Vault: Flying The Wrong Way To London During Covid Through Japan...
Intro
The pandemic was rough on us all, with lockdowns implemented, a shortage of paper towels, and, of course, multiple people losing their lives to the outbreak (my prayers). During the pandemic, I decided to relocate to the UK for the summer due to wanting to be away from my family and other factors, including a villa in Ibiza. At the end of the day, I graduated high school, and a non-refundable trip around Europe was booked. I didn't want to be around certain individuals in my life who were immuno-compromised for their well-being, so I left.
The Routing/How I Booked
Interestingly, I was looking to fly to London and found no saver space open, even though I had just flown the week before from London to New York, and it was empty on the 787-10 (28 people total on the plane. Therefore, I started researching my other options and found an interesting route consisting of flying United from Newark to Narita and then KLM from Narita to Amsterdam to London. There was saver space open for both routes, and it worked out perfectly, kind of. Let's get into what happened.
Newark-Tokyo
My sister kindly drove me to Newark from the Hamptons, and it only took 2 hours and 15 minutes during the pandemic. While I am not a fan of the pandemic, how deserted New York was during that time was sublime😅.
Once at Newark, I could not believe what a ghost town this place was. Checking in was a hassle, trying to explain to the staff that I had a connecting flight on KLM to London and then having to show my permanent resident stamp in my passport...
Security took no time at all, and I was at the gate within minutes. Boarding started early, with less than 50 people onboard the flight to Newark this morning. Something eery filled the air.
Keep in mind, back in 2020, most, if not all, of the 787-9's didn't have the new Polaris in the 1-2-1 configuration, only the 777-300s. I was seated in 5L for this 13-hour hop over to Tokyo. The front cabin of Polaris had a grand total of 8 people in it, while the rear "mini" cabin had no one on board...
Even though it was Covid, it was a 13-hour flight. Food was offered although I can tell you it wasn't memorable at all.
Honestly, this flight was one of the most peaceful flights I have ever taken in my life. There were no issues on any front; the cabin was silent for 13.5 hours, and I just enjoyed being on some sort of a "private jet." Watching music, enjoying life, and staring out of the window. There is something so peaceful about being up in the air on an empty plane.
After 13 hours and 20 minutes, we landed back in Tokyo Narita. I hadn't been here since I was 7...
Yes, I was extremely nervous upon landing; what was going to happen? Would I be able to make my connection to KLM? Would I be sent back to the US on this plane? I wasn't checked in online, I hadn't been to Tokyo in years, what was going to happen...
Well, we landed, and I was told by the purser to wait behind while others deplaned. Uh oh, this isn't a good sign.
After everyone had deplaned, I followed suit out to the main terminal. Ordinarily, in Tokyo Narita, you would have to clear security again before heading onto your connection flight. However, I was met by a sign that read my name and a United agent willing to take me over to the KLM desk. But.... it wasn't open.
Somehow, someway, the ANA lounge was open during the pandemic, so I was escorted over to the lounge. I mean, heck, I couldn't enter the country😅. I watched as my only way back to the US on the day would be leaving at that moment.😒
Okay, now what? I am in an airport with no way to leave, no way to check in, and not a single soul in sight. Narita during this time was like no other airport I had ever seen. I left the ANA lounge and started exploring, but I was the only human in the terminal🥴.
Around 5 pm, three hours after my inbound had arrived, I headed over to the KLM desk and found a few agents there. Wonderful! Finally, I can check in! Or so I thought...
"Mr XXX, would you mind sharing your citizenship or permeneant resident card please"?.
I responded: "Here is the resident stamp in my passport".
"No, we need your card".
I responded, "I don't have it with me".
"I am sorry, but you can't go to London then."
Well, this is not what I need to hear; after all, I can't enter Tokyo, and there are no flights to the US until tomorrow. Anxiety tingling through my bones, I proceeded to ask if they could call the office. Supposedly (not sure if this is true), the agents called the office in Amsterdam, who then called the immigration services in the UK, and after 30 minutes I was all set.
Now, what do I do? I am stuck in Narita, and we don't board for another 4 hours😂. So I walked, and walked, and walked in circles around the airport. I started timing the 40-yard dash on Narita's concrete floor. Imagine Park Avenue, but not a single person on the street; that is the way it felt.
Eventually, the time came to board the 777-300 that would be taking us over to Amsterdam this evening. With no more than 15 people waiting to get on, boarding was wrapped up in 3 minutes.
We ended up pushing back 27 minutes early; how on earth has that happened? For a long-haul international flight, I have never heard of such a thing apart from Covid times.
Usually, this route is not operated at such a vile time, with the scheduled arrival of 3:45 am into Amsterdam. My guess is it just worked out during Covid.
With less than 20 people on this flight, the flight resembled almost the exact same as United Polaris heading over from New York. The only other difference was the crew, as we ended up talking for hours about flying and how the pandemic has affected them. We were laughing, we were joking around, and it was nice to share some laughs with people after the lockdown had been around for a couple of months. Thumbs up KLM.
Once again, there was food, but it was nowhere near the likes of what airlines served pre-covid times. Everything was packaged up, and drinks were all in bottles/cans.
My seat 5A was mightily similar to the flight on United. Seeing as it was during Covid and loads were so light, I had no issue with the 2-2-2 configuration. On both flights I could barely make out another passenger if I tried😅.
With a short flight time (over Russia) of 11 hours and 39 minutes, we ended up touching down at 3:02 am. You heard that right... 3:02 am. We taxied by a couple of beautiful 747s (and I almost cried while writing this report) and ended up pulling into the gate 33 minutes ahead of schedule at 3:12 am.
Even though it was Covid, KLM still passed out the baby gin bottles. I thought this was a great touch and another reason I love flying KLM. Perhaps I'll have to bring the 787-9/10 out of the vault to Mexico City sometime🙂.
From there, it was a long wait around Amsterdam before catching a flight to London Heathrow onboard the 737. Somehow, I made it.
Final Thoughts
Look, this technically wasn't a direct review into one airline, but more so a cool look into flying the wrong way to London during Covid. I thought that KLM really impressed me during hard times. Even when almost all airlines cut back on service, KLM shined brightly with their crew and distribution of the houses. United was United during that time, and since then, they have really stepped up (I have Polaris reviews to all 6 continents coming soon).
This was a super duper fun experience and made possible by both KLM and United, so thank you!
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