summary
- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines plans to resume daily flights to China and increase flights to Taipei. However, airspace restrictions and increased flight times are impacting efficiency and increasing costs.
- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines remains cautiously optimistic about its expansion in the Chinese market despite the current economic climate.
- KLM does not expect to return to China’s secondary market in the short term, but acknowledges the appeal of cities such as Chengdu, Hangzhou and Xiamen.
As the post-pandemic era approaches, mainstream airlines are aggressively restarting direct flights to China. Last week, Simple Flying was invited to a small roundtable discussion hosted by Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) during its 104th anniversary event in Amsterdam. Marjan Lintel, CEO of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, and Bas Gerretsen, Director of the Netherlands, participated in the roundtable.
Photo: Joanna Bailey | Simple Flight
During the meeting, when asked about the impact of Russian airspace restrictions on KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, KLM Director Bas Gerretsen said that changes in flight routes due to Russian airspace restrictions were having a negative impact on KLM’s operations. It pointed out. He said,
“The network to Asia, especially China, is still being built. The rerouting will have a negative impact, but it’s not too big at the moment.”
Bas Gerressen also noted that KLM Royal Dutch Airlines currently flies to only four destinations in Asia, indicating that the airline is “regressing” compared to pre-COVID-19 levels. . He commented:
“Shanghai is back to daily flights, Beijing and Hong Kong are back to daily flights. Taipei will have four flights a week, so that means a setback. We are still not at pre-COVID-19 levels. and still build it up.”
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has already resumed daily flights between Amsterdam and Shanghai at the end of April, and between Amsterdam and Beijing at the end of May. In conjunction with Air France’s resumption of operations, the Air France-KLM Group now operates 27 passenger flights per week to four destinations in Greater China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taipei.
Photo: Tupungato/Shutterstock
Gerretsen added that the main impact of Russia’s airspace closure is an increase in the flight time required for connections. For example, the route from Shanghai to Amsterdam originally took just 11 hours. However, due to Russian airspace restrictions, it currently takes about 13 and a half hours. This additional 2.5 hours of his time will prevent the original crew member from meeting his EASA crew time requirements.
“The main impact is the number of pilots. If you fly long distances, you need to have an additional pilot on board, and once you use that pilot for that flight, you can’t use it for other flights. We have to cut back on other routes in our network to make up for the flights. This makes it costly and inefficient. ”
The route map below shows KLM Royal Dutch Airlines’ flight to Seoul before airspace restrictions compared to the current route taken to avoid Russian airspace (data provided by: flight radar 24).
Cautiously optimistic about business expansion in China
When asked about KLM’s plans to expand further into the Chinese market, Gerretsen expressed cautious optimism. He said he still believes that KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is still promising despite the economic situation in the Chinese market being worse than before.
“I don’t think we’ll go back to secondary destinations in the short term because… it’s not possible because we have to fly with four pilots. But if Russian airspace opens up or If we return to a situation where Russian airspace is open, and there are enough pilots and aircraft available, then yes, it could become an option again.”
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines expects demand for travel to increase in the near future and is keen to recover its previously strong footprint in Asia. Mr. Gerressen is familiar with the Chinese market, as from 2013 he served as General Manager of Air France-KLM Group’s Greater China region until 2017. He particularly focused on the attractiveness of some of China’s big cities, commenting:
“I know how important secondary cities are and how beautiful they are. I have been to all of them. Chengdu, Hangzhou, Xiamen are all very attractive, and in terms of performance they are always very We were doing well. They could come back, but not in the short term. ”
Before the pandemic, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines served more destinations in Asia than it does now, including all three Chinese cities mentioned by Gerretsen. It also flew to Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and several destinations in Japan and Indonesia that are currently unavailable. While the pandemic is the main reason these destinations haven’t resumed operations, restrictions on Russian airspace will inevitably force the airline to reconsider adding secondary cities that were previously profitable. Dew.
