Misplaced Pages

#873126

134-447: Airlines began separating full-fare and discounted economy-class passengers in the late 1970s. In 1976, KLM introduced a Full Fare Facilities (FFF) service for its full fare economy-class passengers, which allowed them to sit at the front of the economy cabin immediately behind first class, and this concept was quickly copied by several other airlines including Air Canada . Both United Airlines and Trans World Airlines experimented with

268-596: A Convair 880 jetliner with no money down, for use on routes between Alaska and the contiguous United States. The company introduced the new jet aircraft in 1961. In 1966 the company received its first Boeing 727-100 jets. They removed the Convair 880 from the fleet as a financing condition by Boeing concerning the purchase of the 727 jetliners. Several of Alaska's first 727s were series 100C models, which could be operated as all-cargo freighters, an all-passenger configuration or as mixed passenger/freight combi aircraft . In

402-498: A US$ 40 million profit the next year. Eight percent of these revenues were generated by record-setting cargo operations. Alaska had more competition in 1993 when low-cost airline Southwest Airlines entered the Pacific Northwest by purchasing Morris Air . Alaska Airlines was able to keep its costs down, but it maintained its high level of customer service. The airline promoted itself as "the last great airline" and with

536-481: A $ 1.9 billion deal. On August 19, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice completed its regulatory review of the proposed merger and declined to file a lawsuit to block it. The merger received the approval of the U.S. Department of Transportation on September 17, 2024, and was completed the following day. McGee Airways , a precursor to Alaska Airlines, was established by Linious "Mac" McGee and flew its first service between Anchorage and Bristol Bay . Service

670-542: A 2-2 lie flat seats and 1-1 suites with a closing door. United and Delta use a combination of wide and narrow body aircraft for these routes, with a variety of lie-flat seat designs. Nearly all other flights in the US (as well as to Canada, Central America, and the Caribbean) on American, United, Delta, and Alaska use 2-cabin narrowbody aircraft. The forward cabin is marketed as "First Class" on domestic routes but regardless uses

804-403: A 737-800 called Spirit of Seattle with Boeing's house colors painted on the fuselage and the airline's Inuit logo painted on the tail fin. Also in 2005, Alaska Airlines contracted out many of its jobs, including ground crew positions, to Menzies Aviation . In some cases, this resulted in an almost 40% decline in wages. This agreement was found to be a violation of union agreements in 2008 and

938-509: A Business Class fare basis. These fares include a larger "recliner" seat, priority check-in/security/boarding, and increased service. Only Alaska Airlines allows lounge access for customers in "First Class" without further international travel. Both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are included, and are served in glassware or ceramic mugs. Meal service is highly variable depending on the airline, departure time, and route. Flights between hub airports during daytime hours are usually catered with

1072-474: A US$ 700,000 debt owed by the Guinean airline to Alaska Airlines. In 1965, Alaska Airlines turned over some routes between small Alaskan communities, and some smaller aircraft, to Wien Air Alaska . This allowed Alaska to focus on more heavily travelled routes and allowed them to sell off smaller aircraft. Throughout the 1960s, Alaska Airlines worked to promote tourism to Alaska by offering charter flights to

1206-460: A blocked middle seat for added comfort. With the introduction of their Boeing 787 ’s on select domestic and international routes, WestJet Airlines offers 16 lay-flat business seats on each of their 787-9’s. All three major US airlines (American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines) exclusively use fully lie-flat Business Class seats with direct aisle access on their widebody aircraft, as well as some longer range narrow body aircraft like

1340-565: A branch office in Anchorage. Despite its success, Alaska Airlines' worldwide charter business was short-lived. In 1949, the CAB tightened its regulations and placed heavy fines on the airline and shut it down completely for safety violations. The airline was prohibited from operating worldwide charter flights, and president James Wooten left the company. Also in 1949, Alaska Air began operating five Bell 47B helicopters to support oil exploration on

1474-451: A business zone on selected services. [REDACTED] Media related to Business class at Wikimedia Commons [REDACTED] First and business class flights travel guide from Wikivoyage KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines , or simply KLM (an abbreviation for their official name Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. [ˈkoːnɪŋkləkə ˈlʏxtfaːrt ˈmaːtsxɑpɛi ˌɛnˈveː] , lit.   ' Royal Aviation Company ' ),

