Alitalia | Airbus A320 | FCO-LHR | Economy

Previous parts

KLM Cityhopper | Fokker F70 | LHR-AMS | Economy
KLM | Boeing 737-800 | AMS-FCO | Business


Airline: Alitalia
Aircraft: Airbus A320
Route: Rome - London Heathrow
Flight number: AZ204
Seat number: 29F
Cabin: Economy
Flight date: March 2016

Check In / Security

Upon arriving at Fiumicino, I was a little unsure of which terminal I needed to use. A quick check of the FID showed that Terminal 1 was where I needed to be.



I walked up to the Alitalia desk and was asked my destination. I replied London and was sent to another desk. I was checked in without any fuss, but then told that the flight would actually be departing from Terminal 3 - how confusing! As such, I had to clear security there. No big deal as it was right next door, but how hard can it be to send you to the right place to begin with?



Security was an absolute breeze. I used the fast track and was met by an official with a hand held scanner. I saw that the scanner came up with a red cross and said I wasn't eligible, however no mention of this was made and I was given the all clear to proceed anyway. Thumbs up for the use of common sense and not just using the “computer says no” approach. Upon reaching the x-ray, I was the only person there and I was processed in just a couple of minutes.

Lounge

Alitalia have a handful of lounges at FCO. The one I used was to the right as I exited security. There was a boarding pass check before heading up the stairs. Next door was the recently (as of March 2016) reopened British Airways lounge.



Into the lounge itself, and it was a little on the small side, spread out over two levels. There was a manned bar and a small buffet area which included pasta, pizza and other small snacks.





Whilst most occupants decided to stay on the ground level, I headed upstairs which was virtually deserted, and therefore quite peaceful.



Boarding / Onboard

When boarding came, it was over to the satellite. A few minutes before boarding was announced, the ground crew sorted the mass pile of gate lice into something a little moe organised. Most were sent to the general boarding line, where as a few remained in the Sky Priority lane. Although it made virtually no difference, as it was downstairs on to a bus anyway.



On board I was pleasantly surprised. I had expected to find a cabin that was a little long in the tooth, however this one appeared to have been recently refurbished.



Legroom was reasonably good and the seat reclined miles. An added bonus was that the load was very light on this Easter Sunday so I had plenty of room for myself.





Service

The service was a little strange. When dishing out the main snack (an aubergine roll, along with soft drinks) the crew member serving the rear of the cabin couldn't look more uninterested.



However, as previously mentioned, I was flying on Easter Sunday and Alitalia had an extra surprise up their sleeve. A pretty big tray of mini easter eggs were handed out and the same crew member couldn’t have looked happier. I grabbed a couple and they shook the tray and gave me a look as if to say “take more”, followed with another big grin. I obliged.



Arrival

As is normally the case at Heathrow, there was quite a bit of holding involved - pushing the flight time to around two hours thirty minutes.



Touchdown was made on to runway 27L, meaning a short taxi over to Terminal 4. There was a bit of a wait at border control as one of the many fail KLM shuttles had just arrived, but I still made it from Terminal 4, to Heathrow Central and over to Terminal 5 within 25 minutes.

Conclusions

Admittedly, I had some reservations when I booked this flight. However none of them were justified and I actually had a decent enough flight. Sure the cabin crew were a little surly but all the other staff I met at the airport were fine. The lounge could have been a little bigger, but I guess its taking the strain until the one in the satellite opens in May, which I should be trying out when I fly through Rome then.

Questions? Comments? Come and Say Hi on Twitter!

Follow @mytripreport

Look out for the YouTube video soon!

KLM | Boeing 737-800 | AMS-FCO | Business

Previous Parts
KLM Cityhopper | Fokker F70 | LHR-AMS | Economy

Airline: KLM
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Route: Amsterdam Schiphol - Rome
Flight number: KL1609
Seat number: 1A
Cabin: Business
Flight date: March 2016

Check In / Security

As I was transferring from LHR, I didn't use either the check in or security. Instead I headed straight to the lounge. As Amsterdam is one large terminal, it was quite a walk from where I emerged to the non Schengen KLM lounge. As there was an upgrade offer upon check in, I figured I’d take advantage of this to see what KLM business class was like.

Lounge

Upon arriving at the lounge, I was amazed at how big it was compared to other airlines flagship lounges.














The food offerings were a little disappointing however. These were quite literally the only options.







Nearer the time of boarding, I moved along to the Schengen lounge - the offerings were the same, however the lounge was a lot smaller and much, much busier. So busy in fact that there was an overflow area in use.







