I recently flew from San Diego to Amsterdam in KLM 787-9 Economy Comfort (basic economy with four extra inches of legroom).
It was nearly 10 hours of a decently comfy seat, attentive service, mostly good food, lots of blue fabric, and awfully persuasive Heineken advertisements. Other than the slimy pancakes, I don’t have much to complain about.
The following is a full review of my experience. Spoiler alert: they were unsuccessful in getting beer into my belly.
KL640
San Diego, CA (SAN) – Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS)
Tuesday, June 3, 2025
Aircraft: 787-9
Registration: PH-BHH
Duration: 9 hours 18 minutes
Seat: 19G (Economy Comfort)
Arrival at the airport (and checking in)
This flight was scheduled to depart SAN at 1:55 PM. I rolled into Terminal 2 West at exactly 10:36 AM like a man ready to fly long haul economy. In other words, I came prepared wearing the loosest and most worn out pair of underwear I had.
The KLM check in and baggage drop counter is located very deeply in the T2 West ticketing hall. Be prepared to walk.
Waiting for the flight
KLM economy passengers don’t get lounge access obviously. The trick is to arrive with enough time to spare, but not enough to be bored out of your mind. They certainly aren’t going to entertain you.
The boarding process
I had a Zone 3 boarding pass for this flight, which is the best zone possible for economy. As if things couldn’t get any better, they actually started the boarding process a few minutes early.
KLM 787-9 Economy Comfort seat overview
Economy class seats on the KLM 787-9 are pretty nice IMHO. They are arranged in a decently spacious 3-3-3 layout, and legroom is equally roomy at 31 inches. Most importantly, they are soft. Ish.
Economy Comfort seats (located at the very front of the economy cabin) offer 4 more inches of legroom over a basic economy seat. They also offer you the privilege of sitting closer to all of the lucky ducks sitting in premium economy.
The departure from San Diego
They tried so hard to get us pushed off the gate on time. Unfortunately, there was a fueling issue which caused a 19 minute delay. We were finally underway at 2:14 PM.
KLM Economy Comfort amenities
There are no amenity kits in KLM long haul economy (or Economy Comfort). Other than a pillow, a blanket, and cheap earbuds, a bottle of water and a prepackaged hand sanitizer wipe will be distributed. That’s it.
In-flight entertainment
Other than the cheap earbuds, the in-flight entertainment in KLM 787-9 economy was nice. Each seat features a 13 inch video screen, and it’s an excellent portal from which to enjoy a pretty decent catalog of movies, tv shows, music, games, and podcasts.
Perhaps my only gripe about the in-flight entertainment was the glossy video screen. Unless the cabin was dark, it was difficult to watch anything without dealing with annoying glare.
The first meal service
Dinner was served approximately 45 minutes after departure. They didn’t even bother with a pre-meal snack and beverage service.
The two choices were chicken (yay!) or a vegetarian pasta dish. I’m almost surprised that they didn’t tell me that both were better with a Heineken.
The quality of the meal was excellent by economy class standards. The meal I had in Turkish Airlines 777-300ER economy is still the best (even after all these years) – this was no match for that.
Economy class lavatories
Should you need to use the toilet (after drinking one too many Heinekens perhaps), you’ll be happy to know that the KLM 787-9 lavatories are as practical as they are fun. There are two located mid cabin, and the rest are at the back.
Seat and cabin comfort
It’s not very often that I’ll be able to muster out praise for the seat recline in an economy class review. But here I go: It’s pretty darn okay! I actually thought my seat had broken as it laid back in a way I haven’t experienced since British Airways A350-1000 premium economy.
The flight attendants came down the aisle with a midflight snack with approximately 5 hours of flying time remaining. Yes, I will take a brownie and another bottle of water, thank you very much.
The second meal service
The meal that the cabin crew presented me with approximately one and a half hours prior to landing was easily the most disappointing part of this experience. The only choice was pancakes, and they looked disgusting. At least they tasted ok.
The descent and landing into Amsterdam
Strong tailwinds across the north Atlantic were to our advantage, and we ended up starting the descent into AMS 14 minutes early.
