Airbus delivers 47 aircraft in August....

In August, European planemaker made 47 commercial aircraft deliveries to 31 customers, taking the yearly total planes delivered to 447 to 75 customers.   The company also confirmed it had taken orders for 46 aircraft during the month. 

Among the airlines getting new aircraft were: Air France, Breeze, IndiGo, Frontier Airlines, Turkish Airlines, British Airways, Jet2, Cathay Pacific, KLM, Korean Air, Starlux and China Eastern Airlines. 

The airlines ordering planes during August included Airbaltic with 10 A220 jets, Cathay Pacific with 30 A330-900 models, plus 3 A320neo and 3 A350-900s which are currently attributed to private customers.    

On 27th August 2024 the Dutch national carrier KLM took delivery of its first A321neo as part of their fleet modernisation with the latest generation, fuel-efficient aircraft. With the aircraft, KLM joins the community of successful A321neo operators.

By selecting the A321neo, KLM brings on-board the latest technology to lower decibels and to reduce the noise footprint during take-off, approach and landing. Together with its advanced fuel efficiency, the A321neo will play a key role in KLM’s environmental ambition. 

The newly delivered A321neo for KLM seats 227 passengers in a two-class layout. The cabin features Airbus’ Airspace cabin with XL bins. The larger bins provide 60% more luggage capacity for a more relaxed boarding experience for passengers and cabin crew. In addition, USB-C ports are available for passengers at every seat, and the latest lighting system enhances the overall passenger experience.

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First Airbus A321neo joins KLM’s fleet

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines this week welcomed its first Airbus A321neo after it touched down at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The arrival of this new aircraft is an important step in the rigorous renewal programme initiated by KLM to support cleaner, quieter, and more efficient flight operations. From mid‑September, the A321neo will begin serving several European destinations.

New engine option

The “neo” stands for new engine option: the aircraft are equipped with new engines that emit less CO2 than their predecessors. Measured per passenger tonne kilometre, the A321neo is around 21% more fuel efficient than the Boeing 737 aircraft it replaces. Additionally, the aircraft reduces noise impact – essentially halving its noise footprint – causing far less disturbance to residents.

More comfort and convenience

Passengers on the A321neo experience more comfort thanks to wider seats, larger tables and more spacious luggage bins. Each seat is equipped with a USB-C port and a holder for a mobile or tablet. The aircraft also offers more convenience for the crew, including a wider aisle and easy-to-open luggage bins. The interior has been designed to enhance the KLM experience, with more recognisable details and mood lighting that adapts to each stage of the journey.

KLM takes delivery of its first Airbus A321neo aircraft

KLM has taken delivery of its first A321neo as part of its fleet modernisation with the latest generation, fuel-efficient aircraft. With the aircraft, KLM joins the community of successful A321neo operators.

By selecting the A321neo, KLM brings on board the latest technology to lower decibels and to reduce the noise footprint during take-off, approach and landing. Together with its advanced fuel efficiency, the A321neo will play a key role in KLM’s environmental ambition.

The newly delivered A321neo for KLM seats 227 passengers in a two-class layout. The cabin features Airbus’ Airspace cabin with XL bins. The larger bins provide 60% more luggage capacity for a more relaxed boarding experience for passengers and cabin crew. In addition, USB-C ports are available for passengers at every seat, and the latest lighting system enhances the overall passenger experience.

The A321neo is the largest member of Airbus’ best-selling A320neo Family, offering unparalleled range and performance. Equipped with sharklets and powered by new generation CFM International LEAP-1A engines, the A321neo brings a 50% noise footprint reduction and at least 20% fuel savings and CO₂ reduction compared to previous generation single-aisle aircraft, while maximising passenger comfort in the widest single-aisle cabin in the sky. To date, more than 6,400 A321neo aircraft have been ordered by more than 90 customers across the globe.

As with all Airbus aircraft, the A321neo aircraft is already able to operate with up to 50% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Airbus is targeting to have its aircraft up to 100% SAF capable by 2030.

