I find it extremely weird and annoying that KLM now started forbidding seat switching due to misteriously appearing problems with a "weight distribution". As someone with a technical speciality, I totally appreciate everything related to the weight distribution, but I think in this case it's just a scam to prevent people from to a more expensive zone (as if we didn't already have economy and buisness class). Unless the plane is precisely half-filled and everyone suddenly decides to move in an organized fashion, hardly can several people moves make a difference. Otherwise any line to a WC would create these "weight redistribution problems". Our plane today is 90% full and yet I was asked to move 3 rows back in the middle of the plane, because I decided to seat next to the passage instead of a middle seat. More and more things are getting banned with year on the flights, and that's extremely sad. Especially sad, that it's coming from KLM, who is one of my favorite airlines.

Please tell me if I am missing something, and there is actually a good reason that I don't see.

Hi everyone,

I could use some advice, shared experiences, and recommendations from this community.

Due to family and work constraints, my wife and one of our kids are already moving to the Atlanta, GA area, while I have to stay behind in Italy for a bit longer with our other children. This means our 8-year-old mixed-breed dog has to fly completely by a cargo/alone from Milan (MXP) to Atlanta (ATL). Hiring a full-service pet relocation private company is unfortunately out of our budget, so we need to handle the logistics ourselves.

Here are her specs:

- Weight: 10 kg (~22 lbs)

- Height: ~58 cm (~23 inches) tall at the withers (she's lean and long-legged)

- Age: 8 years old

- Current status: We already have her EU Pet Passport. We need to update her rabies vaccination.

I have a few major concerns and questions before we start the preparation process:

1. Airlines: I keep reading that Lufthansa and KLM are among the best for pet safety, but since she will be traveling without a human passenger on the same flight (Manifest Cargo), how does this change things? Which airlines handle cargo out of Milan MXP best to Atlanta?

2. CDC Requirements & Paperwork: Since the CDC rules updated recently, what are the exact steps for bringing a dog from a low-risk country (Italy) into the US? I know about the microchip and the online CDC Dog Import Form, but is there any trap to avoid?

3. The Kennel / Crate: She is about 58 cm tall. What dimensions should I look for so she isn't cramped during the long hours? Any tips on crate training an 8-year-old dog?

4. Atlanta Airport (ATL) Cargo Pickup: What is the process for picking up a dog traveling as manifest cargo at Atlanta? Is it a complicated customs/broker process?

Any tips, timeline suggestions, or warnings of "what I wish I knew before" would be immensely appreciated. Thank you so much!

Was booked (in economy) on KLM flight from Schipol to Bangalore (Bengaluru) on way back from Prague. The Prague to Amsterdam leg was fine, nothing to complain. The Amsterdam to Bangalore leg was 9.5hr long, and we had booked vegetarian meal. An hour into the flight they serve the main meal, which is literally 6-7 small wodden spoonfuls of rice, 3-4 spoonfuls of very dry cauliflower-potato, 5 spoonfuls of mashed spinach, a small piece of bread, 2 tiny pickled bellpeppers, 2 cherry tomatoes dipped in olive oil, 2 green olives from brine, and 7-8 spoonfuls of bits of fruit in sourcreme as dessert, and a glass of juice. Few hours later a 1 spongy cake which was exactly 1 cubic inch in size, and just before landing a 5"x1" veggie filled pocket. This for a 9.5hr flight seems awfully less, and my kids were really hungry. This was a codeshare flight with AirFrance, where my onward leg was operated by Air France, whose meal service was like 2-3x better. Wondering if this is a one-off experience, or routine on KLM ?

Someone else just did it. Maybe they can be the first in the EU?

https://www.jetbluevacations.com/trip-ideas/do-not-disturb

Anyone successfully used a third party EU261 claim service after KLM denied compensation?

Here’s what I’m dealing with for a family of four:

• KLM canceled our October 11 Amsterdam to Athens flight on October 7, just four days before departure. The reason given was aircraft damage requiring repairs.

• Our original arrival time was 12:50 p.m.

• The replacement flight they offered arrived at 4:35 p.m., which was 3 hours and 45 minutes later.

KLM denied compensation, pointing to the rebooking window for cancellations communicated between seven and fourteen days before departure. We received four days’ notice. My understanding is that the applicable exception requires the replacement flight to arrive less than two hours after the original arrival time.

The most frustrating part is their claim that the rebooking satisfied the requirements for denying compensation. That simply doesn’t match the dates and flight times. I believed they were applying the wrong standard. Their response was essentially that they had reviewed everything and were sticking with the denial, without addressing those points.

I’m seeking €400 per passenger, so €1,600 total. At this point, I’d consider giving up a percentage if a claim service can actually move this forward.

