Last Thursday I was on a return flight from Amsterdam Schipol airport back to London. The original 7pm flight was delayed and then eventually canceled around 9:30pm. I was rescheduled for 7am flight the next morning and sent to an airport hotel by a shuttle bus. Despite such misfortune, I would like to acknowledge KLM for doing a few things right.
1) Hotel arrangement:
a) A separate line at the hotel reception was designated for all the “stranded” passengers’ with a full name list prepared. I was called “Stranded KLM #1” on the hotel access card.
b) Buffet dinner with hot meals (though no wine) was arranged at 10:15pm.
c) Buffet breakfast was set at 4am. The pastries were excellent.
2) Flight rebooking: I was automatically rebooked for the next available flight with an aisle seat (like my original flight)
Alright – Flight delays and cancellations do happen, but the way the airline handles it makes a huge difference. In my case, KLM did it with the Dutch efficiency :>