KLM V Emirates

[tobeornottobe]

Flown emirates economy many times . Just noticed Klm have a flight for 150 euro cheaper plus its 2 hours faster from dublin.

[joefox]

Price/time is for me more important then comfort. At 188cm its not comfortable anyway.. so KLM

[hoopbhoy]

2 hours ago, tobeornottobe said:

Flown emirates economy many times . Just noticed Klm have a flight for 150 euro cheaper plus its 2 hours faster from dublin.

Check it's like for like. KLM basic fare doesn't include checked luggage whereas Emirates does. That AMS BKK leg can feel endless but Schipol is a pretty easy transfer. I usually feel better coming off the Emirates flight with the more evenly split legs than the short hop to AMS then the long second leg, I fly from Glasgow so pretty similar journey compared with Dublin. 

Edited April 17 by hoopbhoy

[cheetzie]

I just come back from Thailand and flew with KLM to AMS. Generally speaking they are a good airline but I booked emergency exit seat in economy which was fantastic. Leg room unrestricted and could go for a wander anytime without having to disturb others. It cost me an extra £100 for the seat. Food is ok but not great and cabin crew very efficient and friendly. Haven't flown with Emirates for a long time but they were v good back then.

[par47]

I recently went through the same decision process. Each airline has its pros and cons but in the end KLM won out for 2 reasons:

- Can fly from my local airport so don't have to worry about getting to the airport (I live about 15 minutes drive away from Norwich airport ).

- Return flight for KLM leaves at 12:05. This is comfortable for checking out hotel early morning. Emirates have about 3 flights from BKK but they all leave in the middle of the night which I find awkward timing.

[khwan]

Ive been with both but I like klm more. Can use my local airport and I like flying the whole way uninterrupted. I don't like flying half way and transferring. I just sleep the whole flight so comfort and food is irrelevant to me as well. 

[penboy]

7 hours ago, par47 said:

I recently went through the same decision process. Each airline has its pros and cons but in the end KLM won out for 2 reasons:

- Can fly from my local airport so don't have to worry about getting to the airport (I live about 15 minutes drive away from Norwich airport ).

- Return flight for KLM leaves at 12:05. This is comfortable for checking out hotel early morning. Emirates have about 3 flights from BKK but they all leave in the middle of the night which I find awkward timing.

No they don't. There is one at 09:30 and another at 20:35

[par47]

7 hours ago, penboy said:

No they don't. There is one at 09:30 and another at 20:35

Yes they do. I find all the departure times listed here to be not as convienient as KLM's 12:05

[hggcraig]

On 17/04/2024 at 22:47, khwan said:

Ive been with both but I like klm more. Can use my local airport and I like flying the whole way uninterrupted. I don't like flying half way and transferring. I just sleep the whole flight so comfort and food is irrelevant to me as well. 

Great minds think alike, came here to post the same thing. 

I always take a zopliclone on the longer flight now and sleep most of the way.

[billybob69]

I have to say that I am a little surprised by some of the comments on this thread.
It is quite rare to read a thread that is positive on KLM in comparison to the Middle-Eastern airlines

I had been a long time customer of KLM and always had good experiences with them and never really felt the need to go with other airlines, particularly as KLM fly from the regional airports that are closest to me. But then I read SO many comments where people are down on KLM and how much better the Middle-Eastern airlines were and I started to think that I was missing out on something. So over the years I have tried Eithad, Emirates, Qatar.

I really can't really see what the fuss is all about with the Middle-Eastern airlines. 

[ronthebrummie]

I fly from BHX, looked at all the airlines that depart from there, Emirates, KLM, Air France, Lufthansa, and Turkish.

Flew Business, Prices pretty much the same apart from Turkish which was £1k cheaper and it was superb, so much so I’m booked again for 2025.

Main thing I liked was a 4 hour 1st leg and a 10 hour 2nd leg got super sleep.

[Hamchang]

1 hour ago, billybob69 said:

I really can't really see what the fuss is all about with the Middle-Eastern airlines.

Often cheaper but not so much any more. KLM and Air france (same same really) are as close to direct from the Uk as we can get and allows that long stretch to get some shut eye. The ME flights often leave me discombobulated. 

[hoopbhoy]

Emirates still a bit cheaper than KLM and has things included in basic fare that aren't standard in KLM, like checked luggage. Not a huge difference though. I quite like the evenly split legs. That longer hop from Schipol is hard work for me.

[PR1977]

I flew KLM at Christmas and no issues at all...on the way back I booked the middle bank seat near the back where the 777 fuselage narrows  to 3-3-3 so there's extra space next to you. As long as you have no problem with the 12 hour flights from AMS to BKK its fine. Schipol is absolutely bang on for transit...although they might want to so something about the mice problem.

I used to fly Emirates quite regularly when I started going to Thailand but I found their service started to really deteriorate so when I use the gulf airlines Qatar are my preferred option.