Photo caption: The first A321neo for KLM was handed over at Airbus’ Hamburg manufacturing site by Wouter van Wersch, Airbus Executive Vice President of International, to Marjan Rintel, President & CEO of KLM.

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Air France KLM Points

Delta, KLM, Virgin Atlantic celebrates a spirit of togetherness, resilience and joy at Pride events.

Delta Air Lines, along with partners KLM and Virgin Atlantic, took to the canals and the streets during recent Pride celebrations in The Netherlands and the UK expressing the airlines’ individual and collective commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion and their continued support of the LGBTQ+ community.

Delta and its partner airline KLM came together on Aug. 3, for the annual Canal Parade in Amsterdam, one of the most iconic LGBTQ events in the world. Elaborately decorated boats navigated the historic waterways through the city and the two airlines made their own notable impact with a boat designed in the shape of an airplane. 

Delta’s sponsorship of the Amsterdam Canal Parade, which traditionally marks the end the city’s Pride Week, aligns with its corporate values of inclusivity and global community support. This year’s theme for Amsterdam Pride, ‘Together We Shine,’ was chosen to highlight that the community is stronger when it is united in pursuit of freedom.

“Pride brings everybody together. It’s all about inclusivity, belonging and, above all, joy,” said Ralph Albus, Director – Global Communications EMEAI. “It doesn’t matter who you are or who you work for, we stand shoulder to shoulder to support each other with Pride.”

The warm weather this year made for a spectacular turnout with over half a million people lining the canals to watch 80 decorated boats as they embarked from Amsterdam’s Oosterdok and cruised past iconic Dutch landmarks including the ‘Skinny Bridge’ towards the parade’s end.

“As this year’s theme was ‘Together We Shine,’ it was fitting for KLM to join Delta and stand in solidarity with all those working in support of the LGBTQ+ community within the airline industry,” said Joost van der Sande, Chairperson – KLM Over the Rainbow.

KLM Group: disappointing results due to high costs

The KLM Group posted an operating loss of €31 million for the first half of 2024. While revenues were higher than in the same period last year, high costs caused results to lag. Without measures, this will not improve. KLM will therefore critically assess its investments, cost savings and opportunities to generate greater revenues. After the summer, KLM will present new measures.

Marjan Rintel, CEO KLM said:  “Our results fell short of expectations due to significantly higher costs. The operation was more stable, but capacity could not yet be fully utilised. The fleet could not be fully deployed. We have insufficient numbers of pilots and engineering staff and face long delivery times of spare parts. In the period ahead, the focus will be on cost control and improving our financial performance. We will soon announce additional measures for the entire company. This is a difficult message but essential for KLM's future.”

Bas Brouns, CFO KLM commented:  "We are flying more than last year, but costs are rising faster than revenues. That is downright disappointing. The margin has to improve. We are already working on initiatives to work more efficiently, generate more revenue and cut costs. We are going to accelerate and expand this. Among other things, this means postponing the plan for KLM's new headquarters. In addition, we are taking a critical look at other investments. We will also continue to reduce the growth in indirect staff."

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Results

Operational results for the first half of the year totalled minus €31 million, compared with plus €129 million for the same period in 2023. Revenues amounted to €6 billion, compared with €5.6 billion in the first six months of 2023. KLM welcomed close to 16 million passengers on board during the first half of the year.
During the second quarter, operations were more stable and customers therefore experienced fewer disruptions thanks to a package of operational measures, including spare fleet availability and hiring of sufficient numbers of colleagues company wide.
The KLM Group posted operational results of €260 million for the second quarter of 2024 on revenues of €3.2 billion. The result falls short of expectations due to high costs.

Activities

Engineering & Maintenance welcomed a lot of new technicians and its recruiting drive continues unabated. Revenues in the first half of the year were higher than for the same period in 2023.
At Cargo, greater demand for goods transport is supporting the recovery in revenues and earnings. However, recovery is still under pressure due to global supply chain issues. In order to stabilise our network further, more reserve capacity has been built in resulting in reduced fleet deployment.
Transavia also recorded higher revenues in the first half of the year. Transavia managed to enable holidaymakers to travel affordably under difficult conditions, generating positive results in the second quarter. In total, close to 4.5 million passengers travelled with Transavia in the first six months of 2024.

