Review: KLM Business Class (A330-300)

A brief international trip in August took me throughout Norway with a few nights in Amsterdam, so it only made sense to take advantage of the one direct flight we have from Edmonton to Europe on KLM. 

If you’ve listened to Miles Ahead at all, I always preach the value that this route offers to those of us in Alberta, as positioning flights are almost always a necessity if you are a miles and points enthusiast in Edmonton. To put it simply, it blows my mind that I can take one flight from my home airport and be at a major hub in Europe. We just don’t have it that great in Alberta, although it continues to improve, particularly from the Calgary International Airport.

This was my first experience with KLM’s World Business Class, and I’ll definitely be trying to patronize this route as much as possible in the future for any Europe travel. Let’s get into the details.

Booking KLM Business Class on the Airbus A330-300

Business Class	Aircraft	Route	Flight Duration
KL 676	Airbus A330-300	Edmonton (YEG) to Amsterdam (AMS)	8 Hours 30 Minutes

I booked KLM business class at a cost of 60,000 Flying Blue Miles plus $404 CAD in taxes and fees per person.

Taxes and fees on Flying Blue redemptions are higher compared to other loyalty programs, and unfortunately, since I made this booking, they have increased even more. Plus, we’ve seen some recent changes to the Flying Blue award chart, where a standard redemption like this now starts at 75,000 Flying Blue Miles per person.

Still, Flying Blue offers good value, and I wouldn’t hesitate to make another redemption like this in the future should I be able to find availability. Canadians who want to participate in the Flying Blue program will need to earn Membership Rewards points, as they transfer to Flying Blue at a rate of 1:1. 

There is no shortage of cards that will help you grow your Flying Blue balance, but I’m partial to the American Express Platinum Card as it offers a high welcome bonus of 100,000 Membership Rewards points and many travel benefits and credits as you would expect from a premium credit card.

Cabin Arrangement

KLM World Business Class on the Airbus A330-300 offers 30 seats, arranged in an older 2-2-2 style.

With it being an older layout, regardless of your travel party size, I would recommend choosing the middle seats, seat D or G. For this flight, we chose seats 3D and 3G.

At least for me, it’s much preferred to have direct aisle access, and if you are traveling solo, the last thing you want is to be stuck in a window seat in this configuration where you need to climb over your sleeping seatmate to use the bathroom.

Seat

Since it is a 2-2-2 arrangement, all seats are nearly identical. There is a small privacy divider that solo travelers will appreciate, but it doesn’t block conversation should you be traveling with a seatmate. I will note that the seats and cabin are still very wide open with very limited privacy, which is a downside.

The seat itself is relatively unremarkable compared to other business class seats on the market, but still comfortable. The armrest can be lowered for additional space.

Entertainment consoles are located directly in front of the seat. You’ll notice that there is not a lot of storage space with this business class seat, which can become quite annoying.

The footwell is quite narrow with only a bit of storage space underneath. I was able to squeeze my messenger bag, but it was a tight fit.

There is a small center console, which is where the tray table is stored. There are a couple of power outlets on the front of the center console, hidden from view.

Once you pop it out of the center console, the tray table fully extends. While there is no ability to make the tray table smaller, as it is one single piece, it is very sturdy.

The seat controls are located on the side of the center console and were responsive. I always prefer physical buttons to touchscreen controls when it comes to seat controls.

The entertainment console remote is located directly below the privacy divider, with a few additional plugs for the headphones and a USB-A port.

Finally, there is a small storage space slightly behind the seat. You’ll find a personal reading light, plus the entertainment console headphones and a bottle of water here.

Bed

The seat in KLM business class on the A330-300 goes fully lie-flat to turn into a bed. A blanket and pillow, both of decent quality, are provided to all business class passengers.

The bed itself was relatively comfortable, albeit slightly too narrow for me when lying on my back. The footwell, while on the smaller side, was manageable, and I was able to get a few hours of rest. I do believe the footwell is bigger in the bulkhead row, but we were unable to select these seats when we booked.

Amenity Kit

KLM’s amenity kit for business class passengers is currently done in partnership with Envisions and is a simple fabric bag containing the essentials you would expect.

