I am booked on economy with the A&B seats for the JRO leg.

In the 90's I flew KLM a lot to different African routes but it's been a few years. I always found them reliable back then and no better or worse than AF or BA.

Thanks!

Daniel

I'm also interested in what folks have to say. Are you going from AMS? I believe they use a 777 which is 3-3-3 seating. In June we're going CLT to DTT to AMS to JRO and returing from NBO. But we're taking 2 days in Amsterdam on the way out for our sanity.

I am going AMS - JRO.

It's an MD-11, with 2-4-3 seating. Seatguru.com is a useful resource here.

The JFK-AMS flight is an airbus330, which I believe is 2-4-2. I thought it was a 777, but it looks like it was changed.

Funny. I just checked on KLM's site yesterday and they said it was a 777, but I could be mistaken. I'll check later when I'm home. I printed stuff out there.

Detroit-Amsterdam could very well be a 777.

I found out about the Airbus from JFK as I called NW to request seats.

I flew KLM AMS-JRO on January 19th. We had 10A&B and they were THE BEST seats on the plane, imo.

We had the MD-11, like you reference. You definitely have the pick of the litter with A&B - but try and get row 10! We had more leg room than I could have wanted.

We begged and pleaded to get the same seats on our way home, but alas, someone else gobbled them up!

All in all, I had a great experience w/the flight. No complaints at all.

Thanks, BostonGal.

I already pleaded for 10A and 10B, and I will certainly continue to plea (and beg) shamelessly (I am 6ft.3) when I get to the airport!

Interesting variations. I'm booked on the AMS-JRO flight near the end of May. The plane appears to be a 767 with 2-3-2 seating. SeatGuru shows the details.

Last year July, I flew with KLM in a 767-300 from AMS to Arusha.

We were 10 pax (2 women , 2 girls, 6 men and boys) and KLM managed to loose all of the 'female ' luggage.
We didn't get any compensation (not even a tooth brush) and our luggage only arrived 3 days later when we were in the Serengeti.
The lady who represented KLM in Arusha told me no compensation was given because loss of luggage happened too much (read almost every day) on that flight.
No kidding : the same happened on our return flight !

I think the confusion may be that my flights are in June and maybe KLM is changing to 777's by then. The seating config according to KLM's website is 3-3-3 in steerage.

Our flights from DTT to AMS by the way is on an airbus 333 with 2-4-2 seating. All these changes are sure interesting. I wonder if anyone can explain the discrepencies.

As for baggage, we plan on bringing only carry on. I'm planning to use a backpack for all my stuff + a camera bag for the photo stuff. My wife will also have a backpack + a daypack for other things. We'll be loaded down in the airports, but we won't risk losing stuff on the way like "AfricaLover" mentions. Maybe we'll risk checking bags for the flight home when it doesn't matter as much. Make sense?

BTW: This reminds me of the old joke about the vultures getting on a flight and the agent asks them if they want to check luggage. They reply that no we only have carrion. ; )

marty,
How early can one call for seat assignments with KLM? We're flying in June as well...

It appears that the AMS-JRO run is operated on an MD-11 through Mar 25. On Mar 26 the service switches to a 767 through May 28. On May 29 it changes again to a 777 through Oct 28 after which it reverts back to an MD-11. And it appears I have way too much time on my hands

Leely,
90 days prior to your flight.

Thanks, Patty. I'll put it on my calendar.

As Patty says, 90 days in advance. My tickets are being arranged by Internatinal Expeditions, so I won't be able to do it myself online. But you can be sure I'll be on the phone with IE just as the 90 days comes about to see that they do it then. seatguru.com (as others have mentioned) is great for checking this stuff out.

Makes sense to me re. the MD-11 as I am scheduled for March 17 departure returning the 25th.

Surprisingly, the NW (I live in the US) operators whom I spoke with about seating arrangements were polite and very helpful and yes, I first did call them just after the 90 day threshold.

Just be aware that some of the better seats will be blocked for elite status FF members. If you have elite status on any Skyteam carrier, check if they allow access to preferred seating. It's supposed to be more or less a reciprocal privilege across Skyteam carriers.

Otherwise, all remaining seats should open up at the airport, so it doesn't hurt to ask again if you don't get your choice of seats in advance.

dpny,
Do you leave US on the 17th, or Amsterdam on the 17th? I leave BOS on the 17th, but my Amsterdam/JRO connecting leg is on the 18th. Just wondering if perhaps we were on the same flight.

Countingdown,

I leave JFK on the 16th, so I'll miss you by a day. We have a night at Impala before heading out to Tarangire.

Have a great trip.

Daniel

Daniel,
I'll be right behind you. I've got two nights at Mt. Village Lodge then onto Tarangire.
Have a wonderful trip!
Teri