Schiphol and KLM test self-driving shuttle service for flight crew

The second phase of the trial of electric self-driving buses has started at Schiphol Airport. During this phase, the airport, together with KLM Cityhopper and KLM Ground services, is testing a fixed, pre-programmed route to and from the apron. The crew from KLM Cityhopper arriving at Schiphol can use the shuttle service. Earlier this year, Schiphol conducted a successful initial trial of these self-driving buses from supplier Ohmio.

During the first phase of the trial, the focus was on testing technical features and ease of use. The current phase will take place at the apron, an even more complex setting where there is always a lot of simultaneous activity: ranging from aircraft arriving and departing to flight handling operations and airline crew transport.

Sensors and cameras

Several times a day, until the end of July, the bus will fetch KLM Cityhopper crew from Apron A, where KLM Cityhopper aircraft park before departure and on arrival at Schiphol. The self-driving bus then drops off the flight crew at the terminal. The vehicle is equipped with sensors and special cameras and makes use of GPS to manoeuvre. The bus has a 360-degree view because it is equipped with LIDAR technology. This allows the vehicle to detect and move around objects located up to 30 meters away.

Jan Zekveld, Head of Innovation Schiphol said:  "It’s great that we’ve been able to follow up on the trial with the self-driving buses so soon. We’re curious about the insights we’ll gain at this location, particularly because punctuality and safety is crucial on this route. We’re also curious how airline crew members experience self-driving transport. This will help to build trust in the technology and potentially facilitates future integration of other self-driving vehicles."

Maarten Koopmans, Managing Director KLM Cityhopper said:  "I’m very enthusiastic about this trial and think it’s great that our crew can test this innovative, self-driving bus. KLC has always set the trend in implementing the latest technologies and this innovation also fits in perfectly with KLM’s aim to achieve emission-free ground handling by 2030."

Emission-free ground operations 

By 2050, Royal Schiphol Group aims to operate the most sustainable and high-quality airports in the world. Part of the plan involves achieving more sustainable and emission-free ground operations. Royal Schiphol Group expects that by 2050 all vehicles will have been replaced by a fleet of autonomous, zero-emission vehicles and that all associated processes will be automated. Even when ground operations are autonomous, staff will continue to play an important role, taking on a more supervisory role, involving varied tasks.

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KLM and ZeroAvia Plan Zero-Emission Demonstration Flight Using Liquid Hydrogen

KLM and ZeroAvia Plan Zero-Emission Demonstration Flight Using Liquid Hydrogen

ZeroAvia and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines today announced that they will work towards a demonstration flight using ZeroAvia’s ZA2000 zero-emission, hydrogen-electric engines for large regional turboprop.

Hydrogen-electric engines use hydrogen in fuel cells to generate electricity, which is then used to power electric motors to turn the aircraft’s propellers. The only emission is low-temperature water vapour, with studies therefore estimating an up to 90% reduction in climate impact when compared with typical kerosene-fueled flights.[1] 

As a first major target milestone, the companies aim to conduct an initial A-to-B flight demonstration between two airport locations in 2026. As well as identifying the optimal airport pair, immediate workstreams will be working towards regulatory permits to fly and ensuring supply of liquid hydrogen fuel and putting in place the supporting infrastructure for aircraft fueling. 

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and BCG extend partnership for digital airline operations

Building Competitive Advantage Through Optimized Airline Operations

In an increasingly complex and volatile environment, reliable operational performance is a differentiator for airlines. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, a pioneer in the airline industry, and Boston Consulting Group (BCG), one of the world’s leading management consulting firms, today announced a further extension of their partnership, aimed at improving airline operations worldwide. The partnership was first established in 2018 and was previously extended in 2021. 

