KLM Reviews

We had plans to receive our son, daughter and grandchildren at the Amsterdam Schiphol airport since there was more than 5 hours of waiting time between flights from BLR to ATL on 6th morning. Because of the KLM canceled flight, we were unable to see our children and grandchildren. We requested for vouchers from KLM/AF they are refusing to honor our claim. This is against the air travel regulations and is unfair. Thank you for reading.

I have sent & follow-up emails asking for an update. Every email was read (I have Mail Track), yet they never responded ONCE. I think they try to wear down customers by making it impossible to communicate, but what's right is right, and what's wrong is wrong, and KLM is in the wrong. Also, I was in communication with KLM via WhatsApp texts regarding this from June 5. I have all the documentation, receipts, photos, and proof. Finally, out of frustration, I filed a report with the department of transportation and the Better Business Bureau. If KLM was not Delta's international partner, I would never fly them. Their customer service team's main objective is to ignore emails, not thoroughly read the claims, provide bot, replies, and overall waste the consumer's time.

Once speaking with a KLM agent, I was told a PIR was to be done at the airport however I advised, the supervisor at IAH never informed me of that was needed to be done and only provided me a QR code. I provided a picture of the QR code, do the agent asked me to provide further details to do the PIR to make a claim. I confirmed the address I wanted my luggages to arrive to and my phone number several times. I also sent pictures of my luggages as well. I told her I could not locate my bag numbers. The agent kept going back and forth with alleged colleagues to create the PIR. I was told, my bags would arrive on 04/22/24.

These conversations started Sunday 04/21/24 at 4:13pm. 2nd conversation started Monday, 04/22/24 at 12:20am from alleged agent stating before a PIR can proceed they needed baggage tag's. I again informed I do not have that info. 3rd conversation started Tuesday, 04/23/24 at 5:53am I informed still no luggage and no one reached out to me. Again I was transferred to an alleged colleague and was told a delivery order has been made and to confirm address and I did reply address was correct and I mentioned I have already confirmed this prior. Last message was that colleagues sent notification via internal channels to check on baggage and someone would reach out on an update is available. I never got any names of any agents/colleagues I was speaking with. I finally received my baggage 04/23/2024 at 2:32pm. I never received any call from any agent and they were left at my door. Anyone could have took them.

I paid for Business Class and my baggage had Priority green stickers however I am not sure how this could have happened. This was the 1st time this has happened to me. I hope the baggage process is worked on as KLM itself was amazing. The flight on KLM was amazing and probably the best experiences I have had on a long journey as I had. The flight attendees were amazing! They assured to take care of me and were amazingly perfect! The food on the flight was amazing and my first time trying new foods. The pilots were amazing as well. The flight crews deserve 10 stars!

I instructed KLM to mail the cheque - they claim that and there was a “problem with issuance of the cheque” and 5 months later have the absolute cheek to request that I provide them with details of an alternative bank account!!! I don’t believe they have even attempted to transfer my compensation. How could there be a problem with a bank transfer, or mailing, when all my details are on that void cheque? They are Incompetent beyond belief! It seems from all of the reviews I have seen that this disgraceful customer service is the norm for KLM/Air France. Shameful.

Original Review: It seems that there are very few reviews above one star and after my experience flying KLM I can understand why. As a world traveler I have never dealt with such dismissive “customer care” agents. Due to an incident at the airport my flight left without me causing me to miss an transatlantic connection. TWO suitcases were damaged during my journey and trying to get compensation from KLM is like getting blood out of stone! I would never recommend KLM.

Original Review: March 26, 2024

I bought KLM tickets for a flight from Amsterdam to Madrid operated by KLM. After few days I got an email notification that my flight will be operated by some airline called "Privilege Style" I never heard about instead of KLM. All my attempts to cancel the tickets and get a refund were either refused or ignored. I ended up buying new tickets from Iberia and trashing the KLM/Privilege Style tickets.