Boarding / Onboard

Boarding wasn't brilliant. As mentioned earlier, Amsterdam is one big terminal, despite leaving the lounge in plenty of time I arrived at the gate as boarding was in full swing. There also was no SkyPriority lane in use, so no option but to queue up. A little disappointing.

Once on board, I was the first to enter the business cabin. There were three rows today, and every seat was full. Most other business passengers were among the last to board, so clearly a priority boarding issue. The cabin was set up in a typical European Business layout, with window and aisle seats in use and middle seats left free. As the doors were closed, newspapers were handed out.

Service

Service began shortly after departure. The single meal option was a beef salad. There was a menu card on the tray - which seemed a little odd to me considering you have to accept the meal in order to find out what it was. I ordered a G&T with this, which caused a little confusion. When it did turn up, I suspect was actually vodka and tonic so I stuck to water for the rest of the flight. The crew were quite pro active in offering drinks throughout the flight.







Arrival

Arrival was at the Schengen area of the terminal, so it was simply a case of disembarking and following the signs to the exit.

Conclusions

I must admit I was a little disappointed with this. My previous experiences with KLM in economy had been pretty good, so I had reasonably high hopes for them in Business. From the basic overcrowded lounge, to no priority boarding and the single meal service I feel they could have done a little better. Other airlines offer a choice of meal on sectors of similar length within Europe, so for KLM to offer a quickie salad and nothing else seemed a little cheap to me.

Questions? Comments? Come and Say Hi on Twitter!

Follow @mytripreport

KLM Cityhopper | Fokker F70 | LHR-AMS | Economy

Airline: KLM Cityhopper
Aircraft: Fokker F70
Route: London Heathrow - Amsterdam Schiphol
Flight number: KL1020
Seat number: 15F
Cabin: Economy
Flight date: March 2016

Check In / Security

Upon arrival at Terminal 4, which is reserved mostly for SkyTeam carriers these days at Heathrow, I found the joint KLM and Air France check in area hidden in a corner. There are the standard economy lanes, and two Sky Priority lanes designated with the familiar red signage and red mats. Only one of the desks was manned however and there was a family already at the one occupied desk. Nethertheless, I was processed in just a few minutes, given directions to the lounge and told I could use the fast track at security. On the subject of the fast track, a major week point at Heathrow is just this - Terminal 5 is very hit and miss in this regard and Terminal 4 was a definite miss on this occasion. Despite it being not overly busy, it still took a good 25 minutes to get through. The problem on this occasion seemed to be a major lack of staff. Its an area that I feel Heathrow management really need to address.

Lounge

Before heading to the lounge, I took a look at the View Heathrow observation deck - situated in a former lounge area on one of the upper levels.



I stayed for around ten minutes before heading to the SkyTeam lounge, courtesy of my SkyTeam Elite Plus status. Initial impressions were good. A decent selection of food, clean and airy ambiance and comfortable seating with a good overview of the tarmac. The only minor point was that it was a little busy when I first arrived - however it soon emptied out.













Boarding / Onboard

Boarding commenced at the advertised time and for once there wasn't a mass stampede. There was one elite ahead of me and I was second on board so cannot comment on whether priority boarding was enforced or not.

I entered the cabin and was greeted by one of the two cabin crew on todays flight at the door. This Fokker had the recently updated cabin, which offered some very generous legroom for this 45 minute flight









Service

Service started a little slowly for a flight that was under an hour. The lone crew member handing out snack boxes to everybody, along with a smile. Included in the boxes was a small egg wrap and a cuplet of Turkish spring water. I had wondered if this would be it for the service when the crew member disappeared in front of the curtain shortly after. However, both cabin crew members reappeared with a drinks trolley - although options were somewhat limited. Tea, coffee, juice, water wine or beer.



Arrival

As this was a KLM Cityhopper flight, we ended up at a remote stand. Two buses were ready and waiting to take everybody over to the main terminal. As I was connecting to another flight, I skipped the arrivals procedure and instead followed the transfer signs, which spat me out into the main terminal area. Of note was that there was no secondary security check.

Conclusions

My first flight with KLM since 2012 was a positive one. The refurbishment of the cabin was a welcome one and kudos to the airline for investing in a fleet that will be retired in the next couple of years.

The service had also been enhanced from my last time - from a sweet or savoury snack to something a little more substantial. I don't remember the drinks selection being quite so limited before however.

Questions? Comments? Come and Say Hi on Twitter!

Follow @mytripreport

For all of my latest trip report videos, please click on the videos section above.



The links to the previous written reports can be found to the right.