt drinks were offered on outstations – a bit more selection from Amsterdam in terms of breakfast beverages.

Snap on the casserole dishes

The new tea cover/dispenser

The new stirrer

The service sequence was the usual – the F/As first passed out the Dig E players, which I did not use and could not report on the contents but I had enough Dig E experiences on my Alaska Airlines years, so I really don’t need them. Linen was passed out to cover the tables, followed with the first beverage service with mixed nuts.

After a second round of beverage, hot towels were passed out, followed by the appetizer service. No carts are used on this dinner service, and trays were passed out from the galley. Feta cheese and croutons are added individually to the salad by the F/A – another enhancement. Bread basket featuring wheat raisin rolls and focaccia rolls were passed out next, as well as the reappearance of the beverage trolley. Entr�e trolleys followed, after the appetizer plates and salad bowls are collected. Of course another round of the beverage trolleys quickly followed. Then the typical cheese, fruit or dessert service, and with a light load, you can have a bit more. Another thing I don’t like about KLM service, a proper premium service offers cheese, fruit, AND desserts. Only airlines like United will offer a cheese or dessert service. Tea and coffee service was next, followed by bottled water and pralines service. The purser also collected the breakfast cards at this time. Lights were turned off, and there was a snack station in the back featuring the usual chocolate digestive cookies, Mars chocolate bars, crackers and leftover pralines, along with bottled waters and soft drinks. Breakfast service commenced about two hours prior to landing, and it was interesting that the F/As just walked along the cabin and raising the window blinds to half positions. If you want to sleep through breakfast, you really need to use your eyeshades. It commenced with another round of juices and fruit cups service, and then the hot towel, and then fresh linen to cover your table. Carts are used this time and trays are passed out with all the requested items pre-arranged in the trays. A beverage trolley followed the meal tray delivery, and the beverage trolley appeared a second time. There were lots of beverage runs during meal services, and with a better F/A to passenger ratio, the beverage refills are frequent during meals and all individual requests are filled. The F/As are also less rush than your typical KLM wide-bodied flights.

Wines – I am no expert on this subject and KLM decides to serve all Italian wines this month, and the selection was pretty poor. The Chardonnay I had was disastrous and it was an embarrassment for the crews to serve these poor wines. The only positive light was the Billecart-Salmon Brut champagne, which I will stick with on the return flight. The F/As have no issues refilling your wines and no glasses are recollected without the comment, if you want something else. It is always a nice gauge if you want to see if your crews are top notch or not.

Here is the menu and wine list:
Menu
Dinner

**Carfield** · 28 August 2011, 09:25 AM

Appetizer
Lobster tail and claw
Offered with wasabi mayonnaise

Main Courses
Please choose one of the following:

Pan-fried Salmon
Served over angel hair pasta and mixed vegetables

Or
Seared ancho chicken breast
With tomato pepper sauce, grilled yellow squash, courgette and rice with vegetables
Or
Traditional Hutspot
A Dutch specialty featuring mashed potatoes, carrots and onions served with braised beef

Dessert
We invite you to select your choice of lemon almond tart, uptown cheesecake, a cheese plate or fresh fruit
Your choice of freshly brewed coffee or tea served with Belgian chocolates

Pathetic lemon almond tart

For your Comfort
Bottles of mineral water will be distributed after your meal.

Refreshments
At any time during the flight an assortment of refreshments is available upon your request.

Breakfast a la carte
Please fill out breakfast choices on your “breakfast card”.

**Carfield** · 28 August 2011, 09:27 AM

Tomato and feta Omelette (savory)
Enhanced by Parmesan roasted potatoes and turkey sausage
Or
Cinnamon Swirl French Toast amandine (sweet)

Yogurt – Plain or Fruit Flavored

Cereals – Cornflakes or Granola

Preserves – Strawberry Jam or Apricot Jam or Honey
Cold Plate – Cheese or Smoked Salmon

Hot Breakfast Dish – Savory or Sweet

To complement your breakfast, we offer you a variety of hot rolls, assorted juices, freshly brewed coffee, decaffeinated coffee, tea or champagne!

Wine list
Champagne
Billecart-Salmon Brut

White Wines
Antinori, Campogrande Tenuta Santa Cristina 2010, Orvieto Classico, Italy
Antinori, Chardonnay Tormaresca 2010, Puglia, Italy

Red Wines
Antinori, Primitivo Torcicoda Tormaresca 2008, Salento, Italy
Il Bruciato, Tenuta Guado al Tasso 2008, Bolgheri, Italy

Dessert Wines
Prunotto, Moscato d’Asti 2010, Piemonte, Italy

Port
Taylor’s 2003, Late Bottled Vintage Port
Croft Pink Port, Portugal

Flight attendants:
The Privatair F/As are definitely more personable than your typical KLM crews, and they are obviously used to a more demanding set of passengers, and know what premium service is all about. They are very professionally groomed and are very experienced in doing this Houston to Amsterdam service. They are knowledgeable about the clientele and will also make small talks when you initiate them. It is the right mix of being personable and warmth. They also work a bit harder and during meal services, they basically run up and down the aisles for countless times, and every request is answered with a “yes of course.” Between meals, they kept the movement to a minimal for obvious reasons, as the seats really slide closed to the floor. If you need anything, you are requested to use the call buttons, and another thing I appreciate is that they work very quietly in the galleys, especially the cleaning up and breakfast preparation time.