During this time things were also stolen out of my luggage. KLM would not reimburse for rentals or stolen items because a document they required I only had a partial copy of. Also cannot be reimbursed by my travel insurance, because KLM would not state they’re not paying me. They simply said they would pay me when I found the document which I no longer have. I will never travel with them again.

If you think the above was the worst part, well let me enlighten my ordeal at AMS. The KLM crew at Amsterdam are the rudest and the most incompetent people I've ever seen. I was traveling on an Indian passport and the whole world knows that for a short 1-2 week stay in Dubai, you get a visa on arrival in Dubai. Apparently, this was too hard for the AMS transfer service team at T9 to comprehend. They kept insisting that they need to get an "approval" from Dubai airport authority for my arrival (Excuse me?). A lot of friends and family have travelled to Dubai through various airlines and never experienced this before. So here is the complete sequence of events that transpired at transfer desk T9 at AMS starting at 9 AM CET on 11/16. Reminder that my flight to Dubai was at 2.35 PM on the same day -

1) The KLM reps at T9 insist they need an approval from Dubai airport authority for my visa. They draft an "email" requesting Dubai for approval. And ask me to come back after an hour.

2) I'm back after an hour, and they haven't received a response. So they call Dubai again and eventually end up sending another email. This goes on for another 2 hours. When I question KLM as to why Indian passport holders need an "approval", they say it's a KLM "system" issue and the boarding pass cannot be issued without an approval. (Ugh, what?)

4) A couple of hours before boarding (12ish PM CET), the team at T9 shirk all responsbility and ask me to take it up with the KLM reps at the boarding gate. The team at the gate would go through the same process - call Dubai and send an "email" waiting for an approval. And you guessed it, the email approval never arrives and eventually the boarding gate closes with me stranded at AMS.

5) Another rep at the boarding gate then takes me back to the T9 desk and dumps me there saying, "The T9 team will help you (Hahah!)." And so we're back to square one.

6) After multiple back and forth, a rep at T9 assures me at around 7 PM that they have received a verbal OK from Dubai, but my ticket is still blocked by the "system" and the "system" can only unblock it after 24 hours. She asks me to report back at 6 AM the next morning so she can issue me a boarding pass for the same flight next day (11/17). When I ask for food and hotel vouchers for all the delay and the hassle, the T9 rep says it's not in their policy (huh???). So I end up paying for food and an overnight airport stay on my own dime.

7) The next day, I get to the T9 desk at 6 AM sharp. Lo and behold, the team at T9 is not aware of any verbal approval from Dubai and that their system still shows my ticket as "blocked". And they start the process again i.e send an "email" to Dubai, and ask me to come back at 12 PM to check on the status. You know where this is going.

How can a professional airline be so incompetent, ignorant and negligent at the same time? Surely, this is not the first time someone with an Indian passport is traveling to Dubai through AMS? Second, how can the transfer desk team at T9 be so ignorant and unaware of what's going on from one agent to another? One of them assured me in no uncertain terms that I'll be good to go the next morning. But of course not.

I eventually gave up on KLM, booked an Emirates flight and boarded and reached Dubai without the slightest of problems. When I mentioned to the Emirates team at the gate that I'm eligible for a visa on arrival, they checked my documentation and gave me a boarding pass. The process took in less than 2 min. KLM and their transfer desk team can learn a things or two (or 50) from Emirates. I'll never fly with KLM again after such a horrifying experience.

I then tried the Delta help desk who was ironically the most helpful in this entire process. KLM and Air France have disregarded me as a consumer with completely inappropriate communication. They jerked me around, caused me hours of stress, possibly missing a day of vacation which I had eagerly saved for, and all without apology. I will make sure me and my family never fly these two airlines again. This is beyond unethical business practice and I cannot believe that people with a conscience can work for a company that pulls stuff like this.

This is the response I received from KLM - However, your full itinerary started and ended in countries that are outside the European Union. The European Court of Justice has ruled that the legal compensation set by the EC Regulation 261/2004 does not apply to such an itinerary. Therefore, I cannot respond favorably to your request. - So they did not do as the manager promised and they decided rather than make things right they will just treat the customer like garbage.

