What to Expect on KLM Short Haul Flight (SIN – BALI)
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There are many airlines that fly from Singapore to Bali and most of the time we would take budget airlines like Jetstar Asia, Air Asia and Tigerair. Reason being it is cheaper. But we found out that it is only cheaper by a bit!
Price list (For Reference Only)
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines SGD $250
Jetstar Asia SGD $205 (no meals and baggage allowance)
Tigerair SGD $225 (no meals and baggage allowance)
I think not many people would take KLM to Bali, moreover, it is just a 2 hr 10 mins flight. You may think, KLM is not the cheapest option but you are taking a full-service airline which means it includes meals on board, 23 kg baggage allowance and in-flight entertainment! Sounds good right, anyway we always have craving for food when we are on the plane but always had to starve until we arrive at the destination. We were quite surprised to find out that the price for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (a full-service airline) is quite comparable to budget airlines and decided to give it a try!
Our Experience – A waiting game
Flight Details
Singapore (SIN) – Denpasar (DPS)
Friday 07 April 2017 at 16:50
KL 0835
Denpasar (DPS) – Singapore (SIN)
Tuesday 11 April 2017 at 20:40
KL 0836
Our flight from Singapore to Bali was quite a disappointing experience. It was a series of delays.😟😟
Gate packed with people during departure.
Everyone waiting to board the plane.
Time to board!
At Singapore Changi Airport
Prior to the flight, there was an announcement that it would be delayed by 20 minutes. 20 minutes’ delay didn’t have a huge impact on us. We took our time to walk around Singapore Changi Airport. And all of the sudden, the plane was on schedule again. Quickly, we made our way to the gate. It was 4.30pm when we arrive at the gate. The gate was crowded and everyone was queuing to go in. I suppose that if the flight time is 4:50 pm, it should depart at 4:50 pm or at least have the passengers seated, ready to depart. The gate only opens at around 4:45 pm. At 4:50 pm, we only got through the luggage scan and passport check. And then here comes another announcement stating that there would be a 20 minutes delay due to the late arrival of the flight.
Isn’t it confusing?😰
First, there’s a delay.
Next, it is on schedule.
And then it is delay again.
On the plane
I didn’t expect that from KLM (number 1 international airline for punctuality by FlightStat). After the delay, on time, delay flight situation, we boarded the plane. FINALLY. We thought we could relax for the next 2hr 10mins before arriving at our destination. But after an hour the flight was still at Singapore Changi Airport. To be honest, it was quite frustrating. We were all hungry, waiting for our food to be served, waiting for headphones to be issued. But we were told that they will only do it after take-off.
There were 2 reasons announced for the delay of departure.
- 2 passengers were unwilling to board the plane and they need to reload and load the luggage to retrieve theirs
- the airport runway is busy due to the outbound and inbound aircraft
The announcement was made every 10mins
Due to the outbound and inbound aircraft, the air traffic control tower ordered us to hold.
I’m sorry but there is nothing I can do.
Because the plane did not take off, no earphones nor meals could be served. We were really hungry as we thought we could have a quick bite on the plane. But food would only be served after take-off. Headphones were only given after take-off as well, which means you can still watch your shows without sound. Good for those that bought their own headphones but we didn’t. We have no idea how long more we have to wait with a hungry stomach and a screen with no sound.😥😥
Finally, after that long dreadful wait, the pilot announced that we would be using the new runway and we were the first few planes to use it. Is this a good thing?🤔
Aiyah as long as you bring me to Bali. The entire waiting process from both the airport and airplane was super long. We were on the stationary plane for an hour already.😤
The flight originates from Amsterdam and transits at Singapore and reaches Bali. For that reason, some of the passengers traveled a long way. And to our dismay, some may not smell that pleasant because they have traveled almost 13hr without cleaning up.😷😷 You may wish to bring something that smells good yeah haha (Just some personal sharing here).
