KLM?

[Kiddie001]

I have got what I think is a good deal, by getting a flight from Amsterdam (with a transfer from Cardiff).
Does anyone have any experience of KLM ?
I would be interested to know what sort of service I am going to get.

cheers

Ian

[Liam_Sandie]

Hi Ian

KLM are normally very good, however we booked through KLM (via Amsterdam) and ended up on a Martinair flight (owned by KLM) and it was pretty basic. But at least it got us to Florida, which is the main thing!!

[CERICROWLEY]

Hi Ian

I am in Cardiff and we always hear that KLM are delayed in Cardiff especially in the Winter.

Not sure if this is KLM or Cardiff.

we prefer to fly direct from Cardiff to Orlando but they only go out once a week and only between Easter and OCtober. and these are becoming more and more delayed

So now we go from Gatwick as we are guaranteed at least WELL HOPEFULLY not a delayed flight.

[wilfy]

A good friend went to budapest a couple of weeks ago with klm via amsterdam, on the return flight it was delayed by an hour so he missed the connection in Amsterdam. They insisted that he fly back to his original departure point (london city) the following day even though he said he didn't mind heathrow/gatwick/stansted later that same day. When he offered to pay for the flight to heathrow etc, not a problem sir!.

You pays your money etc etc

[KevinT]

Ian,
Last time we went (April this year) went from Teesside by KLM to Amsterdam then Martinair
to Orlando MCO. Price was reasonable but have to say I would not go that way again.
We set off from home about 3am for the KLM flight at 6am to Amsterdam. Arrived there at 7am (8am their time) We were originally given a flight time for the Martinair flight of 12:15 pm but when we arrived at Amsterdam discovered it was delayed by an hour so didn't take off 'til 1:30 pm. The plane then came back up over England to get over the Atlantic. I was looking at the in flight map screen and noticed that we were flying over Ripon , (about 1 hrs. drive from home) after travelling for eight hours! and we still had another 8 hours to go to Orlando. Total travelling time was about 16 hours which made it a long day!
The KLM plane was quite nice but small. The Martinair was an old 737 which had seen better days! My seat would not stay fixed in any position so when we took off my head almost touched the person in the seat behind - and when we braked on landing I nearly folded in half!! (I asked a stewardess about the seat and she said there was nothing they could do about it) On landing another stewardess asked me sternly to "put my seat upright" I told her that if the seat was repaired I would be able to do just that. [msnmad]
Hope you fare better than I did - I would check the length of travelling time too as I would imagine from Cardiff you will also be flying east to come back west again.

[Kiddie001]

I think this is one of those "I wish I hadnt asked" things.[msnscared]
I have had it all booked for a while now, there are five of us and it was saving us in the region of £500 against Virgin, AA etc which I figured was the best part of the cost of the park tickets for us, especially as we are very much on a budget.

I dont think I will relay any of this thread to the family[msneek]

Fingers crossed it works out OK!

thanks for the replies

Ian

[Dennan]

Martinair is the only direct flight from Amsterdam to Orlando.

This would be the best connection...................... for me though...

Never had problems with Martinair, heard they are very basic, but it takes you right away. offcourse I prefer Singapore but they do not flight this route.

[CERICROWLEY]

Hi Ian

Don't be put off by all the bad press. I say only what I have heard about KLM and Cardiff, I personally have not travelled with them, Although I have done many different ways of getting. Chartered one from Gatwick. Scheduled with Virgin from Gatwick, Scheduled BA from Gatwick,scheduled Contintenal(VIRGIN) from Gatwick, Chartered from Cardiff. Schedule Contintental connecting in Newark from Gatwick. All have been fine, I wouldn't say I would never with anyof them again. apart from Chartered from London (ONLY IF THE PRICES IS VERY
LOW)

Once your on the plane and gone, a delay is a delay anyone can getted delayed whatever plane their on. Just say we are neary ther out of this dreary weather to a wonderful holiday.

[KevinT]

Ian,
Please don't let my comments about Martinair put you off too much. I guess I was just unlucky to get that seat! (I'm quickly getting to the age of "grumpy ol' men"!) Having travelled now with some eight different airlines, they can all have their moments!
There were some positives. The KLM flight although short was fine, and Amsterdam is a beautiful airport with lots of shops and services (they even have a back and neck massage service if you're feeling stressed!) Apart from the long day of travelling,
and the few problems with the seat, Martinair were OK. (On the way back I even managed to get an extra legroom seat.) As you say, the money saved goes a long way to paying for park tickets etc. - I reckoned I saved about £390 on our 3 tickets. At those kind of savings, I expect a few less "frills".
Whatever, it's just a means of getting to somewhere that you know you're gonna love.

I hope that you all have a really great time. You'll have to let us know how you got on when you come back.

[msnsmile2]

[Kiddie001]

must admit i'm not too phased about it, just dont want her indoors to fret too much,as you all say its just a means of getting there!
I have memories of going to Austrailia about 15 years ago with Garuda (Indonesian airlines), this was very basic, also there was a big round of applause every time the plane touched down!
Couldnt believe it when we arrived at Gatwick to be presented with a DC10, which went all the way to Oz.
If I can survive that, Martinair will be a doddle!
Someone mentioned booking extra legroom seats - how is this done?

Ian