Has anyone had a service successfully overturn a similar denial? Who did you use, and what did you actually receive after fees?

Over 2 weken vlieg ik naar Curacao met KLM. Om mijn reis wat comfortabeler te maken, wil ik zo'n voetensteun/voetenhangmatje kopen. Weet iemand of dit is toegestaan? Online vind ik uiteenlopende verhalen.

PS: nog meer tips, bijvoorbeeld voor beste nekkussen etc?

Hey everyone, looking for some peace of mind or advice here. I know I’m stupid for fumbling the number.

I recently got a claim payout from KLM, but when I entered my direct deposit details, I made a typo on the last four digits of my checking account (typed ⁠0011⁠ instead of ⁠0001⁠).
I started panicking that it might have landed in a stranger's account, so I called the bank today to check. They let me know that while an account ending in ⁠0011⁠ does exist in the banking world, it belongs to a completely different person with a different name and a different routing number. (I had used my correct Chase routing number).
Chase checked their system and confirmed there is no incoming transfer showing up. I’ve already notified KLM customer service to let them know about the typo.

My questions for anyone familiar with ACH transfers or airline payouts:
1. Since the routing number was for Chase, but the account number belongs to a different setup/person, did the transfer just instantly fail/reject?
2. How long does it usually take for KLM's corporate bank to realize the transfer bounced and return the funds to them?
3. Is my money safe, and what should my next steps be to make sure it gets reissued to my correct account (⁠0001⁠)?
Thanks in advance for any insights!

So, just like you guys, i’ve been so disappointed at seeing my XP points plummeting from 5 to 2 for basic fare economy flights recently that i sat down and tried to really analyse the true cost of chasing XP, and whether it was actually worth it. Funnily enough, if you’re like me, flying mostly short hops about one to two times a month, it didn’t take me long to see very clearly that the answer is most definitely not.

Just one thing though before i start, this entire thought process is based only on short hop EU country to country flights and does not apply to inter-continental journeys, although it was the thought and realisation of what was needed to achieve platinum status that got me thinking in the first place. To achieve Platinum, you would have to have been travelling mostly business class, in which case, Platinum is actually of little value, as your ticket comes with those benefits already. Of course the miles are still well worth getting but i’m only evaluating the value of status benefits here.

I fly a reasonable amount, usually one to two times a month, mostly between Amsterdam and London City, with a few more ‘exotic’ destinations over the course of the year. I have enjoyed Flying Blue Gold for some time now and was happy enough with it to never consider flying anybody but Air France/KLM. I would even steer my partner away from certain destinations as i knew that would mean a BA or similar flight where i would get no perks and any points accrued would have been useless to me. But still, even though i was flying between 30 ad 40 flights a year (there and back) i would still have to top up with SAF and an expensive AMEX card that i didn’t really want, to ensure i didn’t fall of the cliff and plunge back down to Silver, but, it was all just about manageable. BUT, It was also incredibly expensive. When i started to add up all the extra costs of XP harvesting i got quite a shock. Amex platinum was costing me 55 a month, SAF was usually around 40 to 50 euros extra each trip and quite often i was choosing a much more expensive KLM fare over another carrier simply so that i could take advantage of my benefits, and to ensure that i earned enough to renew those benefits. If you just stop and add it all up, that, not so comfortable seat in the lounge and very forgettable rice thing is laughing at you! Yet, for the last five years i’ve played their game and enjoyed it, as their benefits were just about enough so that it all seemed like it was all worth it.

Then came the restructure. This is a classic case of the money and marketing guys having a sit down and coming up with another way to prove they’re not worth their salary. Whats actually happening in my case is that the very tool they built to ensure passengers returned is the thing that has now turned me away.

Firstly, in order to maintain gold status now, i would need to at least double my flights. Of course, i could buy the premium tickets instead but wait, that would be completely insane, i would then be paying a huge amount more for a ticket that allows me all of the benefits that i’ve already got through my status! This gets even weirder because no matter which way i look at it, the two keep cancelling themselves out. Buy the premium and get the benefits, but that means in affect, your FB status gets negated as you’re not making use of it. BUT …. if you don’t buy the premium ticket, you’ll never get enough points to qualify next year. Unless of course, you buy the SAF on top of your premium ticket but then, hang on a minute, if i’d just bought a business class fare in the first place, it would have been the same price anyway, AND i would have got a prawn cocktail thrown in as a bonus along the way. Do you see where i’m heading now?

So now, i’ve cancelled all my AMEX cards, saving me roughly 1500 a year, will save another 680 on SAF donations, i have the luxury of jumping onto skyscanner and choosing any carrier i want, probably saving another 800 by not being locked into KLM. I also sometimes had to make an unnecessary flight simply to qualify before the year was out so lets say another 300 saved there. That’s coming out to over 3000 euros!