 

Image KLM

Over the past six years, KLM and BCG have developed a comprehensive suite of AI-based tools to digitize and optimize airline operations. These AI-powered tools are tailored to the evolving needs of airlines, particularly post-pandemic as airlines must be resilient in the face of unprecedented volatility in the market and operations. Covering all planning horizons, from day-of-operations to long-term strategic planning, these products help airlines tackle complex decisions across all functional areas, including ground, fleet and maintenance, crew, and network departments. 

Airlines must continually make tradeoffs that affect flights, crew, ground staff, customer experience, and profitability. Unfortunately, these tradeoffs are often based on siloed information. KLM and BCG’s fully customized, in-house solutions constantly measure real-time performance and offer decision-support around a single source of truth in data. This approach enables front-line operations staff to see the full picture and make informed, consistent, and data-driven decisions with a clear sense of how they will play out across the network. 

Some notable products include: 

Pathfinder: A best-in-class schedule optimization tool, which empowers airlines to optimize their fleet and tail-assignment processes for robustness and cost in the days leading up to operations 

Sentry & Runway: Two disruption management tools for the day of operations, which resolve major and minor operational disruptions for flight and crew schedules, and help minimize delay costs and disruption for passengers 

CrewVision: A long-term cockpit and cabin crew resource management and planning tool, which calculates an optimal crew plan for the future, including hiring, training, and attrition 

Terra: A tool designed to improve the resource allocation process for ground resources on the day of operations (DoO)—taking into account available resources, equal distribution of workload for employees (employee satisfaction), delay probability, delay costs, and enhanced task times based on a number of factors, such as actual load 

Proven Results 

The implementation of these solutions has led to improvements in KLM’s operations across functions, from boosting airline operational efficiency to enhancing airline disruption management to data-driven integral resources planning. KLM has reduced non-performance costs and increased in value delivery within operations and delivered a strong ROI on the initiative. Staff at the Operations Control Center and other operational and network departments are performing with new levels of engagement, insights, confidence, and satisfaction. 

Since the partnership’s last extension in 2021, KLM and BCG have expanded their tailored solutions to other airlines. Today, the KLM-BCG partnership serves a prominent network of carriers of all sizes, business models, and geographies—such as point-to-point, single-hub, and multi-hub—and for both full-service and low-cost carriers.

Maarten Stienen, COO of KLM said: "Our Partnership with BCG continues to be one of the building blocks supporting KLM operations that bring value to our customers. Thanks to the continuous extension of our suite of tools and the KLM in-house capabilities that we have built up in recent years and our world-class people, KLM was able to derive a lot of value from its Operations Decision Support set of tools. KLM is excited to continue to innovate and improve through this unique cooperation with BCG."

Dirk-Maarten Molenaar, a BCG managing director and senior partner said: "We are thrilled to extend our partnership with KLM. Together, we have cemented our position as a leading player in digital airline operations over the past six years.  As the needs of airlines evolve, we are excited to continue engaging and innovating with the world’s leading carriers and supporting the digital transformation and optimization of their operations."

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KLM adds year-round trans-Atlantic service between Portland and Amsterdam

KLM is expanding its trans-Atlantic network with a direct service between Amsterdam and Portland, Oregon. Starting October 27 in 2024, KLM will fly three times a week during winter and five times a week during summer from Amsterdam. This is KLM’s 21st direct destination in North America.

The new KLM flights will begin to operate Delta’s existing nonstop route between Portland and Amsterdam. Delta Air Lines is a partner in the trans-Atlantic joint venture with KLM. Delta Air Lines has been flying between Amsterdam and Portland for 15 years.

Flight schedule

Starting from October 27, KLM will fly three times a week on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday between Schiphol and Portland in winter. In summer 2025, KLM will fly five times a week on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday between Schiphol and Portland. The flights are operated by the Boeing 787-9 and offer 30 seats in World Business Class, 21 seats in Premium Comfort Class, and 224 seats in Economy Class.

The winter flight schedule is as follows:

KL615 departs from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (code: AMS) at 10:25 a.m. and arrives at 11:25 a.m. local time at Portland International Airport (code: PDX).

KL616 departs from Portland International Airport at 1:25 p.m. local time and arrives the next day at 7:50 a.m. local time at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.

