KEY FEATURES
• 2.7-metre lie-flat seats
• 17-inch in-flight entertainment screens
• Seats and cabin interiors designed by renowned Dutch designer Hella Jongerius
• In-flight menus by Jonnie and Therese Boer
• Wine list by Harold Hamersma and Hubrecht Duijker
• Carpets made from recycled cabin crew outfits
KLM has launched a new World Business Class cabin, which it debuted at a press conference in Amsterdam last week.
The new World Business Class seats are fully horizontal lie-flat (as opposed to the current angled seats), designed by renowned Dutch designer Hella Jongerius, who is known for her “Polder” sofa.
KLM’s new business class cabin features one of the longest seats in the industry, with chairs extending to 2.7 metres. The seats are also lighter than most business class seats, which will help to reduce fuel expenditure and thus costs. The seat-back in-flight entertainment systems also feature some of the largest screens in the industry, at 17 inches.
KLM has collaborated with Dutch chef Jonnie Boer and his wife Therese, co-owners of Michelin-star restaurant De Librije, to create a top-class menu featuring Dutch specialties such as green herring with burnt onion and duck with beetroot.
Dutch wine connoisseurs Harold Hamersma and Hubrecht Duijker were commissioned to create a select wine list that would not only pair well with the menu but would also take into account the effects of pressure changes and altitude, which will alter the character of a wine.
In addition to the streamlined cabin interiors and seats, Jongerius has incorporated the ‘first sustainable carpets in aviation history’ - made from recycled cabin crew outfits - into her design.
Sustainability is evidently an increasing matter of importance to Air France-KLM; currently it is the highest-ranking airline on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and has already run biofuel flights to New York and Paris.
KLM CEO Peter Hartman said that the decision to update its business class product was necessary despite the challenges presented by the recession.
“We were in the danger zone already,” he said. “We were in the middle of the [financial] crisis, and we made the decision [to upgrade] because it was a request from our premium fliers.”
“The industry is developing and you have to develop with your customer. But we don’t intend to increase our fares.”
Hartman said the product will be rolled out across the entire KLM fleet in phases over the next three years, beginning with their fleet of 20 Boeing 747s, followed by the 777-200s and 777-300s, and finally their fleet of A330s.