The purser made an effort to address each passenger a few times in passing menus, taking individual orders, and of course the final service – passing out those KLM houses.

Morning over Atlantic Ocean

Landing:
Descent began at 11:30am Amsterdam local time, and it was a nice day here in Amsterdam.
Winglet shot

Windmills in the ocean

We landed on R/W18R at 11:57am, and as typical with Amsterdam, it was a long taxi, but got a nice close gate at D5, and we disembarked at 12:08pm, forty-three minutes prior to our arrival time. Just a few plane-spotting notes – I caught CX 744 B-HUE resting in the tarmac, as well as Malaysian’s Boeing 747-400 9M-MPO and China Airlines’ 50th anniversary Boeing 747-400 B-18208 getting ready for their afternoon return to Asia.

Amsterdam Airport shots:
Privatair at D5

Tail and winglet shot

A couple shots from the observation deck on the Schegen area
Delta Boeing 767-300ER along with lots of KLM MD-11s

**Carfield** · 28 August 2011, 09:29 AM

August 25, 2011
KL 663 AMS-IAH Lv1435 Arr1820 Boeing 737-700BBJ HB-JJA

Amsterdam Airport
Schiphol Airport is a pretty large airport and is well maintained and in some sense, it is like a giant shopping mall with airline functions including. Not many pictures, since many of you have traveled in and out of AMS and are pros. However, I finally had the time to visit the observation deck and was not disappointed. The observation deck spread across all the major piers and of course KLM blue planes are all over the place, with many Delta planes in between. It was noon and peak hours for transatlantic flights. I have also noticed a huge amount of MD-11s and KLM was one the last major passenger operator of these tri-jets. I also spotted Martinair’s 50th anniversary retro livery Boeing 767-300ER, and had the chance to see Privatair’s HB-JJA towing to gate D3. There was no service on Wednesdays, so the plane got a day of rest in AMS.

View of the deck

F Pier with the strange finger jetways

KLM Airbus A330-200 PH-AOA – doing to Dammam and Doha

China Airlines B-18202 heading to BKK and TPE

KLM Pier E

KLM MD-11 PH-KCE “Audrey Hepburn” pushing back – KL 677 to Calgary

**Carfield** · 28 August 2011, 09:30 AM

Another KLM MD-11 – noted that the maintenance guys were out on the wing – not a common sight
KLM MD-11 PH-KCB heading to Vancouver

Martinair Boeing 767-300ER 50th Anniversary PH-MCT

Delta Boeing 767-300ER arriving – N185DN arriving from Seattle

Three Boeing 767-300ERs Winglets side by side

Transavia Boeing 737-800 Winglet – on my “to fly” list in 2012

**Carfield** · 28 August 2011, 09:32 AM

HB-JJA towing to gate

HB-JJA at D3

KLM Crown Lounge in Amsterdam
No pictures, as I have posted quite a number of pictures inside the lounge in previous KLM reports. The lounge was busy, but not packed. I sat towards the back with some rooms to stretch. Found a Chinese paper to read, and I enjoyed a bowl of vegetable consomm� mixed with beef consomm� – my own mix. Food was the usual – soup stations – beef consomm� and vegetable soup (interchanged with tomato), beef patties with beetroot slaw (ran out), cold cuts, sliced cheese, olives, mixed rolls, fresh fruits, small cakes, and assorted snacks with self service alcoholic and non-alcoholic station.

Flight Information

HB-JJA at Gate D3

**Carfield** · 28 August 2011, 09:34 AM

Getting catered

Gate D3

The return flight was very light in loading, and I checked it daily, and there were less than five and six assigned seats, and today�s loading ended up with thirteen, and the security at the gate told me that there were only four paid passengers. Good for me and not good for KLM! Everyone was at the gate by 2:10pm, and boarding began at 2:20pm with the usual Privatair�s purser leading the first passenger down the plane. I had the honor this morning, as I wanted to catch a picture of the cabin. I was not disappointed.

Cabin view � whole plane � very nice configuration

Couple more shots of the cabin and seats

Pre-takeoff champagne service � new Marcel Wander�s glass

The purser welcomed everyone to spread around with only 13 passengers. I stayed put with row 8, as I wanted more privacy and no one would get weird out with my obsessive photo taking, and when I opened the blind, I would not disturb anyone. Amenity kits were passed out, as well as newspapers and magazines, along with a tray of orange juice, champagne, and water. Door was closed at 2:27pm and we pushed back at 2:30pm. We had a very short taxi today to R/W24.