The summer flight schedule (2025) is as follows:

KL615 departs from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (code: AMS) at 10:40 a.m. and arrives at 11:30 a.m. local time at Portland International Airport (code: PDX).

KL616 departs from Portland International Airport at 1:30 p.m. local time and arrives the next day at 7:55 a.m. local time at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. 

About Portland

Portland is the largest city of the state Oregon. It’s a year-round destination with a strong tourism sector, with many places of natural beauty such as Mt. Hood, Columbia River Gorge and Forest Park, as well as Portland’s award-winning culinary scene. It is also an important business destination, with the presence of leading companies in the sportswear, chip, automotive and healthcare industries.

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KLM reveals the name of the first A321neo

KLM has announced the names of its first four A321neo aircraft. The first A321neo, named Swallowtail, is expected to arrive at the end of August. Later this year, the KLM fleet will be strengthened with the addition of Peach Blossom, Common Brimstone and Waved Carpet.

With this new series of aircraft, KLM continues its tradition of giving unique names to its planes. Over the past 104 years, various themes have been chosen, ranging from names of members of the Royal family to bridges, aviation pioneers, and national parks. The theme selected by KLM employees for the new series of aircraft is butterflies. 

The introduction of the A321neo marks a significant milestone in KLM's fleet renewal efforts, aligning with the sector plan of "Cleaner, Quieter, More Efficient." These new aircraft are considerably quieter than the current generation of planes and result in a 21% reduction in CO2 emissions per passenger-kilometer.

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Investigation into fatal incident at Schiphol Airport concluded

The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee confirmed last week that the investigation into the death of a Schiphol Airport worker on 29 May has been concluded. They reported that the tragic incident occurred on the apron at Schiphol Airport, where a man fell into the running engine of an aircraft and died. The KLM aircraft was operating flight KL1341 which was bound for Billund. It had just completed the pushback procedure and was about to taxi to the runway.

The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee stated "The deceased man has been identified as an employee of a company operating at the airport. The investigation has revealed that he intentionally climbed into the engine, indicating this is a case of suicide. Out of respect for the victim and their loved ones, no further statements will be made."

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KLM Global Research says peoples priorities shifted post covid......

As travel will be at historic levels this summer accompanied with rising costs, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is launching its new brand platform Travel Well to promote and encourage meaningful travel to its 30.3 million passengers flying each year. KLM launched Travel Well to share the belief that travel is more than transportation. It is about making meaningful connections along the journey and that destinations are not just dots on a map to be collected. According to the global survey, Americans share this overall sentiment already but differ in other ways.

As part of its new platform, KLM tapped into the mindsets of 8,000 travelers across the globe in key markets including US, Canada, Brazil, Sweden, Norway, Germany, The Netherlands, The UK, Denmark, and China to determine what their travel priorities are and to gain insights into shifts in various attitudes and their take on what meaningful travel means to them.

"Traveling not only helps us reach new places, but also introduces us to unique experiences, leading to greater inspiration and understanding. This, I believe, is one of the most wonderful aspects of travel. Each journey offers a chance not just to unwind, but also to reflect and gain richness from the diverse encounters we have," says Barry ter Voert, CXO & EVP Business Development at KLM.

"It's about valuing meaningful connections with destinations, people, and experiences. Quality, not quantity, defines each journey, where you consistently come back to KLM's personal and hospitable atmosphere."

The KLM Group posted first-quarter revenues of €2.7 billion

The KLM Group posted first-quarter revenues of €2.7 billion against an operational loss of €290 million. Traditionally, the first quarter is low season for the airline industry. Costs are also rising. What’s more, fleet deployability was below par in January and February. Measures taken to resolve this resulted in an improvement in March. KLM also had to deal with particularly bad weather on several days in January and February, which meant we had to rebook customers on other flights.