The contents of the amenity kit included a toothbrush, toothpaste tabs, socks, an eye mask, a pen, earplugs, and a few lotions.

Dining

After we boarded and got settled, a flight attendant came around to offer a welcome beverage of beer, juice, water, champagne, or their Royal Blue Legend mocktail.

I chose a glass of champagne, and my wife chose the Royal Blue Legend drink, consisting of lemon, ginger, and spirulina. I have to say, I absolutely love the glassware on KLM.

Both menus were already waiting at our seats as we boarded. The food and beverage menu for this flight was as follows:

There was also a separate wine menu:

Once we were up in the air, service started with a carafe of warm mixed nuts and a beverage of our choice. I chose ‘The Very High Fashioned ’, which is a bottled pre-mixed cocktail made of Dutch Genever, Bols Curaçao, and Angostura bitters. 

I’m a big fan of Old Fashioneds in general, so this twist on the traditional cocktail was a big hit and I had a few of these throughout the flight.

Dinner

After the initial snack of mixed nuts and a beverage, dinner service commenced. Starting out, I chose the cauliflower curry soup as an appetizer, which was paired with a bread roll and watermelon mozzarella salad. The soup was the standout winner on this tray.

For our main courses, I chose the ‘Tasting of Delicacies’ consisting of short rib, baked potatoes topped with cheese, roasted apples with cinnamon, and spiced carrots, while my wife chose the cheese tortellini with bechamel sauce. 

I felt like this course was middle of the road at best, with the short rib and roasted apples being the most memorable.

For dessert, I ordered the lime and coconut tart, which was definitely not what I received, so I chalked it up to a menu discrepancy versus what they loaded for catering.  What was served was still good, and I paired it with a glass of limoncello. 

My wife enjoyed the cheese plate, and we were also offered a milk, white, or dark chocolate Dutch house.

While meal service did wrap up around 2.5 hours after takeoff, which felt long on a flight where I was hoping to get a fair amount of sleep, I will say that the quality of service was excellent. All flight attendants we interacted with were warm yet efficient, and I appreciated them staying on top of drink refills with each new course that came out.

Breakfast

Around two hours before landing, the cabin lights were turned on, and breakfast service began. Still quite full from the previous meal, I opted only for a coffee.

Breakfast consisted of chia pudding, cheese potato soufflé, and croissants. A cold plate of smoked salmon, gouda cheese, sliced turkey ham, and a boiled egg was also included.

After breakfast service was completed, the lead flight attendant came around with the signature KLM Delft Blue miniature ceramic Dutch houses filled with Genever. 

My wife has been eager to start a collection for quite some time, so we selected the two houses of our choice to start, and we look forward to flying KLM several more times in the next year to add even more. There is even a mobile app available to keep track of which houses you have so far, in addition to learning more about the history of each house design.

Entertainment

Entertainment Console

The entertainment console screens are average-sized, with a good-quality image, and are fixed in place.

Headphones are provided, but I can’t speak to the quality as I did not use them during my flight.

I did flip through the selection of movies and television shows, and there was a good mix of modern releases with older favorites. While I’m more of a “turn on the flight map and leave it on for the entire flight” kind of traveler, you could absolutely keep yourself entertained with the selections available for the duration of the flight.

The flight map was modern and responsive.

WiFi

In-flight wifi was available on this aircraft, and KLM offers a free “Message Pass” that can be used for sending and receiving messages, which is an appreciated way to stay in touch while in flight. 

They also offer paid internet access, starting at 12 euros for one hour or 29 euros for the entire flight. Passengers can also redeem Flying Blue miles for in-flight internet, but the pricing is absurd.

I only used the free ‘Message Pass’ during this flight, and it worked really well once connected.

Conclusion

This was my first time on KLM business class, and for a European carrier, I was pleased with the entire experience. While it was an older aircraft, the seat was comfortable enough, and I was able to get some rest. 

What stood out the most was the service, which was interesting, as that was Kirin’s standout comment as well when he flew KLM business class on the Boeing 787-10. If I can find availability for a reasonable price on this route the next time I am heading to Europe, I would absolutely book this again.