If you are interested in aviation and air travel, flying on a jumbo jet like the Boeing 747 is on your to do list. It is still on mine, even more so after this first time KLM Boeing 747 flight from Amsterdam back to Los Angeles.

Amsterdam Schiphol

As mentioned above, today’s flight originates in Amsterdam at Schiphol Airport. Schiphol Airport is open and roomy and one of my favorites. Unfortunately, I was feeling under the weather on this trip day so I didn’t explore it as much as I normal.

One interesting note was the absence of I Amsterdam stuff in the city of Amsterdam proper! Based on the social media review before my visit I expected it to be everywhere. Turns out, the only place I actually saw it was at the airport. Enough of the airport, let’s move on to the main event and the star for today, the Boeing 747!

My KLM Boeing 747

My first Boeing 747 flight will be on KLM – Royal Dutch Airlines named “The City of Seoul”. While the Boeing 747 is no longer the largest passenger aircraft operating today (the Airbus A380 is larger), it is still impressive seeing it sitting at a gate. The distinctive domed second deck gives the Boeing 747 its very distinctive look.

This KLM Boeing 747 is a unique aircraft for an additional reason: it has a cargo compartment behind the passenger cabin. Given my seat in economy next to the window, I didn’t really get to explore the cabin and see how this cargo compartment altered the cabin. The economy seat on this KLM flight was pretty snug for me, featuring 31 inches of pitch (the distance to the seat in front of you) and width of 17.5 inches. This is a pretty standard pitch, by the way, I’m just grateful to be able to fly most often in first class with up to 40 inches of pitch!

I didn’t embed it here, but one of my favorite all time takeoff videos is here. It really highlights my view and the best part of this 10+ hour flight for me. I’ve included a screenshot below.

In Flight Experience

Shortly after departing, the flight attendant came by with bottles of water and a refreshing towel. Nice to have but not really a good place to store them. Into the seat-back pocket! You can see the blanket that was provided under the towel in the picture below.

For those new to this blog, I’m a big fan of seatback screens on flights. KLM could take some lessons from Singapore Airlines. The screen quality and options on this IFE were limited. WiFi is available for purchase but only free in business class. No power ports were available in economy, making entertainment on your own device a problem for this flight duration, unless you have a supplemental battery.

I generally select a window seat to get my favorite in flight entertainment, the view. This flight did not disappoint either as clear conditions were present as we flew over Greenland. This is only the second time I’ve been able to see any of Greenland and the scenery did not disappoint. The sharp peaks and glaciers are amazing!

Gluten Free Meals

Two meals were served on the flight, a lunch and a breakfast. I was not feeling well on this flight and didn’t actually each much of either meal. First up was a gluten-free Mexican Chicken dish. Not sure what you think, but it didn’t look that good. The Dutch are not know for their cooking, so a Mexican dish from a Dutch airline is more of an adventure than I’m willing to attempt. The second meal or breakfast included a sausage roll. This seemed more likely to be a success and I did have a few bites. Surprisingly, it is a bland item. I personally like a little bit of spice in my breakfast sausage. Both meals came with fresh fruit which is hard to mess up.

Wrapping it up

Flying the 747 is amazing! It is such a big aircraft and looking out at the massive wing is an amazing aviation experience. If you are an avgeek and haven’t flow on a Boeing 747, you need to get on one soon. Most are scheduled for retirement by 2022.

Hopefully you’ll be able to sit in business class, but I recommend that you at least upgrade to Economy Comfort on this flight. The economy seating for a 10+ hour flight was uncomfortable.

My visit to Amsterdam was a great time and will be a future blog entry. I’ve already posted the blog for the flight to Amsterdam featuring Delta Airlines new elevated main cabin experience.

As I say in the video, HAPPY TRAVELS!

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