SECTION 10

#1732775555874

1608-641: A businessman from New York City. In 1942, the airline purchased three other airlines in Alaska, including Lavery Air Service, Mirow Air Service, and Pollack Flying Service. They also purchased a hangar at the Anchorage airport . In 1942, the airline's name was changed to Alaska Star Airlines . When the United States entered World War II in December 1941, Alaska Airlines faced a shortage of pilots. During

1742-477: A choice of champagne, orange juice, or water (called pre-flight service), with a 3-5 course meal (typically including a salad, soup, entree (typically up to 3 choices), and a choice of dessert) to follow during the flight. Depending on the time of arrival, the flight may offer either a breakfast with a variety of choices or a light snack approximately 90 minutes prior to landing. Some airlines, such as Singapore Airlines , allow travelers to request specific meals not on

1876-405: A full warm meal regardless of the flight time. Regional jets do not have ovens, and all entrees are served chilled. At the very least, a flight attendant will pass around a basket containing premium snacks. European carriers generally offer a business class consisting of enhanced economy seating with better service. There may be a curtain to separate business from economy class, based on demand, but

2010-551: A holding company called Air France-KLM . Both airlines would retain their own brands; both Charles de Gaulle Airport and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol would become key hubs. In February 2004 the European Commission and United States Department of Justice approved the proposed merger of the airlines. In April 2004 an exchange offer in which KLM shareholders exchanged their KLM shares for Air France shares took place. Since 5 May 2004 Air France-KLM has been listed on

2144-619: A majority of 78%, effectively re-nationalizing it. The company management remained under the control of private stakeholders. In 1980, KLM carried 9,715,069 passengers. In 1983, it reached an agreement with Boeing to upgrade ten of its Boeing 747-200 aircraft (Three 747-200Bs and seven 747-200Ms) with the stretched-upper-deck modification. The work started in 1984 at the Boeing factory in Everett, Washington , and finished in 1986. The converted aircraft were called Boeing 747-200SUD or 747-300, which

2278-438: A plane's journey, it means short-haul flights are more impactful on the environment, as a larger proportion of the journey is in this phase. Whereas for longer haul flights, the plane is cruising for a longer proportion of the journey, making it less impactful on the environment than a short-haul flight, but it is still causing emissions. Transfer flights or routes that encompass multiple connecting flights also increase emissions as

2412-466: A potentially negative response from the Soviets. The airline gained permission to fly more than two dozen flights in 1970, 1971, and 1972. Alaska Airlines was also operating Boeing 707 , Boeing 720 , and Boeing 720B jetliners in scheduled passenger service between destinations in Alaska and Seattle during the early and mid-1970s. The airline was not in good financial shape at that time. Like much of

2546-528: A private company under private control; he allowed the Dutch government to acquire a minority stake in the airline. In 1950, KLM carried 356,069 passengers. The expansion of the network continued in the 1950s with the addition of several destinations in western North America. KLM's fleet expanded with the addition of new versions of the Lockheed Constellation and Lockheed Electra , of which KLM

2680-464: A reorganization of the company, which led to the reduction of staff and air services. In 1965, Albarda died in an air crash and was succeeded as president by Dr. Gerrit van der Wal. Van der Wal forged an agreement with the Dutch government that KLM would be once again run as a private company. By 1966, the stake of the Dutch government in KLM was reduced to a minority stake of 49.5%. In 1966, KLM introduced

2814-531: A separate airline, but this proved economically unviable and Jet America's operations were merged into Alaska's. Alaska discontinued all flights to the Midwest and the East coast formerly operated by Jet America. Additional MD-80s entered the fleet via the acquisition of Jet America Airlines in 1987. There was a big seasonal imbalance in travel to Alaska, which mainly took place in the summer. To compensate for this,

SECTION 20

#1732775555874

2948-513: A similar three-class concept in 1978, but abandoned it due to negative reactions from discount economy-class travelers who felt that amenities were being taken away from them. United also cited the difficulty of tracking which passengers should be seated in which section of the economy cabin on connecting flights. American Airlines also began separating full-fare economy passengers from discounted economy passengers in 1978, and offered open middle seats for full-fare passengers. Around this time, there

