RSSKLM-Royal Dutch Airlines
Apr 19
Africa Africa, Airlines, Aviation, cheap flights, flights, leisure, South Africa, tourism, travel No Comments
The flagship carrier of the Netherlands is KLM-Royal Dutch Airlines, hosting a main hub at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport and headquartered in nearby Amstelveen. Offering both domestic and international service, KLM-Royal Dutch airlines serves over 90 destinations, and is also a member of the world’s second largest airline alliance, SkyTeam.
For the past several years, KLM-Royal Dutch Airlines has been part of Air France-KLM, while it has also maintained an operating partnership with Northwest Airlines, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the USA. The two-airline consortium operates a fleet of 607 aircraft that carry nearly 75 million passengers a year to 258 destinations. The Air France-KLM partnership recently obtained even more global reach by purchasing a 25 per cent stake in the Italian carrier Alitalia.
Founded in’19 and the world’s oldest air carrier, KLM ran its first flight, from London to Amsterdam, in May’20. During World War II it ceased operations. The company was accused of helping accused Nazi war criminals escape Germany after World War II, but it has denied the allegations.
While KLM remains the world’s oldest airline, it is no longer the world’s oldest independent airline. Air France and KLM-Royal Dutch Airlines announced merger plans in 2003, marking the end of KLM’s independent run. The merger did affect the ongoing cooperation between KLM and Northwest Airlines, however, as both companies joined SkyTeam in September 2004.
Fliers in first or business class on KLM are given souvenir porcelain reproductions of old Dutch canal houses, the Delftware miniatures filled with a Dutch liqueur. KLM’s practice of handing out the Delft porcelain miniatures began in’52, and, as 2008, the company’s eighty-eighth year in operation; there are 88 models of the houses. Each October 7 the company celebrates the anniversary of its founding with a new Delftware design.
KLM’s mileage program is Flying Blue. Members can accumulate and spend miles on flights on Air France-KLM, and also on other SkyTeam carriers and with a variety of transportation, travel, and financial companies. Flying Blue members earn four membership levels, Ivory, Silver, Gold, and Platinum, determined by their accumulated SkyTeam miles. Members can also earn miles on flights operated by Kenya Airways, which is a Flying Blue partner.
The venerable history of KLM-Royal Dutch Airlines has not shielded it from the current year’s economic turbulence. On account of declining ticket sales and lower cargo traffic, Air France-KLM announced recently that will lay off up to 2,000 workers. These job cuts represent about 3 per cent of the total workforce. The company further plans to reduce its airline capacity by about 2 per cent in the summer of 2009, hoping to compensate for the $653 million loss it posted for the fourth quarter of 2008. Company management has said it has not ruled out even more future job reductions or flight terminations as the company seeks to stabilize its finances and return to profitability.
An airline watchdog group based in Australia, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, announced in February 2009 that it is suing Air France-KLM over price fixing allegations. KLM denies the charges and will defend against the suit. British Airways and Qantas were recently fined $5 million and $20 million over similar price fixing allegations.
Tom Martens is the content syndication coordinator for South Arica?s leading Flight comparison & Booking portal, which includes KLM Airlines amongst others.
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