KLM Internet Check-In

I flew to Jakarta last week on KLM. Since I checked in for my flight online, it occurred to me that it’s just as good an opportunity as any to share with you the ease and convenience of checking in online when flying with KLM.

Please click on the images to see the actual screenshot.

Step 1:
Go to www.klm.com and click on ‘Internet Check-in’.

Step 2:
Enter your e-ticket number or your booking code.

Step 3:

Normally, the system will take you straightaway to the part where you choose/confirm your seat. However, there will be times when the system may require additional information from you, i.e. your last name (as per ticket booking), flight number, the city where you’re departing from, and your departure date. Enter those information then click on the button at the lower right hand side of the screen that says ‘Go to check-in’.

Step 4:

At this juncture, the screen should show your full name, the date and time of the flight, the city your departing from, your intended destination, as well as your seat number. If you wish to see where that seat is going to be, or wish to change it, click on ‘Change your seat here’.

Step 5:

The next screen will show where the system automatically assigned you to sit. It’s the dark blue circle with the number ‘1’. If the booking is for 2 or more persons, it will show ‘1’ and ‘2’.

The seats with X’s are occupied. The empty seats are marked with light blue seat icons. Gold seat icons are seats with extra legroom or only have 2 seats per row for more privacy, such as the seats that Lola and I had when we flew to Geneva last April. For those special seats, the system will charge you €50 per person which has to be paid with a credit card online right then and there. This part actually puzzles me because we didn’t pay anything at that time. Only the seats with extra legroom had the extra charge. Either there was a system fluke that day or perhaps KLM did not impose those fees at that time yet on the seats with only 2 passengers per row. Or maybe — just maybe — someone from KLM read my blog entry on how nice those seats are and decided to charge for those seats as well hahaha! I know, I know, wishful thinking. Delusions of fame and grandeur ;)

Anyway, to continue, as you can see from the screen, there is a clear indication of which area in the plane you’ll be sitting in. I personally prefer avoid sitting in the front rows, no thanks to all those ‘Plane Crash Investigations’ documentaries at the National Geographic Channel :P

You can click on any of the empty seats shown for that particular section of the plane, or you can click on a different row by clicking on the ‘dissected’ plane on the right.

You can also see KLM’s seating plan for the Boeing 747-400 here. They use this aircraft for the Amsterdam-KL and KL-Jakarta flights and back.

Step 6:

Once you’ve selected your seat, you’ll see this screen. Go through the details just one more time to see if everything is in order. You are now ready to click on the ‘Go to print documents’ button.

Step 7:

Make sure you have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed because the boarding pass will be in PDF format. All you have to do is click on ‘Print’ and you will get a printout of your trip summary and receipt on one page and your boarding pass on the other page. You can opt to print them in a single sheet or in separate sheet.

If you don’t have access to a printer, or if your printer acts up just when you are short of time, you can also go to the self-service machines at the airport (that is, if your local airport has such facilities) or go to KLM’s check-in desk at the airport.

You can check in as early as 30 hours before your flight and just show up at the counter 60 minutes before departure to drop your luggage at a special counter in the airport. If you only have hand luggage and have already pre-printed your boarding pass, you can go straight away to the departure lounge.

Bon voyage!