3082-544: A springboard to expand into larger, more profitable markets. The airline began the 1990s with plans to lease 24 Boeing 737-400s from International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC). The first aircraft was delivered in April 1992. In 1991, Alaska Airlines added several routes. In the Russian Far East , it added the cities of Magadan and Khabarovsk , as well as service to Toronto , its first Canadian city and

3216-639: A stake include: Subsidiaries, associates, and joint ventures of KLM in the past include: KLM also worked closely with ALM Antillean Airlines in the Caribbean to provide air service for the Dutch-controlled islands in the region with KLM aircraft such as the Douglas DC-8 and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 being operated by KLM flight crews on behalf of ALM. KLM Asia ( Chinese : 荷蘭亞洲航空公司 ; pinyin : Hélán Yàzhōu Hángkōng Gōngsī )

3350-492: A standard coach seat: Business class is a much more significant upgrade from economy class for long-haul flights, in contrast to a regional or domestic flight where business class offers few relative advantages over economy class. The innovations in business-class seating, incorporating features previously only found in first class (see below), has narrowed the comfort and amenities gap with traditional first class seats. These advances and added features to business class, as well as

3484-425: A swooping cheatline that wraps around the entire forward fuselage. The livery was first introduced on Embraer 190s . In April 2010, KLM introduced new uniforms for its female cabin attendants, ground attendants and pilots at KLM and KLM Cityhopper. The new uniform was designed by Dutch couturier Mart Visser . It retains the KLM blue colour that was introduced in 1971 and adds a touch of orange—the national colour of

3618-483: A winter hiatus, KLM resumed its services using its pilots, and Fokker F.II and Fokker F.III aircraft. In 1921, KLM started scheduled services. KLM's first intercontinental experimental flight took off on 1 October 1924. The final destination was Jakarta (then called ' Batavia '), Java , in the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia ); the flight used a Fokker F.VII with registration H-NACC and

3752-624: A young aviator lieutenant named Albert Plesman sponsored the ELTA aviation exhibition in Amsterdam . Attendance at the exhibition was over half a million, and after it closed, several Dutch commercial interests intended to establish a Dutch airline, which Plesman was nominated to head. In September 1919, Queen Wilhelmina awarded the yet-to-be-founded KNLM its "Royal" (" Koninklijke ") predicate. On 7 October 1919, eight Dutch businessmen, including Frits Fentener van Vlissingen , founded KLM as one of

3886-425: Is Seattle–Tacoma International Airport . Alaska Airlines is a member of Oneworld , the third-largest airline alliance in the world. As of 2020, the airline employs over 16,000 people and has been ranked by J. D. Power and Associates as having the highest customer satisfaction of the traditional airlines for twelve consecutive years. In December 2023, Alaska Airlines announced plans to buy Hawaiian Airlines in

4020-505: Is a wholly owned subsidiary registered in Taiwan . The subsidiary was established in 1995 to allow KLM to continue operating flights to Taipei without compromising the mainline KLM's traffic rights for destinations in the People's Republic of China. Aircraft operated by the subsidiary retain their Dutch registration and the basic KLM livery but receive several modifications: the flags of both

4154-692: Is formed by the four Managing Directors, including the CEO. Nine Supervisory Directors compose the Supervisory Board. KLM's head office is located in Amstelveen, on a 6.5-hectare (16-acre) site near Schiphol Airport . The airline's current headquarters was built between 1968 and 1970. Before the opening of the new headquarters, the airline's head office was on the property of Schiphol Airport in Haarlemmermeer . Companies in which KLM has

Business class - Misplaced Pages Continue

4288-431: Is one of the lightest at 80 kg (176 lb) while other can be beyond 100 kg (220 lb), adding up to a 2–3 t (4,400–6,600 lb) for 60 seats. While flying on a long-haul business-class flight, airlines such as Swiss , Lufthansa , SAS Scandinavian Airlines , and many others offer in-flight gourmet meals with a choice of entree. Upon seating in their seats, business-class passengers are presented with

4422-706: Is the flag carrier of the Netherlands . KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen , with its hub at nearby Amsterdam Airport Schiphol . It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM group and a member of the SkyTeam airline alliance. Founded in 1919, KLM is the oldest operating airline in the world , and has 35,488 employees with a fleet of 110 aircraft (excluding subsidiaries) as of 2021. KLM operates scheduled passenger and cargo services to 145 destinations . In 1919,

