KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
KLM (in full:
Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij, literally
Royal Aviation Company; usual English:
Royal Dutch Airlines) is a subsidiary of
Air France-KLM. Before its merger with
Air France, KLM was the national
airline of the
Netherlands.
Air France-KLM is France and the Netherlands' main air carrier. Its KLM subsidiary operates from the
airline hub of
Schiphol Airport, near
Amsterdam, where the subsidiary company has its headquarters.
Air France took over KLM in
May 2004, resulting in the creation of Air France-KLM. Air France-KLM is incorporated under French law and its headquarters are located at
Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport near
Paris. Air France-KLM is the largest airline company in the world in terms of operating revenues, and the third-largest in the world (largest in Europe) in terms of revenue-passenger-kilometers (RPKs). In 2004, KLM transported 6 million passengers. [
1]
Air France-KLM is part of the
SkyTeam Alliance with
Delta Air Lines,
Aeroméxico,
Korean Air,
Czech Airlines,
Alitalia,
Northwest Airlines,
Aeroflot and
Continental Airlines. Both Air France and KLM continue to fly under their distinct brand names.
KLM was founded on
October 7,
1919, making it the oldest carrier in the world still operating under its original name. The first KLM flight was on
May 17,
1920, with a flight from
London to
Amsterdam carrying two
English journalists and a number of newspapers. This first flight was carried out by an
Airco de Havilland DH16, callsign EALU, piloted by Jerry Shaw. In 1921 KLM started regularly scheduled services, by 1926 offering flights to Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels, Paris, London, Bremen, Copenhagen, and Malmo; using primarily
Fokker F2 & F3. Intercontinental service to Indonesia started in 1929 using
Fokker F7-B, although the first non-scheduled KLM flight had been made in 1924 by
Fokker F7 Callsign NACC piloted by
van der Hoop.
Corporate organization
KLM is listed on the stock exchanges of Amsterdam, New York and Paris.
Subsidiaries:
*
KLM Cityhopper (formerly:
NLM)
*
KLM Cargo*
KLM Asia - For political reasons, flights into
Taipei,
Taiwan are operated by KLM Asia to avoid flying into
Republic of China (Taiwan) and
People's Republic of China (China) under the same name. The livery of KLM Asia does not have the crown logo on the tail and fuselage.
*
KLM Flight Academy* 100% share in
Transavia Airlines* 50% share in
Martinair* 26% share in
Kenya Airways ,
Former subsidiaries:
* KLM Alps
*
KLM exel* KLM Helicopters
*
KLM UK was a KLM subsidiary until merged with KLM Cityhopper.
|
Boeing 747 in KLM-Asia livery |
Merger
On
30 September 2003,
Air France and KLM announced that they would in future be known as
Air France-KLM. This entity was first offered on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange on
5 May 2004. The takeover of KLM by Air France marked the end of the oldest independent airline in the world. The
Royal adjective will likely remain for the foreseeable future. Its independent identity is guaranteed to
2008, but eventually it is anticipated that its operations will be merged into those of the French company. In the meantime, it does not appear that KLM's longstanding
joint venture with
Northwest Airlines will be affected. Both KLM and Northwest joined the
SkyTeam Alliance in September 2004.
Presidents - CEOs
*
Albert Plesman (1919 - 1953)
*
Fons Aler (1953 - 1961)
*
Ernst van der Beugel (1961-1963)
*
Horatius Albarda (1963 - 1965)
*
Gerrit van der Wal (1965 - 1973)
*
Sergio Orlandini (1973-1987)
*
Jan de Soet (1987 - 1991)
*
Pieter Bouw (1991 - 1997)
*
L. M. van Wijk (1997 - present)
During
The Black Week, the 4-engined aircraft
"Kwikstaart" crashed and burned just outside
Schiphol on 14 July 1935, killing four crew and two passengers - 14 other occupants survived; on 17 July 1935 the
DC-2(?)
"Maraboe" crashed outside
Bushehr,
Iran - all survived; on 20 July the
"Gaai" crashed in an Alpine pass, killing all three crew and all ten passengers.
[ (Dutch) Albert Heijn, ed KL-50 - logboek van vijftig jaar vliegen. Meijer, Amsterdam. 1969]A KLM
Douglas Dakota crashed after takeoff from Copenhagen on January 26, 1947, killing all 22 onboard, including
Prince Gustaf Adolf of
Sweden.
A KLM Lockheed Constellation
Nijmegen crashed near Prestwick, Scotland on 20 October 1948, killing all 34 aboard. (see
KLM Constellation air disaster)
On September 5, 1954, flight 633, a KLM Lockheed Super Constellation, ditched in the River Shannon after takeoff from Shannon airport, Ireland. 28 out of 56 people on board (46 passengers and 10 crew) were killed. (see
KLM Flight 633)
On
March 27,
1977,
KLM Flight 4805 &
Pan Am Flight 1736 collided at Los Rodeos Airport on the island of
Tenerife,
Canary Islands, killing 583 people (see
Tenerife disaster).
|
Selection of KLM Delft Blue Houses |
KLM is well known by business travellers since 1952 for presenting to its business and first class passengers, during the flight, small
Delftware, blue and white
porcelain reproductions of old Amsterdam canal houses, which are filled with
Bols jenever liquor [
2].
Each type of house is numbered. There are 86 different types. All are reproductions of actual houses, which are listed in a documentation available from KLM. These small porcelain houses are now famous collectibles.
The KLM fleet consists of the following aircraft (in May
2006):
*04
Airbus A330-200 (+ 4 orders)
*14
Boeing 737-300*13
Boeing 737-400*15
Boeing 737-800 (+ potentially an additional 13 on order, 1 to be delivered in 2007)
*05
Boeing 737-900 (+ potentially an additional 15 on order)
*22
Boeing 747-400 (5 full pax, 17 combi)
*03
Boeing 747-400ERF (full freighter, + 1 on order)
*02
Boeing 747-800 (2 orders)
*05
Boeing 767-300ER (being phased out, replaced by Airbus A330's)
*13
Boeing 777-200ER (+ 1 on order)
*04
Boeing 777-300ER (on order)
*10
McDonnell Douglas MD-11KLM has announced that it has converted 3 of its remaining 4
Boeing 777-200ER orders to
777-300ER airframes in addition to a single fresh order. KLM plans to have 4 Boeing 777-300ERs introduced into its fleet in
2007.
The orders for the
Airbus A330-200, as well as the
Boeing 777-200ER will be replacements for the 767 and MD-11 aircraft, but KLM is also looking into adding the
Boeing 787 or the
Airbus A350. KLM has expressed little to no interest towards the
Airbus A380.
The average age of the KLM fleet is 9.9 years in April 2006.
*
AirUK*
Air ALM*
Buzz*
Flying Blue*
Tenerife disaster*
Viasa*
KLM*
Air France KLM Finance*
KLM Fleet Age
