We spoke to KLM Royal Dutch Airlines CEO Pieter Elbers to find out his best
Pieter Elbers: Well, beating jet-lag for me is an early morning run. So, wherever I go, I wake up early, I do my run, and that's, for me, the way to beat the jet lag. Well, being in New York now it's - there's no better place to run in the morning than in Central Park. So that's what I do.
For the rest, traveling and going around is just great. I love to board the aircraft in Amsterdam and 10 hours later to be in São Paulo or be in LA or be in Shanghai, China.
Everything is in a fixed place. Everything is packed in the same way. I'm boarding an aircraft about every other week, so I want to make sure I don't forget anything. I need everything to be done in the very same way. I know where everything is packed, I know the sequence of packing it. So yes, I do it in the same very structured way.
Business Insider: Do you use any apps or anything to help you remember things?
Elbers: No, by the time I need an app to remember what I need to pack, I should be out of a job, right? No - what I do is I have a special bag for sort of my running stuff and some of the non-business related items. And then I have a small carry-on luggage for business shirts, ties, and so-on.
Well, it's definitely not Tuesday afternoon. So, prices are changing all the time according to the season, according to the demand, according to the specific circumstances. So, I wouldn't be able to give you a sort of specific time of the year, time of the moment. Obviously outside the holiday period, it's - pricing is different than within the holiday period which is a bit similar I guess to hotels and all kinds of other businesses.
Well, sometimes we do have overbooking situations, and in that case of course, we try to find our most loyal customers and try to reward them for their loyalty - even if they fly coach - to have them upgraded. So I guess, the answer to your question is, to be a loyal customer on KLM and you'll have the most the chance to be upgraded.