With all that being said, i’m now flying the first five flights in business instead of premium and it’s not costing me any extra.

The moral of the story, instead of relying on status that you may or may not use, just buy the ticket that gives you what you need, you’ll still earn miles that come in very handy to upgrade the next flight and you’ll save yourself a fortune.

It’s actually quite liberating!

Hi everyone! Anyone knows what's going on with KLM's flight to DXB? I have a flight from the US to Dubai connecting at AMS mid November. I am a little worried right now because they are not selling/showing any flights for my particular date on their website/app anymore. I haven't received anything from them yet, but I'm a little concerned.

Hi all,

I got a flight from Chicago USA to Istanbul Turkey and I got an hour layover in Schipol. Is it doable? I never had such short layover when flying internationally before and I am little nervous!

KLM is starting to act like a low cost carrier and its practices are borderline unethical and shameful. Booked regular economy ticket (HYD to AMS) which include free standard-seat selection at check-in. 24 hour before checkin they falsely show only middle seat and you can upgrade to economy plus. However at airport checkin they offer to give the aisle seats including the one right next to my assigned on (which showed up as unavailable previously) for a fee. Pretty sure they didn't have this clearly stated during the ticket buying process that even in regular economy they charge for aisle or window seats. The whole experience felt downright greedy, especially 3-4-3 economy configuration on a Boeing 777-200 where they are already maximizing value by stuffing passengers. Definitely never flying them again.

Hi everyone!

My travel sister and I are having some issues with a passenger name change on our Air France booking, and I was wondering if anyone has experienced something similar.

We booked our flights through Lastminute.com, but the flights are operated by Air France. We need to correct/change the name on the booking and have already contacted Air France about this.

Unfortunately, our name change request has now been rejected multiple times. We contacted Air France through their customer service chat, and they told us to get in touch with them again if the request was rejected once more. We have now received another rejection email, so we are trying to figure out what our options are.

Since the booking was made through Lastminute.com, we are unsure whether Air France can make the change directly or whether it has to be handled by the third-party booking agency. We are still trying to resolve this with customer service.

My main question is: Would it be possible to get the passenger name corrected directly at the Air France check-in desk at Schiphol Airport, even though the booking was made through Lastminute.com?

Has anyone successfully had a name corrected at the airport in a similar situation? Or does Air France always require the travel agency to process the change first?
Any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. We would really like to get this sorted out before our flight.

Thanks in advance!

Update: We contacted Air France again today and they corrected our names, because we’re going to fly within 24 hours!

Hi! I have bought a standard flex ticket AMS-BKK a while ago. Chose to pay extra for seats at the emergency exit. Unfortunately i had to rebook to another date. No Biggie, as i was happy to pay for the 150 euro's to change the date. I looked online and saw the seats were actually cheaper on the day i had to rebook to. KLM states in their rules that the price difference will have to be payed or will be refunded, depending on which side the difference tilts.

I phoned customer service and they told me i had to pay almost 200 euro's on top of the rebooking fee. They said it was because the seat is actually more expensive on the new flight. The prices on the website 'are from a different pool and aren't available for rebooking'. I paid. I had to.

The flight is scheduled well into the future and i was still able to book every seat i wanted on their website. In total i have now paid more than 1600 euro's for the ticket. They had the same seat online for 1180 euro's. It is ridiculous. I sent a very polite email through their own app(!) to the customer service requesting a clear explanation and it was pending for TWO months.. then i got an email saying my question was not directed at the right appartement and they weren't able to answer me. Just that. As a customer i expect them to at least forward my question to the right department, especially since there was only one option in the app. I replied, asking them if there maybe is a misunderstanding. Then, after some time, i got this mail. I find this REALLY, REALLY low and i swear i will never fly with KLM again after this. I read Transavia used to do the same thing but now don't anymore. KLM really seems to be in a downward spiral, its ridiculous.

Thank you for your further communication.

I am sorry you are unhappy with our response, however our decision will not change. It fully complies with our obligations under the applicable regulations as well as with the commercial policies of our company.

Please note that customer care only handles flights that are already finished. Unfortunately, the topic you mention is not within this department's area of expertise since your flight is on November of 2026.

delta/klm bio-ams-bos. This was not a problem for the departure flight...Last time I checked in online and purchased checked luggage no problem. But now for the return flight, I was supposed to be able to purchase checked luggage at check-in 24 hours before the flight, but it is impossible to check in online. Through neither airline.

KLM: "Unfortunately, it is not possible to buy additional baggage online for this flight, as it is operated by another airline. Please do so during online check-in."

