2022.04 Amsterdam weekend, Keukenhof and Rijksmuseum Part 6 – Return home
Our time in Amsterdam was up, so it was time to check-out of the Hilton Amsterdam and take the bus back to Schiphol for our flight home.
Schiphol & Check-in
Clouds, and drizzle greeted our day, and fortunately we didn’t have to wait long for the bus. Like our bus ride from Schiphol, the trip was fast and efficient. A few notes about the route is that it’ll travel past the catering building for KLM as one of the stops along the way.
As we approached Schiphol the dedicated bus lane gave me the impression that the road would have us on the airport apron going between the parked airplanes, it felt that we were really close to the airplanes!
Once at the airport, the bus stop is closest to Check-in area 3. That worked great for us as that is where Air Canada operates its check-in counters. Again, the area was not busy and even though the picture shows a few people at check-in counters, I don’t remember waiting long, if at all, to check-in, and leave our checked luggage.
From there it’s a short walk to the central security area. You’ll walk along the far side of the check-in counters to then go up one level to the security screening.
Travelling in business class enabled us to use priority screening. With a scan of our boarding pass we skipped the main line and headed directly to a security screening line, where we were second or third. From there it was passport control. Schiphol airport has automatic passport gates for select countries (including Canada), however you still need to see the agent to get the exit stamp in your passport.
Immediately exiting security and passport control you enter the main part of the terminal on a mezzanine level. Air Canada has a solitary daily flight, and its gate was at the far end of the non-Schengen gates.
Lounge?
We did have access to a contract lounge, however we didn’t visit for a cool reason. To welcome somebody who was on the inbound flight. Cooler part was that he was one of the flight crew! After a short visit we bid him farewell, we didn’t want to hold up him and the rest of the crew for their rest.
One landmark I noticed was the renovated KLM Crown Lounge. We had visited it before its renovation back in 2018. Based on reviews, I wanted to check it out. In the least, the entrance was a highlight amongst the shops and other things in the terminal.
For the rest of the time, we just waited at the gate largely because it was a long walk to return to the main part (called Holland Boulevard) where the shops and things to do were located. It was pretty quiet by the gate up until time for boarding.
Flight, Amsterdam to Toronto
AC827, Boeing 787-8
Scheduled Departure 12:15
Schedule Arrival 14:10
Seats: 2 & 3K
For this flight home, I was able to make use of Air Canada eUpgrades. These are awarded to frequent flyers, however due to the pandemic, and the type of Aeroplan point earning affiliated credit card I had, I ended up with some! With the ability to use these to sit up front, I put in my request to be upgraded for our flight. The morning before check-in opened our request was granted. I had been monitoring the occupied seats (it’s not 100% accurate but a general guide) and it showed only a handful of seats had been selected. Now in retrospect, I think it was a pretty certain thing largely because the remaining seats went to a group of technical or mechanical related airline industry staff. This guess was based on that they were checked-in by the gate agents and waiting to board before wheelchair and families were invited to pre-board; the group were talking amongst themselves, and during the flight a few had their laptops on during the flight. It’s easy to read a title page on a computer screen when you’re returning from the lavatory that states the plane and technical part of the manual.
Once onboard, this was the first time being on a Boeing 787-8, and the cabin between the first and second set of doors holds only 20 business class seats. Unlike being on a 777 where this area can easily fit closer to 30 business class seats, having only 5 rows felt more intimate. Now, it’s still not as cool as being on the upper deck of the 747.
Amenity kit, bottle of water, menu, pillow and blankets waited for us at our seats.
Once settled in I was able to go through the menu:
Boarding began just before noon. Welcome messages were made over the PA by service director, Monica, and then Captain Mike, but I only got one first officer’s name, Matt. Although boarding was completed and the door closed for an on-time departure, luggage had to be removed due to a few passengers who did not make the flight.
This resulted in a half hour delay and by 1pm the plane was pushed back from the gate to begin our journey home. Another nice first was that our departure was not out to the third runway far away from the terminal. Instead we headed to a nearby runway, and by 1:20pm we were in the air.
Approximately a half hour after take-off, beverage service began, followed by the starter that was served with a salad and a bun was offered.
The main course was delivered just under twenty minutes later.
This time the beef was better than our 2017 flight. Finally dessert then arrived with three options, I passed on the fruit, and selected the cake,
and the cheese platter.
Meal service in total was complete just around 90 minutes after take-off. I completed the movie I was watching and had a short nap, probably less than an hour, and then returned to watching movies while the plane flew over the Atlantic, then reaching North America over Labrador, followed by Quebec, and then Ontario.
The view never gets boring for me:
I didn’t note when the snack arrived as we were flying over Quebec, however the “pumpkin salad” tasted as if it was prepared without any spices or seasoning. Very bland, and I skipped it. Inside the shiny container beside the packaged bun were chocolates.
And how could I not include a flight and miss getting a picture of the loo with a view? 😉
Our descent into Toronto was without issue, and with Lake Simcoe to the northwest of the plane, our time before landing was going to be short, and yes the lake is predominately covered with ice.
We landed just past 2:30pm Toronto time, and after a 10 minute taxi arrived at our gate. Capacity constraints continued once the door opened. First, passengers with connecting flights were allowed to disembark. Then us in business class were the next group allowed to leave the plane. We did have to wait a little while for our baggage as it wasn’t until quarter to four that we had exited the terminal.
Overall, it was a great short trip to celebrate my birthday. Truthfully, it wasn’t as lavish as where we were for her birthday back in 2018, but that was a very different trip. By the time we got home I was already looking forward to our return to Europe where we would explore even more Christmas markets.
Explore other parts of this trip:
Part 1 – Air Canada flight Toronto to Zurich
Part 2 – Connection in Zurich, Swiss flight Zurich to Amsterdam
Part 6 – Return home, Air Canada Amsterdam to Toronto (this post!)