Following on the heels of my recent trip to Sweden and a long weekend in Paris with my husband that I haven’t even had time to mention yet, the next trip is on the horizon! Very soon I’ll be heading for Madrid with my mom.

1. My Itinerary for Madrid
2. I’m flying KLM Premium Economy!
3. How I booked these flights
4. The reviews you can expect from this trip
5. Summary

My Itinerary for Madrid

I have been in Madrid once before, but only for 24 hours. I visited with my friend Ethan (ethanmccurdymusic), and since we were going to go around Spain for about a week, we didn’t get to spend all that much time in the capital. However, it felt like such a fun and vibrant place that I knew I had to come back.

And the tickets were cheap, too! But more on that later.

We will stay in a hotel on the edge of the old center, roughly in-between the Palacio Real and the Prado museum. This will allow us to get to most points of interest simply by walking. Indeed, we wil lbe visiting the royal palace as well as the Prado – but I’m also excited to see museums such as the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza and Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, both for their iconic collections of European master pieces.

Besides seeing the sights in Madrid, we will also do a day trip to Toledo, known for its beautiful and interesting architecture. Sitting atop a hill, this old city still has preserved medieval walls and a melting pot of Moorish, European and Jewish architectural styles, which can be seen in Toledo’s cathedral, synagogues and mosques, all clustered together. It should be easy to get here by train or bus.

Also, let’s not forget the great Spanish food! From tapas to Paella and other Spanish classics, Spanish food is at its best in Spain, where the dishes are further enhanced by locally grown vegetables that truly bring the Spain to the dinner table. This should be a great trip!

I’m flying KLM Premium Economy!

I’m excited to try a new product on this trip: KLM’s Premium Economy class, marketed as Premium Comfort (not to be confused with Economy Comfort, which is extra-legroom economy). Unless there will be a plane swap at the last minute, I’m scheduled to fly this on KLM’s Boeing 787-10, which features Premium Economy in a 2-3-2 configuration. Economy is in 3-3-3 on the other hand.

The flights I booked will take me first from New York-JFK to Amsterdam (AMS), where I will meet my mom during a 3-hour layover. I will take my mother into the KLM Crown Lounge No.25 during that time. Then we will fly together (in economy) from Amsterdam AMS to Madrid’s Barajas Intl Airport (MAD). For the return flight, we will retrace our steps: we will fly together to Amsterdam, where I have a 3-hour-ish layover (which I’ll spend in the KLM Crown lounge No. 52), before boarding the flight back to New York-JFK.

KLM’s Premium Economy seats are the Collins Aerospace MiQ seats, featuring 38″ pitch, 18.5″ width and have a good recline of 8″. The entertainment display is 13.3″ inch and the seat sports a universal power plug as well as USB-A and USB-C sockets. For comparison, KLM’s economy seats have 18″ width and a 5″ recline – though the extra-legroom ‘Economy Comfort’ seats have a 7″ recline. I have been able to assign myself these seats on account of Flying Blue Gold status, and I can definitely say that the extra 2″ recline greatly enhances comfort (which is one the reasons why I’m looking to requalify for next year). The extra 1″ recline on top of that is sure to further enhance comfort, as I recently experienced during my recent flight to Stockholm in SAS’s premium economy class, SAS Plus. Below photos are from KLM’s website.

For the meal service, KLM touts an enhanced three-course meal that is higher quality with bigger portions. The below photo definitely looks better than the economy meal, though I do note that the size of the tray is not unlike that of the economy meal. So I do wonder how the portions truly compare to the meal in economy. It’s not possible to order a particular dish ahead of time, besides for special meals (vegan, lactose free, etc).

Otherwise, KLM highlights how a pre-departure drink is served, and this seems to be done in proper glassware, as in business class. KLM also mentions that an amenity kit is provided. From what I can tell on the picture, this looks decent – more like what you get in SAS, and less like what you get in Singapore Airlines (which is a good thing, surprised as I am to say that!).

I’m very excited to experience KLM Premium Economy for myself. The seats look comfortable with all the bells and whistles I would expect. The screen looks on the smaller side, as does the meal portion size, but soon I’ll see for myself what it’s really like. Stay tunes for the full review!

How I booked these flights

So, how much did I spend on this? I booked this flight with cash. Initially, I booked basic economy tickets. One of the reasons my mom and I landed on going to Spain, is because the tickets I found were very cheap: a mere $430.23 in total. I haven’t paid this little for a flight in years! That’s in part because I’m going in March, which is very much low season. But this is also where Flying Blue Gold status comes in: because of my status, I can buy a basic economy fare and still receive SkyPrioity services, get a free checked bag, upgrade my seat and receive lounge access, allowing me to fly as if I’m in a higher level of service than I actually paid for (and saving money in the process).

KLM does allow you to upgrade your cabin class of service whenever, though. I’m also curious what the prices are, so I tend to check once in a while in hopes of scoring a good deal. Unfortunately I find that it’s rarely a good deal though. Except this time.

After looking at the upgrade options, one day I saw I’d be able to upgrade to premium economy for the return trip for $1085, so I jumped on that opportunity. Most of the time, the price was well over $1400. Unfortunately, one restriction on the original basic economy fare that I booked is that you have to pay $199 change fee, and upgrading the flight is considered a change. Hence, the total cost of the upgrade came out to be $1284.

What does this mean for my Flying Blue Gold benefits? Well, premium economy passengers get SkyPriority services, they get 2 checked bags, free seat selection and 50% off for the KLM lounges. So, a lot of my Gold benefits disappear. That is, I still get the extra checked bag for a total of 3 checked bags, and I do get free lounge access. So if I’d want to maximize on my Gold benefits, flying premium economy is not the way to go. But truth be told, sometimes I just want to be comfortable – before and after boarding the plane!

The reviews you can expect from this trip

I can be pretty quick about this: since I’ve already reviewed fairly recently both Delta Sky Clubs at New York JFK (both the Delta Sky Club at Gate A8 and the Delta Sky Club at gate B31) and the KLM Crown lounges at Amsterdam Schiphol AMS (KLM Crown lounge No 52 (non-Shengen) and KLM Crown Lounge No 25 (Shengen)), I’m only planning to review the KLM Premium Economy flight experience.

There is the question of lounge access in Madrid on the return flight, however I’m not hopeful I will receive lounge access: as per SkyTeam’s lounge access policies, access for SkyTeam Elite Plus status holders is only granted at the transfer between domestic and international flights, and my understanding is that intra-Europe flights tend to count as ‘domestic’, unfortunately. In theory I may be able to access the Sala VIP Puerta Del Sol in Madrid Bajaras (MAD) Terminal 3, but we will see. If I can access it, I will provide a review of it!

Summary

Soon I’m going on a short trip to Madrid with my mom! I’m excited to tour the Spanish capital and spend some quality time with my mother. We will see beautiful architecture, fantastic museums, and have great food in Madrid and the beautiful, ancient city of Toledo. To get there, I’ll be flying in KLM’s premium economy class from New York to Amsterdam, where I’ll meet my mom, and then we will fly onward together. While I will visit the Delta Sky Club in New York and the KLM Crown Lounges in Amsterdam, I already reviewed those – as such I will only review KLM’s premium economy class flight experience. I’m looking forward to a wider, more comfortable seat, better food and an amenity kit. Stay tuned for the full review!