We took off at 2:41pm, and our flying time was ten hours and thirty minutes � pretty strong head wind all the way. The Airshow was not fixed during its day off at Amsterdam, so I presumed it would not be fixed since the service would be over soon. The pilot gave a brief talk prior to takeoff and the routing basically took us over Scotland, South of Greenland, Newfoundland, Toronto, and then straight to Houston. The ride was a bit choppy across the Ocean, and the seat belt sign came on twice, which was a bit unusual for European airlines.

There were four flight attendants serving the flight � three women � one in galley and two busy in the aisle, with a male purser taking orders and doing the greeting. They all spoke French to each other, so I presumed they were all Swiss based. However the purser spoke Dutch too so I presumed English and French are mandatory and Dutch speaking pursuers are preferable on all KLM flights. No wonder all these pursers are familiar with the KLM service and procedures. The F/As were slightly more senior on this flight, but were very efficient with the meal service. The service was obviously personable with such a small load. The service is pretty good compared to your usual KLM experience. However the crew coming over to Amsterdam was more attentive and friendly. They were more personable and wiling to chat than this set of crews, which were friendly and efficient, but lack that personable touch.

**Carfield** · 28 August 2011, 09:35 AM

Beverage with mixed nuts

Over Scotland

Same wine list – pathetic Italian wines and I stuck with Billecart Salmon Brut champagne during lunch. No problem, and here is the menu:

Food & Wines
Jonnie Boer X Marcel Wanders

Main Service
Appetizer
Smoked Salmon
Accompanied by smoked potatoes and cream of horseradish, served with an orange lime dressing

**Carfield** · 28 August 2011, 09:37 AM

Main Courses
Please choose one of the following:
Pan-fried fillet of Halibut
Presented on a salsa of garden peas, offered with mussels, broad beans and mussel gravy

Or
Slow-cooked fillet of chicken
Served with Thai-style green curry sauce, pearl pasta, parsnip mash, spicy pak-choi and cucumber brunoise
Or
Braised Veal
With horseradish sauce, cumin potatoes, spinach, carrots, and pearl onions

Dessert
We invite you to select your choice of yogurt rhubarb dessert, citrus tart with coffee filling, a cheese plate with Bresse Bleu and Reypenaer cheese and seasonal fruit (strawberries today)

Highlander Whiskey

Peppermint tea with tea cover/dispenser

Lunch was actually very good, and I like the appetizer and the halibut dish much. The appetizer is very creative and the salmon is fresh, and I like the use of the salmon roe. The dressing is a bit on the strong side, but goes well with the salmon in general. The salad is very boring – just some crumbled cheese and green leaves, with a lemon olive oil dressing in that stupid red box with a cheap salt and pepper shaker, and butter. Not sure why KLM needs a box, and maybe a nice cover-up of the cheap plastic things and packaged sides they used now in business class. The halibut entr�e is very nice and I like the green salsa, but the portion is very small. Dessert is a bit strange – the citrus tart with coffee filling, but the F/As welcomed me to try everything. I have noticed that there was no chocolate service on the return flight. Another enhancement by KLM!

There was a snack bar setup in the back with drinks and snack, including TUC crackers, MARS chocolate bars, mini MENTOS, and Time-Out chocolate digestive cookies. I took a picture of all the selection here. They were all presented nicely in a box. Around 9:30pm Amsterdam time, the F/As came out with baskets of freshly warmed snacks, and I chose the sausage roll and waffle. The waffle was always good.

For your comfort
Bottles of mineral water will be distributed after your meal.

**Carfield** · 28 August 2011, 09:38 AM

Refreshments
At any time during the flight, an assortment of refreshments is available upon your request.

Sky Break
During the flight, crew will serve a choice of a veal sausage roll, a waffle, cheese, crudit�s and Ben & jerry’s ice cream

Around 4:40pm local time, the second meal service began and the hot towels reappeared with linen to place on the table. The meals were served from a cart, and the F/A recommended fish, and with a description of the chicken as sweet and sour, I immediately went with the fish. I hate sweet and sour sauce. The fish ended up pretty nice and were the only edible thing in the tray, along with the prawn crackers, which were crispy today. The dessert was just nasty, and the appetizer was too coconut-y for me. I just ate the prawns.

Light meal
Shortly before arrival, we will be serving an Indonesian light meal.

Appetizer
Indonesian-style sweet potato salad
With lemongrass marinated prawns

Hot dish
Please choose one of the following:
Ikan mangut
Panga fish with a creamy coconut sauce accompanied by aromatic rice and sweet and sour vegetables served with shrimp crackers

Or
Chicken besengek
Mildly-seasoned chicken offered with white rice and sweet and sour vegetables served with shrimp crackers

Announcement

Ten hours on a 737 across the Atlantic - Privatair Trip Report

Ten hours on a 737 across the Atlantic - Privatair Trip Report

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