“People want to fly KLM. We’re grateful for that. For us, the concrete task of stabilising operations is paramount. We’re addressing the shortage of engineers by redistributing maintenance work and recruitment. And we’ve doubled training capacity for pilots. We’re making up for reduced fleet deployability by hiring in additional aircraft. Adopting these measures already showed results in March. The first-quarter loss makes it all the more important to focus on reducing costs. We’ve taken additional, substantial measures to achieve this. KLM will stay on course and remains committed to achieving cleaner, quieter and more efficient operations.”

KLM President & CEO Marjan Rintel

KLM did however generate strong first-quarter revenues, showing that people still want to travel. In the first quarter of 2024, KLM and Transavia operated 94% of the capacity target.

Fleet deployability was below par. Aircraft needed to spend longer in the hangar waiting for parts, affected by ongoing worldwide supply chain problems. KLM had to hire aircraft to accommodate the longer maintenance time, while the cost of concluding and extending aircraft leases has risen significantly due to global shortages. The costs associated with compensating and caring for passengers affected by disruptions can be added to this. KLM is also facing increased labour costs due to the collective agreements concluded last year, while we are not yet able to operate the corresponding capacity.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to optimize operations with Gurobi

Gurobi Optimization, has confirmed this week that its solver helps power CrewVision, the innovative tool developed by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in partnership with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to facilitate long-term crew planning for airlines.

CrewVision makes it easy to create optimal five-year crew plans while accounting for critical factors, such as changes in industry regulations, fleets, hiring needs, and training requirements—a significant improvement from their previous outlook of nine months. With support from Gurobi’s solver, these five-year plans can now be generated within several hours, as opposed to an entire week. This allows KLM to spend more time strategizing around their long-term vision.

Prior to developing CrewVision, KLM used a legacy system to run analyses, with data spread across multiple sources. A total cycle took a week to process overall. With CrewVision, this is reduced to several hours.

“The nice thing about Gurobi is that we can easily experiment with different parameters and thresholds. We can do a lot of different runs to see what is still acceptable. So even though we have expanded the problem a lot, we can still go in and quickly get results that are quite good,” shares Tim Lamballais Tessensohn, Data Scientist at KLM.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and the Board of Airline Representatives in the Netherlands (BARIN) agree to the publication of the Social Cost-Benefit Analysis (SCBA) by the Ministry of Infrastructure & Wat

In a letter to the Ministry of Infrastructure & Water Management today, KLM and BARIN (which represents 50 airlines in the Netherlands) approved the publication of the Social Cost-Benefit Analysis (SCBA), which they commissioned jointly with the Royal Schiphol Group last year. The study was commissioned to ensure a better understanding of the various policy choices that would come into play if flight numbers are cut at Schiphol.

It was agreed at the time that the report would only be published jointly and with the consent of all the respective parties. It has since emerged that the contents of the report have already been made public. This has understandably led to questions being raised. Transparency is very important to KLM and BARIN, which is why they have now agreed to the publication of the SCBA by the Ministry of Infrastructure & Water Management.

KLM and BARIN initially chose not to publish the report, because they have many reservations about the methodology used and the conclusions drawn. As a result, the findings are incomplete and lack balance. The objections boil down to the following:

In the Social Cost-Benefits Analysis, the effects on climate are calculated at a global level, while the negative effects for passengers and the airline industry are calculated for the Netherlands only. Consequently, the positive outcomes predicted in the Environment & Noise Variant are greatly exaggerated and do not present a realistic scenario.

The report does not consider the effects of air traffic moving away from Schiphol to other airports in the world.

The report ignores the risks that the proposed scenario (Environment & Noise Variant) poses to the future of the airline industry in the Netherlands, to employment, the business climate, and to the continued existence of KLM. None of these important factors are sufficiently reflected in the report's calculations and conclusions.

KLM and BARIN will continue to work hard to strike a balance between the airline industry and the environment. KLM has emphasized this in its sector plan “cleaner, quieter and more efficient” and in the “10 Commitments” that KLM and 30 other industry parties and research institutes have signed up to. Together, these highlight the need for greater improvement and a further toughening of measures across the airline industry, which should be implemented globally, or at the very least at a European level.