4556-492: The Boeing 757 and Airbus A321 . A multiple course meal is served on china after takeoff, and depending on the flight length a chilled snack or light meal will be served before landing. International Business Class passengers have access to priority check-in and security, along with lounge access. United and American both also offer premium lounges with enhanced food service in their hubs for these passengers. Select routes between

4690-542: The Caribbean resumed. Long-range, pressurized Lockheed Constellations and Douglas DC-6s joined KLM's fleet in the late 1940s; the Convair 240 short-range pressurized twin-engine airliner began European flights for the company in late 1948. During the immediate post-war period, the Dutch government expressed interest in gaining a majority stake in KLM, thus partially nationalizing it. Plesman wanted KLM to remain

4824-717: The Concorde . British Airways introduced "Club World", a separate premium cabin with numerous amenities, in October 1978 under CEO Colin Marshall as a means of further distinguishing full-fare business travelers from tourists flying on discounted fares. Pan Am announced that it would introduce "Clipper Class" in July 1978, and both Air France and Pan Am introduced business class in November 1978. Qantas claims to have launched

4958-789: The Convair 240 , de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter and Super Catalina amphibian aircraft as well as two versions of the Grumman Goose amphibian aircraft , one with piston engines and the other model is a conversion to turboprop engines which the airline called the "Turbo-Goose". The Catalina and Grumman amphibian seaplane aircraft joined the fleet when the airline acquired local southeast Alaska operator Alaska Coastal Airlines in 1968. During this time, Alaska Air faced some tough competition from other airlines, such as Northwest Airlines , Pan Am, and Pacific Northern Airlines , an Alaska-based air carrier operating Boeing 720 jetliners that

5092-544: The Douglas DC-9 on European and Middle East routes. The new terminal buildings at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol opened in April 1967, and in 1968 the stretched Douglas DC-8-63 ("Super DC-8") entered service. With 244 seats, the Super DC-8 was the largest airliner in scheduled passenger service at the time, although its size was surpassed by that of the Boeing 747 first flown in 1969. On 6 March 1967, KLM ordered

5226-623: The Euronext exchanges in Paris, Amsterdam and New York. In September 2004, the merger was completed by creation of the Air France-KLM holding company. The merger resulted in the world's largest airline group and should have led to an estimated annual cost-saving of between €400 million and €500 million. It did not appear that KLM's longstanding joint venture with Northwest Airlines—which merged with Delta Air Lines in 2008—was affected by

5360-629: The Gulf of Aqaba to Tel Aviv . After unloading the refugees, crews then immediately continued to Cyprus, afraid to stay on the ground in Tel Aviv for fear of being bombed. Some 49,000 Yemenite Jews were airlifted by Alaska Airlines and other carriers without a single loss of life. Alaska Airlines started the 1950s without its worldwide charter business and operations restricted to the state of Alaska. In 1950, it purchased two smaller Alaskan airlines, Collins Air Service and Al Jones Airways . Though

5494-499: The McDonnell Douglas MD-11s with Boeing 777-200ERs and Airbus A330-200s . Some 747s were withdrawn from service first. The MD-11s remained in service until October 2014. The first Boeing 777 was received on 25 October 2003, while the first Airbus A330-200 was introduced on 25 August 2005. On 30 September 2003 Air France and KLM agreed to a merger plan in which Air France and KLM would become subsidiaries of

Business class - Misplaced Pages Continue

5628-510: The North Slope thus becoming the first airline in Alaska to operate rotary-wing aircraft . In 1949, the airline was a major participant in an effort by the newly established state of Israel to airlift Jews out of Yemen to Israel in what became known as Operation Magic Carpet . C-46 or DC-4 aircraft were used for the nearly 3,000-mile flight, made necessary to avoid overflying Arab nations. Planes flew from Eritrea to Aden , then along

5762-766: The Seattle metropolitan area . It is the sixth-largest airline in North America when measured by scheduled passengers carried, as of 2023. Alaska, together with its regional partners Horizon Air and SkyWest Airlines operates a route network primarily focused on connecting cities along the West Coast of the United States to over 100 destinations in Alaska , Hawaii , the contiguous United States , Bahamas , Belize , Canada , Costa Rica , Guatemala and Mexico . The airline operates out of five hubs. Its primary hub

