The Dutch flag carrier, most commonly known as KLM (an abbreviation of Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.), is a major European airline that operates a robust hub from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, one of the busiest airports in Europe.
Founded 105 years ago
KLM was founded on October 7, 1919, when Queen Wilhelmina awarded the yet-to-be-founded KNLM the Royal predicate. Eight Dutch businessmen founded KLM, with Albert Plesman becoming the airline’s first administrator and director. Departing on May 17, 1920, KLM operated its first flight, flying from London (Croydon Airport) to Amsterdam. This was flown using a leased DH-16, with registration G-EALU.
Today, KLM has ballooned to operate a fleet of 111 aircraft to 164 destinations worldwide. It has become part of the Air France-KLM Group and has multiple subsidiaries, including KLM City Hopper, KLM Asia, Martinair , Transavia , and Cygnific. Its headquarters are located near the airline hub in Amstelveen.
Earlier this year, KLM celebrated its 105th birthday and is the longest-serving airline still operating under its original name. Celebrating such a special birthday this year, Simple Flying decided to look back at five key milestones for the carrier. What other milestones can you think of?
1. Early years
1919-1921
In 1919, Albert Plesman, a young aviator lieutenant, sponsored an ELTA aviation exhibition, which over half a million attended. At the time, several Dutch commercial interests intended to establish a new airline. Frits Fentener van Vlissingen then found KLM and saw Plesman as the first administrator.
After its first flight in 1920, the airline carried 440 passengers and 22 tonnes of freight. It took a winter break from operations and resumed services the following year with Fokker F.II and F.III aircraft.
2. Intercontinental services
Batavia and the Dutch East Indies
KLM took its first experimental flight in October 1924 to Batavia (modern-day Jakarta ) in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia). The airline used a Fokker F.VII to complete the flight, which took 16 days to arrive.
Source: Northwest Airlines History
Regular services began from Amsterdam to Batavia in 1926, and additional services were added from Amsterdam to Rotterdam, Brussels, Paris, London, Bremen, Copenhagen, and Malmo. By 1938, the route from Europe to Batavia was frequent and followed several routings as recorded by Northwest Airlines History, including stops at:
3. Black Week
July 1935
In 1935, KLM experienced three flight crashes in the space of a week, known as ‘Black Week’ for the airline. The week saw the airline lose three airplanes and kill two crew members. This, alongside another crash in April earlier that year, saw the airline lose 15% of its pilots . Due to the limited staff available, Lufthansa took over an Amsterdam to Milan service. Brief details of the accidents are below:
- San Giacomo
- On July 20, 1935, a KLM Douglas DC-2 operated between Milano and Amsterdam. The aircraft crashed at Pian San Giacomo, killing thirteen people onboard.
- Kiwkstaart
- On July 14, 1935, the Fokker F.XXII, an international passenger flight, was departing from Amsterdam to Malmo via Hamburg and Copenhagen. Shortly after takeoff, both left-side engines failed, and the plane crashed. Four crew members and two passengers were killed.
Photo: Willem van de Poll | Wikimedia Commons
4. KLM enters the ‘Jet Age’
1957
New terminal buildings were opened in Amsterdam in April 1967, and the DC-8, which allowed up to 244 passengers onboard, was the largest scheduled passenger service to the airport at the time. This was only surpassed by the Boeing 747 in 1969.
Photo: Christian Volpati | Wikimedia Commons
KLM ordered its own 747 in 1967, and to form lower unit cost and maintenance requirements, KLM formed a partnership with Scandinavian Airlines and Swissair to form the KSS maintenance consortium.
5. International expansion
1980’s, and 90’s
By 1980, KLM was carrying almost ten million passengers a year. In 1983, the airline agreed with American plane maker Boeing to acquire ten stretched Boeing 727 aircraft. These converted aircraft were named 747-200SUD or 747-300. Later that same year, the airline also took delivery of the Airbus A310 .
In 1989, KLM welcomed its first Boeing 747 400 to the fleet. With liberalization in the European aviation market, Amsterdam looked to feed traffic into its Amsterdam hub by working with affiliated airlines. From this, KLM acquired a 20% share in Northwest Airlines, and by 1990, the airline was carrying around 16 million passengers per year.
In 1993, KLM and Northwest entered into a joint venture partnership that saw collaboration on their flights between the United States and Europe. The carriers introduced a world-class business class product on their intercontinental routes in 1994, and KLM eventually increased its stake in the carrier to 25% by 1994. Several of their aircraft had dual liveries showcasing the two carriers as part of the partnership.
6. Air France-KLM merger
September 2003
Air France and KLM agreed to a merger plan in the new millennium. Both airlines would become subsidiaries of the Air France-KLM holding company. As part of the agreement, both airlines would retain their branding and hubs, but this would create the world’s largest airline group. The merger is estimated to cut annual costs for the carrier between EUR 400 and 500 million ($420 – $530 million).
The merger with Air France didn’t greatly affect KLM’s JV with Northwest, and the American carrier eventually merged with Delta Air Lines in 2008. KLM went on to join the SkyTeam alliance in 2004 alongside its Delta and Air France counterparts.
Fast forward to today, and KLM operates ten different types of passenger aircraft in its mainline fleet, with such variants as the Airbus A321neo, Boeing 777-200ER, and Boeing 787-10. The aircraft has an order of 50 Airbus A350-900 / 1000 on order, which will be shared between Air France and KLM. Its unique position in Europe has also enabled it to offer a wide range of regional services to Amsterdam, feeding thousands of passengers daily into its hub and to many international services across the globe.
Source: Simple Flying