The Ministry of Infrastructure & Water Management is expected to submit the SCBA to the House of Representatives of the Netherlands in the near future. The letter and attachment from KLM and BARIN to the Ministry are enclosed as a download.

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Dutch carrier KLM reveals new A321neo livery

KLM will take delivery of its new Airbus A321neo in just a few more months, with Copenhagen, Berlin and Stockholm recently announced as initial destinations. The Royal Dutch airline also revealed further details about the new aircraft's livery and interior. The airline will commence operating the first of a total of around thirty A321neos in August.

The new livery – the aircraft's exterior paint scheme – is both eye-catching and practical: the dark line separating KLM’s trademark blue and white swoops farther down, rendering the nosedome completely blue. This will ensure that, in the event of an emergency replacement, a new nosedome can be fitted without disrupting the signature blue markings. Another new standout feature is the black outline around the cockpit windows, making them look like sunglasses.

More comfort

Passengers will experience a greater level of comfort thanks to the A321neo’s wider seats, larger tray tables and spacious luggage bins. Each seat is equipped with a tablet holder and a USB port, and there is multi-coloured "mood lighting" that adjusts at every stage of the flight. Crew members will also have more room for manoeuvre thanks to the wider aisle and easy-to-reach overhead bins. The A321neo interior was meticulously designed to enhance the KLM experience, with additional blue detailing and special lighting at the entrance to ensure a warm welcome.

Cleaner, quieter, more fuel-efficient

Preparations for the introduction of the new aircraft are in full swing. KLM will debut Airbus321neo operations in August.

Marjan Rintel, CEO of KLM said:  "The arrival of the A321neo marks a major upgrade of our European fleet. It is 50% quieter and generates 15% fewer carbon emissions than the aircraft it is replacing, making this an important step towards cleaner, quieter and more fuel-efficient aviation."

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KL1152 incident at Gothenburg Airport

On Wednesday morning, 17 January, a KLM Boeing 737 aircraft operating under flight number KL1152 from Gothenburg to Amsterdam veered off the taxiway while taxiing in wintry conditions and came to rest with its nose wheel in the grass. The aircraft was carrying 124 passengers and 6 crew members. 

The safety of the passengers and crew was not affected and they were able to disembark from the aircraft unharmed down aircraft stairs. Another aircraft, an Embraer was sent to pick passengers up and take them to Amsterdam.

Transfer passengers who may have missed connecting flights will be rebooked on the next available flights. The aircraft in question has since been towed to the terminal in Gothenburg. KLM regrets this incident and has launched an investigation, as is customary under such circumstances.

KLM Staying on course

Staying on course. KLM looks back to 2023, the sky unfolds a story of magical moments and complex challenges. Here's to the joy of shared experiences,  people rising to all challenges and to the memories we created together. 

Bas Brouns named as next CFO of KLM

KLM announced this week its intention to appoint Bas Brouns as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Managing Director of KLM, effective 24 April 2024. He succeeds Erik Swelheim, who will step down at the 2024 shareholders’ meeting at the end of his current term, after 12 years as KLM’s CFO. Bas Brouns (52) is currently Senior Vice President of Corporate Controller at KLM. He has worked at KLM for almost 27 years in various financial positions.

Cees 't Hart, chairman of the KLM Supervisory Board said:  "We are very pleased to be able to nominate someone from KLM to this important post on the Executive Committee. Bas is a highly experienced and passionate professional who has led both Finance & Treasury and Controlling at KLM. I warmly congratulate him on this nomination and wish him all the very best in his new role. I would like to thank Erik for his three terms as CFO. He has played a vital role on the KLM Executive Committee and has impressively shaped KLM’s financial strategy."

KLM refreshes some orange pride.

After 8 years of hard work, in all weathers, travelling all across the world,  it was time for a little loving care to be taken of this beautiful bird.  A fresh coat of orange paint to make it ready for a whole host of new adventures all over this globe we call Earth.

KLM have updated the special livery on their long-haul jet PH-BVA, first taking off the old paint, striping the massive aircraft down to its naked skin and then applying a whole new refreshed covering.