Anyone flown to Europe with KLM

[ottawamom]

I'm looking into flights to Amsterdam for next spring (May). Getting a feel for Air France and KLM. From Ottawa KLM looks like my best bet, currently. It seems like they charge for all seat bookings (in advance) except the standard seat. I was looking at a Standard Plus fare class as it gives me access to a comfort seat ( a little more legroom for DH). I just got off a chat with KLM and the extra cost for that ticket class only gives me advance accesss to economy comfort seats not an actual seat. I have to pay more to actually book an economy comfort seat.

For anyone who has flown KLM or Air France (same policies) how much do they charge per leg for an international flight for advance seat selection. I would be interested in a seat with a little more legroom or one with only two seats together. KLM doens't divulge this information until you have already booked your flight and I like to know this information before making that decision. Or is advance seat selection even necessary if the two of us are on the same reservation and I book the Standard Plus fare class?

I really wish the airlines would just include all the costs so we could compare.

 

[podgirl]

So we went to Spain at Christmas on Air France, but I booked it through Delta because you can choose the seats in advance at no cost. Check out the Delta site and see if that helps. Some of the Delta codeshare flights are with KLM, so you might be able to choose seats that way?

 

[NYCgrrl]

I booked AF thru Delta too so not really anything new to add beyond suggesting you find out what kind of plane the airlines are selling which will give you some idea on seating configuration.

 

[kuhltiffany]

Last time we flew Air France and we got free seat selection (traveling with a child with Autism), so I can’t help with that. I do recommend them though, even in regular seats (we had 2 across plus space beside us where we were seated), it felt very fancy and luxurious overall compared to the airlines we usually fly with!

 

[ottawamom]

I dislike when the airlines keep tacking on this and that to the price of the ticket. With what I'm paying for the cruise I guess another $$ won't really matter. I'll do another chat and narrow down more details.

Decision now is do I take the bus (arranged by KLM) to Montreal and then fly direct from there or do I fly from Ottawa to Paris and transfer there to Amsterdam. I'm thinking better to do the transfer in Canada, close to home.

So many options. Good thing I have lots of time to make decisions.

 

[yowcruiser]

I'd personally prefer the direct to Amsterdam (from Montreal) and avoid the transfer in Paris. This has nothing to do with the airline (Air France vs KLM) as they are ultimately owned by the same company (but still different offering), but more about having to clear customs and immigration in Paris and then having to catch a connection. The Air France plane might be slightly more comfortable though.

 

[Lesverts]

As long as the fare class you are booking includes seat selection, the price is included. When you book you pick your flights, fill in your personal information. Next is seat selection and any extras you want. Followed by payment. Just like any other airline booking.

KLM would use one of an A330-200, A330-300, 787-9 or 787-10 from their schedules. A330s are 2-4-2 and 787s are 3-3-3. For reference A350s are 3-3-3 and 777s are 3-4-3 (or 3-3-3 still if you are flying some nicer Asian airlines).