Touchdown on runway 18C happened at 8:53 AM. Not having a window seat made the long taxi over to gate D43 in Terminal 2 seem longer than it actually was. I timed it at 19 minutes. But it felt like 20.
Pros and cons
Economy Comfort on the KLM 787-9 is something I’d definitely do again. I’m not sure I’m man enough to do it in basic economy (which features 4 less inches of legroom), but the cabin service was good enough to add it to my “yeah, I’d fly that again” list.
Pros
- I liked the 3-3-3 cabin layout. It didn’t feel cramped at all.
- The quality of the dinner (but not the breakfast) was surprisingly good.
- Decent seat recline! It was enough to make a noticeable difference in overall comfort.
Cons
- Glossy video screens. Unless you’re a huge fan of glare, that is.
- The earbuds they provide are super duper cheap. It’ll be difficult to hear anything you watch.
- Beware of the pancakes. Closing your eyes and praying (even if you’re an atheist) will be necessary to get through the first bite.
You know there is Fanta – and then there’s Fanta. Mexican Fanta is all artificial stuff. European Fanta has some real juice in it and is not nearly as bright orange in color as the Mexican variety.
If you’re in the Netherlands I suggest giving the Fanta Lemon a try – real lemon flavor, and contains real lemon juice. Almost as good as the Spanish Fanta Limon.
Interesting! I had no idea that the European version was different. I’m kicking myself now for not giving it a try while I had the opportunity to do so.
Would you do comfort plus for $140 or an exit row for $70? I am on this flight in April 🙂
An exit row seat for only $70 sounds like a great deal IMHO. I’d totally do that.
Hi Scott – I’m thinking about starting a new channel for aviation, so do you have any tips on voiceover, getting footage, or something else? It would be greatly appreciated.
I have no tips other than just diving in head first. There’s no right or wrong way to do this – you just have to find a style and technique that’s most comfortable for you. For example, I find it too stressful to talk on camera as I’m traveling. That’s why I do voiceovers. Some people are the opposite though, and that’s OK.
Just do it!
Great advice – appreciate the insight!
I love your reviews, very informative but so funny while actually funny, some of your comments put me to tears in a good way that is. Hopefully you do many more of the reports going forward and I wish one day you can do one on Air Serbia. Thanks
Thanks Dan! Yes, there is a lot more to come. I don’t have any immediate plans for Air Serbia though – but it is an airline I’d like to try someday.
Pretty nice how KLM now flies to San Diego! I watched Patrick Shea’s video on the inaugural and there unfortunately weren’t any celebrations at AMS, but SAN did put a decent party. Were you able to see it land?
As for Economy Comfort, it looks pretty decent. The towels and large bottles are a nice way to differentiate it from regular Economy, the cabin looks good, the IFE is solid, the seats seem well-featured, and the Dutch wallpaper in the lavs is pretty cool. And yeah, regarding the food, I’ve heard several other people call it above average for Economy fare. Other than the slimy pancakes of course. Maybe they would’ve gone down better with a Fanta? Haha
Also, this has to be the best livery to serve SAN at the moment. KLM’s livery isn’t as flashy as other non-Eurowhite liveries, but it’s clean, elegant, and of course far more colorful than 90% of liveries out there. I’m a big fan!
I’m actually surprised that it took them this long to show up at SAN. With British Airways going double daily to LHR now, that pretty much confirms that there is a ton of demand between San Diego and Europe. Now we just gotta work on getting more Asian carriers here…
I wasn’t able to make it down there tap to see the inaugural flight land or takeoff. Doing so would’ve given me FOMO anyway, so it was probably best that I stayed away haha.
And it is indeed the best livery at SAN right now! At least until until Etihad comes to their senses and decides to start flying to San Diego. #amancanwish
“4 extra inches where it mattered the most” – Scott
“Ayo what does he mean? Hold on wait that’s what he means” – Me
My mind always ends up in the worst places trying to come up the titles for these reviews. I can’t help it!
Just checked the flight log – Juicy stuff with 4 in of extra length coming up. Looking forward to it!
“In other words, I came prepared wearing the loosest and most worn out pair of underwear I had.” I nearly spit out my coffee when I read this Scott. Thanks for the laugh!
I’m willing to bet money that I’m not the only one who does this lol