For flying to Europe from the west coast, do you prefer klm or british airways, and why? I have been seeing the flights I need (thanks to another user earlier, searching via multi-city searches on google flights, YVR->Berlin then Dublin-> YVR), and the prices are so similar it's basically about choosing which airline I'd prefer. I've heard very good things about KLM... please discuss your experiences and opinions.... thanks so much!

KLM.

Kristy
But why?

Schiphol is better than Heathrow. klm is consistently adequate. BA is good, but once the cabin was 35°C+ for the entire flight.

klm because u flew in for weekends from Amsterdam... I knew. The best!

I know

klm are just fantastic. I haven't flown with british airways but I'd fly klm again before I'd try them because they're just that good.

British is horrible. Seats are really uncomfortable, no leg room and in flight entertainment is horrible. I've heard great things about klm though.

klm will go above and beyond to service their customers. If you have an issue they will always try their best to meet and excel your expectations. Food is decent too

klm. I have flown several other airlines to Europe and klm is the best from those I have tried. The food and seats in coach are better than the other carriers. I can't speak to BA having never flown with them before.

klm, large seats, good food, snack bar in the back, friendly Dutch hospitality. Hands down. klm. Fb and twitter customer service, they get back to you on time (they post their response time, it's often less than 10min) and do everything to help, and do it genuinely.

LOVE klm

We fly to Spain every year and our favourite airline is klm via Amsterdam. The service on board is excellent, food is more than decent and the overall experience is excellent. The only drawback for us is the flight times out of Spain in order to catch the connecting flight from AMS is 6 AM.
This year we thought we would fly BA through Heathrow because the travel times were more civilized...BIG MISTAKE. The experience of going through security repeatedly at Heathrow is not one that I ever wish to repeat. I hear from others in the industry that if we had taken air canada through Heathrow it would've been less of a hassle.
Next year...KLM even if it means having to sleep at the airport!

^^I use my free AMS stopover on the return so I can fly a civilized time back to AMS, enjoy Holland, and then take the afternoon direct back to YVR

Agree totally with those who say to avoid Heathrow at all costs.

Well thank you so much everyone! Looks like I'll be avoiding BA like the plague and booking with klm when the time comes!! You're all awesome!!!!

on the other hand klm left us sitting in Amsterdam with no access to our luggage for 23 hrs and 55mins, because our connecting klm flight was delayed. No hotel, no nothing. we were supposed to be grateful there were a couple of seats left on the following days flight

I don't "like" this per se, Liz, but I like that you answered. Thank you. I'm sorry that happened

it turned into an expensive 24 hrs too. we were too late to cancel the hotel we were due to stay at in vancouver who wanted 24 hrs notice. our travel insurance didn't pay out because we'd left our point of departure. klm denied any responsibility. the final straw was the two seats we did get on the next days flight were right in front of a dividing wall and didn't recline.

Having flown both klm & BA they're both great airlines.
I usually fly BA back to the UK because I love their service and they've always bent over backwards for me with any Hiccoughs that are usually beyond their control. I would say base your decision on if you want to go through LHR or AMS. When I went through AMS I had enough time to wander Amsterdam before my night flight to Nairobi. On the way back though I was stuck in an airport that grew boring pretty quickly. Terminal 5 at LHR is pretty amazing. As for the amount of security points I believe it depends on if you're changing terminals (though someone else might know better). Usually BA flights fly in and out of terminal 5 and if memory serves me right there was one lot of security after I cleared the border people.
BA also leaves around 840pm whereas klm leaves around 430pm. That could potentially mean one less day you need to take off work to head to YVR?
For me I would also rather fly the queen of the skies, a 747 over a A330 but I'm an aviation nerd.