At Ngurah Rai International Airport (Denpasar)
Upon arrival in Bali, Ngurah Rai International Airport (Denpasar), it was another waiting game. We waited for 45 minutes for our baggage to be released onto the belts. I have no idea if the problem lies with the airport or our KLM flight. The way the luggage was released was like one luggage every 5 minutes?😏😏 Sound exaggerating but the belt was empty after one pathetic luggage. Why? No idea man. Maybe it was related to the two men who refuse to board the plane and all the baggage had to be taken out and loaded again.
It was a long and tiring flight from Singapore to Bali despite it being a mere 2hr 10 mins’ flight (+1hr stuck on the plane). KLM was named as the number 1 international airline for punctuality by FlightStat.🤔 I think we were just unlucky. 😏
Fortunately, nothing similar happen for the return flight. The flight was on time, the food was served swiftly after take-off, everything went as expected!🤗🤗
Flight Tips: Bring your own headphones.
Basically, you can start watching the movies and shows once you’re on board but we were all thinking that KLM will provide the headphones but only after take-off. It would have been better if we had headphones and could watch a movie while waiting. So, I kept my KLM headphone from the flight so that I have the headphone for my return flight from the moment I board the plane!
What can you expect from a KLM Flight (short haul flight)?
Flight
Airplane: Boeing 777-300ER
Cabin Class: Economy
The seats were arranged in a 3-4-3 configuration. But somehow, the 4 of us didn’t manage to sit together. Kind Francine offered her seat to me so I could sit with my sister, Thank You! And poor her, the person beside her flew from Amsterdam (13hr) and smelled horrible. You may wish to bring a deodorant to freshen the odor.
Reaching the full length of the leg space.
My leg VS my tall caucasian neighbor.
Larger leg space
- Seat Pitch: 31 Inch (79 Centimetre)
- Seat Width: 17,5 Inch (44 Centimetre)
One of the more obvious differences between KLM and other budget airlines was the leg space. For us, it didn’t have much of impact because my legs were short and I didn’t need that space. I just felt spacious and comfortable. But for the tall guy beside me, I could really tell how important that space was for him. If he was on a budget airline, he would probably have some difficulty.😬😬
KLM Inflight Entertainment
Like most airlines, KLM in-flight entertainment from the moment you board! Movies, TV, music, games for you to choose!☺️☺️
A 2 hr flight wouldn’t be enough to cover them all!
Deciding which movie to watch!
There’s a wide variety of movies to choose from! Since we only have 2 hr we could only watch 1 movie! Choose properly and chope chope start watching!👀👀
Complimentary earphones
Complimentary KLM earphones
Complimentary earphones are provided after take-off. If your flight is delayed (like ours), you will not be given until it takes off. So, best to bring your own earphones ya!👂👂
Flight Safety Video
A combination of Dutch design and craftsmanship.
Safety First!
Before you can sit back, relax and enjoy your movie, you will have to watch the flight safety video! With a screen in front of every seat, the safety briefing was also illustrated on our screen. Even though we have heard safety demos on flights many times but KLM safety video is presented in actually a stop motion film consisting of thousands of Delftwares tiles. The animation makes it more fun and engaging!
Games
While waiting for our earphones, we started to look for other entertainment that doesn’t require headphones! We browse through the games and found Tetris! EH can play together! Long time since we played this and we were excited initially. However, the system was a touch screen one. All the controls were on the screen and we found it really tiring and hard to play. Our arms had to be constantly lifted and it started to feel achy. Unlike some flights that had a handheld controller on the plane, this requires us to touch the screen for all the controls. Everything also become touch screen sigh the latest may not be the best. We found it too troublesome to play. We had 2 round of games and our hands gave up.😪😪
Seat to Seat Messaging
KLM also allows you to speak with your friends or family through the message system that sends according to the seat number. In order to chat, you have to know your friend’s seat number! I don’t think I would have found out you can chat with someone in another seat. But since Francine was away from us, that was the only method of communication unless we walk over to her seat. From all the waiting and delay, our stomachs starting calling.
