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Review: KLM Business Class 777-200 Singapore to Bali to Singapore
SO where were we? Oh yeah…we’ve had a pretty incredible start to my mom’s surprise trip around the world – Cathay First, walking the great wall of China, having High Tea at the Peninsula Beijing, and Singapore Suites. HOWEVER…this next stop was one of the BIGGEST SURPRISES of the trip. She had always wanted to go to Bali and Bali was really the driving factor as to why we were in Asia to begin with. Yes, she wanted to see the Great Wall, but what she’d really spoken of A LOT, was seeing healers in Bali and experiencing its culture. Up to this point on the trip, she’d only flown First Class. Now, there are tons of cheap economy tickets from Singapore to Bali, but there is only one way to fly flat to Bali: KLM’s Business Class on their 777-200 that flies from Amsterdam to Singapore, and then continues on to Bali. This was her 75th…and she was going to fly the best cabin possible on every route. Lucky for us these flights can be had for roughly $400 roundtrip. While this isn’t cheap for this particular route, it was a special occasion, and doing it the best possible way was a big part of the experience.
I’m combining both directions into one review as they were roughly 4 days and both in the mini cabin.
Here’s where they were different….
— On the outbound Singapore to Bali —
We were notified via email that the flight was delayed until 8:45…UGH. Delays happen, but we’d just been delayed the night before on Singapore Suites from Beijing to Singapore and arrived past 2am so getting delayed again seemed like bad luck. The other aspect of it was we were flying to Bali and staying at a Ritz Carlton Reserve property in Ubud called Mandapa and it was a super special treat. I was hoping we’d actually arrive early and get to the hotel at a reasonable hour. NOPE. Thank goodness we were flying in a good product.
Because the flight was delayed arriving from Amsterdam it just felt like the crew was over it once we boarded. Not that it was necessarily a bad flight, but in comparison to the return from Bali to Singapore a few days later, it lacked the customer service. My dad flew a lot of KLM when he was working and had similar sentiments in regards to the service.
— On the inbound Bali to Singapore —
What a difference a crew makes. This crew was bright, friendly, and made it a treat of a flight. It was also on time and gave us amenity kits – which made me think…where was my amenity kit on the outbound?
Both directions we took the mini cabin
It’s 1 row of B/E Aerospace Diamond seats. I love mini-cabins. They’re private, more intimate, and usually you get better service. These are similar seats to what’s on American’s A321T that flies Transcon in the US and also something Ethiopian uses in their “Cloud Nine” business class. For a flight this short…it’s a superb business class. For those who are continuing on from Singapore to Amsterdam…it’s not bad for couples, but not having all aisle access would drive me crazy…
The Deets:
- Flight: 835/6
- Route: SIN-DPS-SIN
- Loyalty: credited to Alaska Air
- Price: $400
- Flight Time: 2 hours 35 mins
- Seats: 6A,C,H ( mini cabin)
Miles loves a good lie-flat…
The seat is comfy and luckily I had the aisle. I was seated across the cabin, in both directions, from my folks. And no…people don’t look at me weirdly at all as I assist Miles into his pure relaxation pose.
The seating controls are very easy to use, there’s power, and the IFE was adequate, but lacked very many offerings. One thing about the seats that I will point out is, despite being paired, they do offer privacy with the slight stagger design and privacy screen.
The Food:
In all honesty…not the best. I picked and pushed, and felt like I was a kid at my friends house who invited me over for dinner and the roast was burnt and I was the only one who knew it.
My favorite part….the Delft houses.
If you’ve never flown KLM they give you these custom house filled with alcohol. They’re numbered and you can collect them. I’m a sucker for knick-knacks and now I feel like I have to have the whole collection 😉
Here’s a cool video about the houses.
Overall:
Is this the most practical way to fly from Singapore to Bali? No…but flying around the world on a crazy 24 day adventure celebrating my mom’s 75th birthday isn’t practical – it’s an experience. $400 for an experience? That’s not outrageous, and some dates even offer it for significantly less, but we sought out to create THE BEST we could do on every leg, and we still came in at $5k total for a $125k trip. If you’re treating yourself…fly KLM. If not, there are plenty of lowcost carriers that will get you there for 25% the cost. But you won’t have a little house to take home with you 😉
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great starter card that earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based.
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash , Ink Business Unlimited you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
- 3x on dining
- including eligible delivery services for takeout
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- 3x on online grocery purchases
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- $50 Annual Credit on hotel stays purchased via Ultimate Rewards/Chase Travel
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
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- Points are transferrable to 13 Ultimate Rewards partners
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- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
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We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
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