They could be so much better, in the meantime, avoid travelling with them until they get their act together. Watch the KLM team wave goodbye to your luggage and then YOU WILL discover so much more... a total lack of customer service, please remember the (paying) passengers keep you going, you will need to re-learn the definition of "customer service".

Sadly, upon landing, we were informed by KLM that the 6 children on the reservation did not have Delta One seats on the flight from Amsterdam to Detroit in the morning. After another hour on the phone with Delta/KLM, we were told that the previous supervisor never should have promised us those seats because they are not actually available. Other people will get upgraded for free, and the six children will not get the Delta One seats that their Grandparents bought them as a once in a lifetime gift! Isn't it strange that the 4 adults on the reservation have assigned seats in Delta One, but the 6 children do not?? Why would Delta/KLM assign the seats to the adults, but not the children?? The most recent Delta agent told us that the 6 kids seats were given away as free upgrades.

Why would Delta/KLM choose to give away Delta One seats for free, instead of to 6 children who had seats that were paid for them by their Grandparents many months ago? You tell me, because I certainly can't figure it out. All I know is that Delta and KLM don't keep their word, and it seems as if they don't want paid tickets for 10 people who are 3 generations of a family all together in Delta One, and would rather fill the seats with free upgrades. This is not the first time Delta has done this and they refund us 10% of the actual ticket price. Shame on Delta and KLM. As a diamond member, I suggest you fly American or another airline with more integrity.

Next the bad: My traveling companion uses a wheelchair. KLM said they would assist us from the Lounge to the airplane and, when we arrived at IAD, from the airplane through customs to the baggage area. Sadly, the assistance did not come. I had to somehow make my way with carry-on luggage while pushing the wheelchair. I am over 80 years old and getting wheelchair assistance was exactly why we purchased business-class tickets. When we got to the gate at Schipol, the attendants did assist us getting onto the plane. On arrival at IAD, however, we - and the other wheelchair passengers, were told to wait in the aircraft until our wheelchairs came to the door of the plane. This took close to an hour!

The wheelchair for one passenger, a fellow from Germany with two knee replacements and a bad back, never came. There were not enough assistants to push all the wheelchairs. So, we were all left sitting at the gate for the plane with the passengers who were getting ready to board the plane staring at us. Finally, as a group, we told the few attendants who were assigned to us that we should proceed. The fellow without the wheelchair moved with us but in pain with each step he took. We asked the assistants to help the weakest and those of us who were stronger, slowly proceeded to customs.

When we got to customs, there was a separate line for wheelchairs. This line was shorter and moved more quickly than the line for able-bodied passengers. Unfortunately, our wheelchair assistants left us saying they had to go to assist other handicapped people. We all helped each other to the customs inspectors. I realize KLM is not responsible for the wheelchair assistance at IAD but they did leave us standing unattended having deposited us off the plane in plain view of the next group of passengers who were waiting to board the plane for the flight back to Amsterdam. The crew members said they were off to their hotel (Omni Shoreham in DC).

The food was so disappointing. For the main meal (in business), we got stuffed shells as an appetizer. The main course selection that I made was braised beef. What came looked (pardon me) like a cow dropping on a bed of mashed potatoes. I couldn't believe they would serve something like that. I was so turned off, I don't remember the dessert.

The ugly: My wife got sick on the plane. The steward who was responsible for our section, ignored her as she vomited into an almost empty glass. He avoided us for a while and then passed by throwing abut 5 air sickness bags and many paper towels at us. He seemed to want to stay as far away from us as possible. When he passed us, he looked away and assiduously ignored us. I tried to get his attention and when he came he was very curt and abrupt. It was clear he wanted to get away from us. We felt abandoned and felt we were being treated like lepers. I thought that no passenger should be treated this way - especially if we had paid premium dollars to fly business class. This treatment lasted for over three hours.