Singapore to Bali, waiting for food.
And our conversation was literally,
Got food anot ah
Hungry
The guy beside me peeped and laughed at our conversation.😉
Poking the screen to type our message.
However, the touch screen was not user-friendly at all. It was tiring to poke the screen for each alphabet.😔😔
Food😋
YAY! Food finally served!
Singapore to Bali
Before the flight I was wondering, for 2-hour flight will there be food? Or just sandwich and biscuit? For short haul flights, a small warm dish, a side dish followed by a dessert will be served.👅👅
The main dish was Nasi Briyani with chicken. The chicken tasted rather spicy, the more we eat the spicier it gets. The portion was tiny but this is just a light meal and not a dinner. The side dish was a salad which consists of beansprout carrot cucumber tofu salad. The taste was strong, at some point too sour and salty. Not very much to my liking. Coconut cake was served as the dessert. The cake was decent. At least at the point of hunger, I felt like it was quite delicious.😛
Bali to Singapore
The meal on our return flight from Bali to Singapore was served much quicker than our flight to Bali. The food was heated up as soon as the plane took off. I felt that the air stewardesses were also more efficient as compared to the flight to Bali.👍👍
The warm dish was teriyaki chicken, vegetables, and rice. The teriyaki chicken was way too salty. We still finished it because we were quite hungry but every mouth was filled with saltiness. The salad tasted weird, extremely sour to the point we could not eat it. The dessert was not too bad but also quite sweet.😂
Stay well hydrated!
Stay hydrated while flying!
For drinks, KLM have broad selection of hot and cold drinks, including fruit juice, soft drinks, wine, beer, coffee, and tea on the flights. We usually order the fruit juice (tomato, orange, and apple) to hydrate ourselves! After the meal, you can have a cup of tea or coffee with the dessert!😋
It is dry up there! Always drink more water when flying!
There is no choice of meal for KLM flight, basically whatever served is the only option you have. The food was obviously tailored to suit Asian taste, the Caucasians beside me didn’t finish their food despite it being so little. They probably didn’t like it. Overall, it was pretty delicious but generally seasoned on a heavy note making it tasty and flavourful.
Do you know?
Do you know the atmosphere in an airline cabin reduces your ability to detect the taste by about 30%?
Which means our perception of saltiness and sweetness drop when inside a pressurised cabin. And still, we found the food on KLM to be salty, super sour and sweet. They must have added more salt to make up for that 30%. It would have tasted even more intense on land.😱😱
My Flight Navigation
This may sound like a pretty useless function but I found it quite useful, especially for long flights. You can check everything about your flight using the navigation service. In the air, you basically have no idea on your location and how long more will it takes. The navigation services will clearly show where you are, time and distance to your destination. You can even have a view of the navigations your plane, its speed and height.🌎🌍🌏
You can charge your device!
Start your holiday with 100%
Oh, one more thing! You may have noticed this if your are attentive! You can charge your devices on board as long as it’s switched to airplane mode! KLM have in-seat power outlet for all seats! You can start your holiday with 100%!📱📱
Travel Tips: Bring your own USB port to charge your devices! (keep it in your hand luggage)
Our KLM flight at Singapore Changi Airport!
Overall…
What I felt really upset was the delay during out flight from Singapore to Bali, there were some unforeseen circumstances which cannot be blamed but some other could be handled in a better manner. Apart from that, my experience with KLM was generally good. It was more comfortable flying on a full-service flight as compared to budget airlines. Especially when you get to eat on the plane. Having a movie to watch also makes time pass faster! Overall, I felt that it was quite a good deal for a full-service airline!☺️☺️
You can also book the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines from their website.
As we arrived in Bali, we had our first dinner at 10.30 pm at Warung Mak Oni!
Traditional Indonesia Delights!
First meal in Bali at Warung Mak Oni!
I would strongly encourage all of you to drop by this small cozy cafe for a meal during your Bali trip!😋😋
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