Review: KLM Cityhopper Business Class (Embraer 175)

On a recent vacation to Norway and the Netherlands, I needed to fly from Oslo to Amsterdam to wrap up my vacation at Hotel TwentySeven in Amsterdam.

While intra-Europe business class is never notable, there are some great redemptions out there where you can receive outsized value for the total cost of points and cash. This route was one of those examples, so when I received an alert for availability a few months before travel, I booked it without hesitation.

Let’s take a look at what you can expect when flying KLM Cityhopper business class on the Embraer 175.

Booking KLM Cityhopper Business Class on the Embraer 175

For this KLM Cityhopper Business Class flight, I redeemed 9,000 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points plus $38 in taxes and fees per person. 

A one-way economy fare on this route prices out around $300 CAD, so it’s a pretty solid redemption before even considering the cash fare cost for business class. This is another one of the excellent examples of the value that redeeming Virgin Atlantic points in Europe can offer. 

While it is a very short hop, for the total points and cash cost, I can appreciate being able to board first for overhead bin space, being the first off the plane when landing, plus a meal and a drink. It’s such a small amount of miles for a convenient direct flight in business class that I literally cannot say no at these prices.

Ground Experience – OSL Lounge at Oslo Gardermoen Airport

KLM business class passengers flying out of Oslo Gardermoen Airport receive access to the OSL Lounge, which is located on the upper mezzanine floor by gate E2.

After scanning your boarding pass for entry, you can either go left for the main area of the lounge or to the right to access the area that is reserved for business class passengers. As it was less busy, we headed into the business class section for our brief visit.

The business class section of the OSL Lounge is pretty sizable, with a variety of seating options and arrangements.

A variety of cold foods, including desserts, cheeses, and salads, were available.

Self-serve draft beer, wine, and soft drinks were all available as well.

As you would expect, the lounge was just fine. A few small snacks to tide me over with a couple of glasses of Cava were adequate for what we had expected.

Cabin Arrangement

The KLM Cityhopper business class cabin on the Embraer 175 is configured as four rows of seats in a 2×2 configuration. This is the same configuration as economy class on this plane, which is no surprise here, as this is typical for European business class.

We chose seats 2A and 2C for no real reason in particular, outside of not wanting to be in the bulkhead row. As a smaller plane, there is not a lot of overhead baggage space, so having the seat in front for underseat storage was greatly appreciated.

Seat

There isn’t too much to say about the seat, as it was not that much different than the economy seats on this aircraft. Business class seats only have a slightly larger pitch than economy class, but it’s completely manageable for a flight only a few hours in duration.

There is ample storage space underneath the seats in front, with no bars or supports limiting available space.

Outside of the bulkhead row, each seatback has a literature pocket and a stowable tray table.

The tray table is exactly what you would expect, with a small spot to hold your drink.

For the less-than-two-hour flight, the seat lands somewhere between comfortable and uncomfortable. For a quick hop between cities in Europe, it is completely fine, but I wouldn’t want to be sitting in this seat for any longer than I had to.

Dining

Shortly after takeoff, a brief menu was provided that showed the meal that would be served in addition to the selection of beverages.

I started out with a Johnnie Walker Black Label and ginger ale.

On their Cityhopper business class flights, KLM serves the meal in an ornate and Dutch-inspired box.

Meals are served cold on these flights, and they are what I would call edible. The almonds were great, the macarons were pretty good, and the main meal of pearl couscous with falafel and hummus was ok.

Another round of drinks was offered post-meal, and a cold-pressed bottled juice was offered later in the flight, but I opted not to indulge. Flight attendant service was quick, friendly, yet efficient on this flight.

Entertainment & WiFi

There was no entertainment console or in-flight wifi on this short flight.

Conclusion

KLM Cityhopper business class was exactly what I expected, but that’s not such a bad thing. For what I paid, it was a decent cross-section of value versus cost, and that is perfectly fine with me for a flight under two hours. After all, it was better than paying cash outright.