KLM B777-300 Business Class SIN-DPS
When arriving in Singapore at 1AM after a 24 hour trip the first item on my agenda is to find a bed. Attached to Changi airport is The Crown Plaza which is a nice hotel, but pricey at over $200 per night which seems silly to spend if your attendance will be about 8 unconscious hours. Hailing a cab to another place downtown or elsewhere isn't high on the desirable list as well. The train doesn't operate that late so that's out too, not that a 45 minute train ride is a great option either.
There is a great solution just a few steps out of the gate when you deplane. The Aerotel. I booked a single room for 8 hours. You start with 6 hours and can add on. For $75 I got 8 hours and breakfast. I was in my room 15 minutes after landing. Sure the room was small but who cares. I wanted 6-8 hours of sleep. The single rooms don't have bathrooms, they are down the hall. Double rooms do have bathrooms in the room, but they are more expensive.
The $75 deal worked out great. I'd do it again.
The single room.
The morning shower. Don't forget the towel they leave for you in the room, otherwise you make a wet return to get it, I know! These are private shower rooms similar to what you'd find in a lounge.
And the lounge. While the breakfast was basic, eggs, sausage and toast it was good. Go for a swim, workout or just plane watch.
After a fun day in Singapore it was off to Bali. While Singapore Airlines has numerous direct flights to Bali (for 17,500 KF Points), I thought it would be fun to try KLM's fifth freedom flight. It was a good decision.
I arrived back at T1 after lunch in Chinatown and a couple hours of sightseeing. Fortunately it was just before the afternoon rains. KLM835 checking was row 12, the farthest away, of course.
Check-in was a breeze and soon I was inside the terminal. I really like the individual gate security screen at Changi. Unfortunately it looks like they're moving away from that as the new T4 has screening before you can enter the boarding area.
Christmas at Changi.
I made my way up to the dnada lounge as it's KLM's contract lounge in Singapore. It's a nice comfortable lounge. I didn't take any photos inside. Like the other lounges on the 2nd floor of Changi in T1 there were no windows.
Checking my flight status the inbound was the one under Muar and I'd be flying the SkyTeam Livery.
After some time I got bored and headed to the gate. The rains had cleared.
Boarding commenced via door one.
And since I was in the mini-cabin I got a great opportunity, being the first to board, for some front cabin photos.
I had not been a fan of the KLM World Business colors from pictures. Once on-board I thought the cabin was nice looking.
I chose to sit in the mini-cabin which is a single row of seats behind door 2.
Seats 6D/G in the center.
This is supposed to help flight attendants see into the back cabin during take-off and landing. Seems people sitting in 6D/G would hamper that view.
6H/K and K is mine.
KLM uses the B/E Diamond seat that is very popular. United has these on their legacy Continental 777 and 767 as well as all 787s.
It's a great seat, except they aren't private. This is 6H with the privacy divider, which really doesn't do a whole lot. And you are pretty well exposed to the aisle.
The seat controls show these extend flat which on a 2 hour day flight I didn't attempt.
The one armrest not being shared with your neighbor can be lowered for a wider sleeping area, or just more room.
Power is up over your shoulder.
Tucked away next to your shoulder is a reading light that is best used when the seat is in bed mode.
Tray table.
Ottoman with underside storage.
Van Gogh I presume. I like the storage feature under the monitor.
Absorbed in an audiobook I unwrapped the headphones for photo purposes only.
And away they go.
Sitting in row 6 allowed a view of the galley. It seemed the crew was disorganized. Or maybe it was because of a crew change during the short stop in Singapore. Whatever it was, there was a lot of movement before the flight and once they were released from their jump seat after departure.
Being a short flight might have been part of the problem. When they got around to serving it was by cart and "red or white"? But with a generous pour.
Then basically chicken or beef?
Fresh and tasty. However in retrospect the miso dressing might have been left stranded in Singapore.
Chicken and rice, just like lunch.
And a klapertart, which was good except the meringue was very stiff.
Coffee rounded out the festivities.
Upon arrival a tray of Delft Blue houses was presented with instructions to take one home. I wasn't prepared thinking they wouldn't pass them out on this short flight. But they did. I took #52. It's interesting they've been passing these out since the 1950s. With all the cost cutting that has gone on with every airlines over the years I commend KLM for sticking with this policy. Plus these small figurines are sturdy and while not heavy still weigh something. Each aircraft lugging around 50-100 of these things increases weight and fuel burn. Kudo's KLM.
They even have an app where you can keep track of your houses!
Plane spotting in Singapore; SQ A350/A330
LH covered up.
And a couple of Alliance liveries. First oneworld on a JAL 777 headed to Haneda.
And Star Alliance on an Air China 777.
Cost
You can get this flight using 40,000 Delta points or 25,000 Flying Blue points plus taxes. Or you can purchase this ticket at the often offered price off around $300, which is pretty good. You could even use AMEX pay with points, which I did. When I booked this flight the rebate was 50% so it cost me 15,000 points (plus I got some Alaska points on the trip credit making the true cost around 13,000 points). Since AMEX has changed the rebate to 35% it will cost you around 18,200 points which is still a great deal.
Carrier: KLM
Date: December 2017
Route: Singapore - Denpasar
Flight #: KL835
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER PH-BVD
Configuration: J34 / W40 / Y334
Seat(s): 6K
On Time: Yes
Reward Flying Rating: 5.6 out of 10 ✈
Cabin:
✔︎I liked the mini-cabin and think it would be fine on a long haul flight, assuming the crew didn't hang out there mid-flight.
Seat Comfort:
✔︎The B/E Diamond is a very useful seat. The obvious lack of privacy being the only drawback to a comfortable seat. I look forward to flying them in a few months in the nose of their 747.
Cabin/Seats Rating: 5 out of 10 ✈
Amenities:
✔︎The Deflt Blue house was the only amenity and I was very surprised to get one.
Meals: Presentation:
✔︎Not surprisingly the meal was single tray
Meals: Quality:
✔︎The food was good. However it was Asian with little Dutch influence except for the dessert.
Amenity/Food rating: 6 out of 10 ✈
IFE:
✔︎It's a decent monitor but I really did not use it.
IFE rating: 6 out of 10 ✈
Flight Attendants:
✔︎The crew did their job, nothing special. They passed out drinks and dinner and said good-bye.
Flight Attendant rating: 5 out of 10 ✈
Aircraft:
✔︎B777-300 The aircraft was clean and appeared to be in good condition.
Aircraft rating: 6 out of 10 ✈
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