KLM review by Marinela

Most pet UNFRIENDLY airline. I don't like to be negative, but this had to be shared. I had the most traumatizing experience with KLM, both online and with the Athens, Greece airport staff. This summer I decided to rescue two tiny kittens and spent 4 weeks arranging for their transport. I had to call, wait on hold and request several different times to travel with the kittens (hours and hours of phone charges) and each time I was given a different/contradictory reason why they were denied passage with KLM. A selection of the reasons included: one pet per species per cabin, one pet per carrier and one pet per ticketed passenger. The final phone call was with Delta (with whom I had purchased the tickets) and they were able to confirm with me that the kittens could fly (two kittens of the same litter under the age of four months can share a carrier), assuring me that everything was confirmed for each flight and no further follow-up was required. With that confirmation, I proceeded to get all their travel documents together (shots, pet passport, letter from vet), hired a taxi (not the usual cheap bus), stayed in a pet friendly hotel, upgraded our seats to Premiere Economy and went to the airport (a day's trip from the island I found them on) with my family. I happily checked in and presented the documents to the KLM agent and was told the kittens were not confirmed to travel. The reason was given that I had tried too many times to get approval and they had denied every time. My confirmation from Delta, their partner airline, was not valid and they would not, could not help. From there everything went downhill. We were transferred to the specialty desk to presumably resolve the problem but instead we were clearly sent to the person who would waste our time and say NO to every reasonable option, including purchasing an open seat in an upgraded cabin so there would be one cat per cabin, etc. With 10 minutes to spare before boarding closed for our flight, we made the decision to split up and I sent my family (husband and two kids) off to catch the flight while I remained in Greece with the kittens. I couldn't just leave them on the curb at the Athens airport. Luckily, my family made the flight but they were continued to be treated horrendously by KLM. Our reserved, upgraded seats had been given away and instead they traveled in middle seats spread rows apart throughout the airplane. At each transfer, there were two, they were reticketed and sent through additional security because there was a code on their boarding passes. Just terrible service. Meanwhile, still in Athens, I spent hours on the phone with Delta to rebook a flight for myself and the two kittens. Kudos to Delta for pulling it off and getting us on flights within a few hours, albeit not to my original destination but to Los Angeles, which was only 60 miles away. Based on their poor customer service, I will not travel with KLM ever again. I have been traveling internationally at least once a year for the past 48 years and they have lost my business forever. I strongly advise not traveling with KLM especially if you have a pet.