5896-560: The United States . However, on some high-capacity routes, such as Vancouver–Toronto, Air Canada utilizes its long-haul fleet, such as the Boeing 777 , Boeing 787 , Boeing 767 , and the Airbus A330 . On flights using internationally configured aircraft such as these, the business-class product is a lie-flat product. However, on discount carriers, such as Air Transat , business class is "euro-style", an economy-class seat with

6030-559: The "Leeuwerik", KLM had lost in 1935 around 15% of its pilots. As a result there was a shortage of crew members and airplanes. The Amsterdam—Milan flight service was as a result taken over by Deutsche Lufthansa . The first of the airline's Douglas DC-3 aircraft were delivered in 1936; these replaced the DC-2s on the service via Batavia to Sydney . KLM was the first airline to serve Manchester's new Ringway airport , starting in June 1938. KLM

6164-692: The 1980s, Alaska Airlines began acquiring McDonnell Douglas MD-80s to replace its aging 727s. Alaska was the launch customer for the MD-83, taking delivery of its first MD-80s in 1985. Also in 1985, the Alaska Air Group was formed as a holding company for Alaska Airlines. In 1986 Alaska Air Group acquired regional airline Horizon Air , which remained a separate brand from Alaska Airlines. Since then, both airlines have been subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group. In 1987, Alaska Airlines purchased Jet America Airlines . Alaska initially operated Jet America as

6298-531: The 747 as its first Boeing aircraft, which marked the beginning of its use of widebody aircraft and an improved relationship between the airline and Boeing since the 1939 crash of a Boeing 307 Stratoliner carrying KLM representatives on a demonstration flight. To negotiate for lower unit prices and form a maintenance pool for its 747 fleet, KLM formed the KSS maintenance consortium in 1969 with Scandinavian Airlines and Swissair . Despite showing initial interest in

6432-564: The Arctic was equipped with a winter survival kit, including a 7.62 mm selective-fire AR-10 carbine for use against polar bears, in the event the plane was forced down onto the polar ice. The four-engine turboprop Vickers Viscount 800 was introduced on European routes in 1957. Beginning in September 1959, KLM introduced the four-engine turboprop Lockheed L-188 Electra onto some of its European and Middle Eastern routes. In March 1960,

6566-763: The Australia-Dutch East Indies region, where they helped transport refugees from Japanese aggression in that area. Although operations paused in Europe, KLM continued to fly and expand in the Caribbean. After the end of the Second World War in August 1945, KLM immediately started to rebuild its network. Since the Dutch East Indies were in a state of revolt , Plesman prioritised re-establishing KLM's route to Batavia. This service

6700-501: The East and West coasts are deemed "premium transcontinental" and offer a comparable experience to long haul international Business Class. However, it is uncommon for all seats to have direct aisle access. American uses a dedicated sub-fleet of 3-cabin A321T planes with 20 lie-flat Flagship Business seats in a 2-2 configuration for these flights. JetBlue also has a sub-fleet of A321s featuring their Mint Business Class, which alternates between

6834-441: The KLM fleet. The airline previously operated DC-8 passenger and freight combi aircraft as well and later operated Boeing 747-400 combi aircraft. The 1973 oil crisis , which caused difficult economic conditions, led KLM to seek government assistance in arranging debt refinancing. The airline issued additional shares of stock to the government in return for its money. In the late 1970s, the government's stake had again increased to

SECTION 50

#1732775555874

6968-625: The Netherlands and European Union are removed while the Dutch Crown logo is replaced with the KLM Asia wordmark. The fleet of aircraft operated by the subsidiary consists of seven Boeing 777-200ER and two Boeing 777-300ER aircraft as of March 2020. As of 2012, KLM used the "KLM Asia" brand to fly to Taipei and the aircraft had to fly over China. Previously KLM used Boeing 747s for its services to Taiwan. In 2012, it started operating

7102-518: The Netherlands. KLM has used several slogans for marketing throughout its operational history: KLM has an extensive presence on social media platforms and also runs a blog. Customers can make inquiries through these channels. The airline also uses these networks to inform customers of KLM news, marketing campaigns and promotions. Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington , within