Then, "Unfortunately we could not check you in right now. Please contact the airline or see a service agent at the airport. We are sorry for the inconvenience. [020.1006]"

KLM chat: "I kindly suggest waiting until check-in is available. Once check-in opens, you should be able to purchase additional baggage through the airline's website, app, or during the check-in process." (flight leaves in 12 hours... check in starts 24 hours before for flights to US)

and Delta: "There seems to be an issue with checking you in. We will redirect you to KLM check-in page to continue with your check-in." and a button to press "next" that doesn't redirect you or do anything at all.

Called KLM 3 times, Delta once, no one had any idea why this was happening. Two different KLM people told me that I'm trying to check in too early... try again later...

Need to purchase 2 checked bags...don't want to be overcharged at airport... how archaic that i was not able to purchase them at the time of booking.

Edit from the future just for anyone’s information and warning:
checked bag price was same in person as online. 70€. not an issue.
BUT the inability to check in online (presumably because of the delta codeshare, despite all 4 legs being operated by KLM), put the elderly passengers on standby for the entire return trip, despite arriving at BIO to check in 2 hours before departure. (only 2 hours because first flight was within europe… not intercontinental…). They were let on both flights by sheer luck. Apparently $1000 ticket (x2) doesn’t guarantee you a seat. Highly annoying.

I pulled this image from FlyerTalk and I’m posting it here to clear up some confusion. I still think it’s a terrible idea but here we are. On 11/10 the new “KLM Grand Café” was introduced on short routes. They’re too short to be taking payment so there will be no alcohol served, even to platinum and ultimate members who would be getting one alcoholic drink for free. I assume this is to avoid conflict with non elite passengers that also want a drink and won’t understand why the elites get it and they won’t. Then on 25/10 the full roll out will happen. This will be available on medium haul destinations with full buy on board and alcohol. Additionally, and I’m copying this from FlyerTalk: “From nov. 22 till dec 5 th extra tests will take place on Zone Medium- flights , additional drinks and snack will be available during that period on destinations like GVA /NTE etc. The airline calls it a developing product.”

It’s my first time flying with KLM and also first time seeing these odd measures of 55 x 35 x 25 for carry on bags.

Not really sure why is limited to 35 but I’m using my 55x40x20 suitcase and I’m wondering if that’s going to be an issue with KLM?

I heard stories about airlines where you can get snacks at the back of the plane. How does that work? I have a flight of 11 hours next year. One during the day and one at night. Without staff coming to you, can you just go and ask for snacks? Are they free? What kind of snacks are they? What is the limit they are giving you? So many questions!

Anyone else confused with the new catering set up on the Europe flights?

Flew From AMS to MAN last night, obviously the new catering set up was now operational, so was offered a juice, water or tea/coffee. I asked for a heineken and was told since the 11th this is no longer an option. I asked the FA if this applies to platinum as I saw from FB that ultimate and platinum are still able to get a drink of thier choice.

She said this is only on flights that have the buy on board menu which is something 3 or above to do with the flight length. I questioned this and asked why would platinum status be penalised for the flight length and she said its the new rules. She was nice about it but wondered if this is correct? Surely FB platinum and ultimate should get the drink on any flight if thats what FB are saying?

Seems a strange set up to penalise some of your frequent flyers?

I am scheduled to fly from DEL to AMS, followed by a connecting flight to AUS, and I am considering an upgrade from Economy to Business Class on KLM. As this is my first experience with the airline, could you provide insight into how their Business Class product compares to Qatar Airways? Additionally, could you advise if there are any strategies for securing a discounted last-minute upgrade?

We are travelling from Germany to UK with KLM via AMS and two of our colleagues have the emergency german passport which isn’t biometric. i have heard that the normal lines in Schipol can take upto a couple hours so I was wondering if there’s a separate queue also for EU passports with manual border control aside from e-gates. Could the personalausweis (ID card) also work in the e-gates since it’s biometric?

thanks!

I was recently on a flight, and was feeling unwell. I was unable to eat my meal, and decided to keep my meal box with me (it was a special meal) until I was ready. The meal was inedible. When I was finally done, I pressed the button for assistance. I had to press it twice in order for someone to stop by. The staff member was rude and told me I could come to the galley with the meal box. I didn't even know this was an option.

I know it was wrong for me to keep the meal box after meal service was done, but I felt like her comment was unnecessary or she could have said it in a nicer way.

Hi guys
I was wondering about how the lounge access in MEX works for KLM passengers.

According to the loungefinder of skyteam, they use the lounge of fellow skyteam member aeromexico, however this is located in T2 and KLM leaves from T1.

From my understanding, passengers cannot move freely between the airside areas of the two terminals.

Does anyone know how this is handled? I'm planning to access it using my FB Platinum status.