KLM Royal Dutch Mumbai Amsterdam Direct flight

KLM is world's oldest airline still in operation. (Read my earlier review). Based in Amsterdam, KLM has a fleet of about 115 aircrafts and flies to 145 destinations around the world. But KLM's focus on India has been negligible. They were flying only to New Delhi in India, no other destination, whereas all other major airlines like Lufthansa, Air France, BA fly to several Indian metros. KLM would connect to other Indian cities only via their partner airlines (mainly AF, jet and Etihad).

KLM has recently decided to add a second Indian city- Mumbai to its network. (as per this news, KLM was flying to Mumbai 16 years ago but stopped). At present KLM's partner Jet Airways flies direct to Amsterdam daily (last year Jet Airways changed in Europe hub from Brussels to Amsterdam). So will this new KLM flight bring lots of cheer? I am not very sure, let us see.

Key details about KLM's Mumbai-Amsterdam Flight
Commencing from: 29 October 2017
Frequency- 3 days a week (Sunday, Tuesday, Friday)
Approx fare: Economy: INR 49000 onwards
Flight Timing:  BOM-AMS: 0405-0850 AMS-BOM: 1310-0215 (next day)
Flight duration: 9 hours and 15 mins approx
Aircraft Type: B787-9
Cabin options: Only Economy and Business

Key advantages of this new KLM Route between Mumbai and Schiphol (AMS)

Easier connectivity if you're flying onwards to US or any norther Europe destinations

Points to note:

KLM's cancellation and modification charges are higher than Gulf based airlines

Unless you're flying direct to Amsterdam, the fare is usually not as cheap as Etihad or Emirates

I've flown few short haul flights on KLM between Amsterdam and Copenhagen. It is full service airline so fares will be on the higher side. But service is largely good.

What to do at Amsterdam

Amsterdam needs no introduction. It is popular for its canals, windmills and cheese. You can easily spend several days around Amsterdam. Amsterdam is well connected by train to most of Europe including Brussels, France etc, or hop on a short flight to other schengen areas.

KLM's youtube account has some cool videos. Watch them when free.

If your destination is somewhere else in Europe, there could be cheaper ways of reaching there instead of flying to AMS. Via Middle East could be a better option, particularly if you're not starting at Mumbai.