7236-505: The SkyTeam alliance (2004–present). KLM has utilized several major liveries since its founding, with numerous variations on each. Initially, many aircraft featured a bare-metal fuselage with a stripe above the windows bearing the phrase "The Flying Dutchman". The rudder was divided into three segments and painted to match the Dutch flag. Later aircraft types sometimes bore a white upper fuselage, and additional detail striping and titling. In

7370-563: The United States and Europe as part of a joint venture. In March 1994, KLM and Northwest Airlines introduced World Business Class on intercontinental routes. KLM's stake in Northwest Airlines was increased to 25% in 1994. KLM introduced the Boeing 767-300ER in July 1995. In January 1996, KLM acquired a 26% share in Kenya Airways , the flag-carrier airline of Kenya. In 1997, Pieter Bouw resigned as president of KLM and

7504-626: The addition of expedited check-in, baggage reclaim, lounge access and priority boarding. In flight, until January 11, 2017, drink, tea or coffee and a snack were served to all customers, with a hot breakfast on flights prior to 9.29am. Most low-cost carriers , such as Ryanair and EasyJet in Europe, Tigerair in Australia, Southwest Airlines in the United States, and even some national carriers such as Aer Lingus and Air New Zealand on their domestic and regional networks do not offer any premium classes of service. Some, however, have options above

7638-617: The airline apart from other ones of the day. Under his leadership, Alaska Airlines became the first to show inflight movies. The company began service with the Douglas DC-6 , the airline's first pressurized plane, enabling flights above clouds and weather disturbances. On these DC-6s, the airline introduced "Golden Nugget" service, which included an on-board saloon and piano. In 1961, competitors began introducing jets on routes Alaska Airlines flew. To counter this competition, Willis negotiated with aircraft manufacturer Convair to purchase

7772-497: The airline became the first U.S. airline to sell tickets on the Internet. By 2000, all the airline's planes carried automated external defibrillators , for use in in-flight emergencies. The airline installed self-service kiosks called "Instant Travel Machines" that printed boarding passes, allowing customers to bypass the traditional ticket counter. An X-ray device, an addition to the unit allowing passengers to check their own baggage

7906-526: The airline had grown much under the ownership of Raymond Marshall, the CAB forced him out in 1951 due to continuing financial troubles. Marshall had owned Alaska Airlines with the intent of getting money for himself and he was not concerned about the long-term stability of the company. In 1951, the CAB awarded Alaska Airlines with a temporary certificate allowing them to operate on routes from the Alaskan cities of Anchorage and Fairbanks to Seattle and Portland in

8040-691: The airline industry, Alaska Airlines was hit with rising fuel and operating costs and was on the verge of bankruptcy. Revenues were significantly reduced when work on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System was delayed. The airline's cargo aircraft had played a key role in building the pipeline but now sat idle. The airline took another blow on September 4, 1971, when a Boeing 727-100 jetliner crashed on landing in Juneau , killing 111 people and resulting in America's worst single-plane crash at

8174-525: The airline industry. In 2003, Alaska Airlines won the Technology Leadership Award from the magazine Air Transport World for its pioneering of new technologies both in the airport and within the airplane itself. In 2005, due to the greater efficiency of the Boeing 737 Next Generation and rising costs for maintenance, fuel, and crew training, Alaska Airlines decided to phase out its remaining 26 MD-80s and trained its pilots to fly

SECTION 60

#1732775555874

8308-457: The airline introduced service to Mexican resorts, where most travel takes place in the winter. In 1988, the airline began servicing the Mexican resort cities of Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta . By the end of the 1980s, 70 percent of Alaska Airlines' passengers flew south of Seattle and the airline served 30 cities in 6 states outside Alaska. The airline had successfully used the state of Alaska as

8442-471: The airline introduced the first Douglas DC-8 jet into its fleet. In 1961, KLM reported its first year of losses. In 1961, the airline's president Fons Aler was succeeded by Ernst van der Beugel . However, This leadership change did not lead to a reversal of KLM's financial difficulties. Van der Beugel resigned as president in 1963 for health reasons. Horatius Albarda was appointed to succeed Ernst van der Beugel as president of KLM in 1963. Albarda initiated

8576-414: The airline operated in addition to three newly built Boeing 747-300s manufactured from the ground up. In 1983, KLM took delivery of the first of ten Airbus A310 passenger jets. Sergio Orlandini retired in 1987 and was succeeded as president of KLM by Jan de Soet. In 1986, the Dutch government's shareholding in KLM was reduced to 54.8 percent. It was expected that this share would be further reduced during

8710-523: The airline purchased many surplus military aircraft from the government that had been used during World War II. The airline purchased Douglas DC-3s , Douglas DC-4s , and Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commandos . Alaska Airlines was the first carrier certified to operate DC-3s on skis. Alaska Airlines' large charter business made it profitable, and the airline moved its base of operations to Paine Field , an airport, in Everett, Washington, north of Seattle. It kept

8844-779: The airline resumed services to the Alaskan cities Nome and Kotzebue , and it introduced service to Palm Springs, California . Burbank and Ontario were added in 1981. In 1979, Alaska studied the possibility of acquiring and merging with Hughes Air West . This never came to fruition. Other cities in the continental US that were added to the airline's route map by 1985 were Oakland and San Jose in California , Spokane in Washington , Boise in Idaho , and Phoenix and Tucson in Arizona . Deregulation also brought challenges to

8978-530: The airline took delivery of its first 737-900. In 2001, the airline was granted slot exemptions by the Department of Transportation to operate a nonstop flight from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to Seattle, but it was halted after only a week due to the September 11 attacks . The airline resumed service to Reagan Airport on December 4, 2001, to meet the demand. In January 2002, William Ayer

9112-652: The airline, Leo van Wijk resigned from his position and was succeeded by Peter Hartman . Beginning in September 2010, KLM integrated the passenger division of Martinair into KLM, transferring all personnel and routes. By November 2011, Martinair consisted of only the cargo and maintenance division. In March 2011, KLM and InselAir reached an agreement for cooperation on InselAir destinations, thus expanding its passenger services. Beginning 27 March 2011, KLM passengers could fly to all InselAir destinations through InselAir's hubs in Curaçao and Sint Maarten . This cooperation

9246-443: The airline. The airline was faced with increased competition and inflation that put tremendous pressure on costs, profits, and salaries. By 1979, competitors Northwest Airlines and Western Airlines were both flying wide-body McDonnell Douglas DC-10 jets on the core Anchorage–Seattle nonstop route. Additional competition came from Wien Air Alaska , which had begun flying nonstop jet service between Anchorage and Seattle. Northwest

9380-424: The aisles, and having bingo games on board while en route. In December 1962, Air Guinée signed a contract with Alaska Airlines, which had Alaska Airlines providing management expertise, in addition to two Douglas DC-4s. The deal would have had Alaska Airlines contracting with the airline over seven years. The contract ended after six months, leading to the United States Agency for International Development paying

9514-401: The amount of space associated with it. For long-haul flights, carbon emissions per passenger per kilometre travelled are about three times higher for business class and four times higher for first class, according to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The length of the flight impacts the environment: as most emissions are generated through the takeoff phase in

9648-406: The attempted acquisition. Wien Air was liquidated in 1984, and never merged into Alaska Airlines. At the time of deregulation, Alaska Airlines served ten cities in Alaska and one in the contiguous US—the city of Seattle—and it had only ten planes in its fleet. Immediately after deregulation, the airline began to expand, adding the cities of Portland and San Francisco to its network. Soon later,

9782-432: The business class passengers throughout the journey. Eurostar also offers business-class accommodation on their rail services – named "Business Premier", the seats are similar to the premium economy "Standard Premier" offering (wider seats with more legroom and greater recline compared to economy "standard class") but include faster check-in, boarding and a full meal service, among other features. Chiltern Railways offers

9916-568: The business-class cabin though first class passengers are generally allowed to cross the curtain between business and first class. Long-haul business-class seats are substantially different from economy-class seats, and many airlines have installed "lie-flat" seats into business class, whereas previously seats with such a recline were only available in international first class. There are essentially three types of long-haul business-class seats today. These are listed in ascending order of perceived "quality". Recaro claims its CL6710 business-class seat

10050-412: The center. All versions of this livery had small "KLM Royal Dutch Airlines" titles, first in red, and later in blue. Since 1971, the KLM livery has primarily featured a bright blue fuselage, with variations on the striping and details. Originally a wide, dark blue cheatline covered the windows and was separated from the light grey lower fuselage by a thin white stripe. The KLM logo was placed centrally on

10184-465: The company to two-thirds, thus partly nationalizing it. The board of directors remained under the control of private shareholders. On 25 July 1957, the airline introduced its flight simulator for the Douglas DC-7 C – the last KLM aircraft with piston engines – which opened the transpolar route from Amsterdam via Anchorage to Tokyo on 1 November 1958. Each crew flying the transpolar route over

10318-409: The contiguous United States. This award became permanent in 1957. In 1952, the CAB appointed Nelson David as president, and he began to improve the financial stability of the airline. By 1957, with the carrier in a better financial situation, David left and Charles Willis Jr., became the company's new president and CEO. A pilot during World War II, Willis introduced several marketing gimmicks that set

10452-479: The continental United States. In an attempt to increase the state's appeal, Alaska Airlines conducted a promotional tour of Japan in 1963. In 1967, as the state of Alaska celebrated its centennial, Alaska Airlines introduced a promotional "Gay Nineties" theme with stewardesses dressed in Edwardian outfits. That year, Alaska Airlines expanded to southeast Alaska with the introduction of service to Sitka . This led to

10586-574: The decade. The Boeing 747-400 was introduced into KLM's fleet in June 1989. With the liberalization of the European market, KLM started developing its hub at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol by feeding its network with traffic from affiliated airlines. As part of its development of a worldwide network, KLM acquired a 20% stake in Northwest Airlines in July 1989. In 1990, KLM carried 16,000,000 passengers. KLM president Jan de Soet retired at

10720-511: The end of 1990 and was succeeded in 1991 by Pieter Bouw. In December 1991, KLM was the first European airline to introduce a frequent flyer loyalty program, which was called Flying Dutchman . In January 1993 the United States Department of Transportation granted KLM and Northwest Airlines anti-trust immunity, which allowed them to intensify their partnership. As of September 1993, the airlines operated their flights between

10854-622: The first city east of the Rocky Mountains . Toronto was later dropped in 1992 and the Russian destinations were discontinued in 1998. As the airline marked its 19th consecutive year of profits in a turbulent industry and racked up many awards for customer service, Bruce Kennedy retired in May 1991 and was succeeded by Raymond J. Vecci. Alaska Airlines faced increased competition from low-cost carriers . One carrier that competed with Alaska

10988-484: The first commercial airline companies. Plesman became its first administrator and director. The first KLM flight took place on 17 May 1920. KNLM's first pilot, Jerry Shaw, flew from Croydon Airport , London, to Amsterdam. The flight was flown using a leased Aircraft Transport and Travel de Havilland DH-16 , registration G-EALU, which was carrying two British journalists and some newspapers. In 1920, KLM carried 440 passengers and 22 tons of freight. In April 1921, after

11122-577: The first time in 20 years, it posted a loss of US$ 121 million. To save money, the airline canceled two proposed maintenance facilities and deferred a large aircraft purchase worth US$ 2 billion. Deferred maintenance from this period of cost-cutting would ultimately cause the crash of Flight 261 in 2000 . It was able to increase utilization on its existing planes, though. The airline cut labor costs, but this ended up making relations with unions tense. The cost reductions produced quick results. In 1993, their losses decreased to US$ 45 million and they made

11256-487: The first time on the American Stock Exchange . The name Alaska Airlines was adopted on May 2, 1944, having narrowly beaten a competitor who was applying for the name. In the 1940s, Alaska's headquarters were in Anchorage. In 1945, Alaska Airlines hired its first stewardesses. In 1947, James Wooten became president of the airline and began an effort to expand the company. Under his leadership,

11390-589: The late 2000s recession, have caused some airlines to remove or not install first class seating in their aircraft (as first class seats are usually double the price of business class but can take up more than twice the room) which leaves business class as the most expensive seats on such planes, while other airlines have reintroduced first class sections as suites to stay upmarket over contemporary business class. As with first class, all alcoholic beverages are complimentary and meals are of higher quality than economy class. Economy-class passengers are usually not permitted in

11524-517: The merger with Air France. KLM and Northwest joined the SkyTeam alliance in September 2004. Also in 2004, senior management came under fire for providing itself with controversial bonuses after the merger with Air France, while 4,500 jobs were lost at KLM. After external pressure, management gave up on these bonuses. In March 2007 KLM started to use the Amadeus CRS reservation system, along with partner Kenya Airways. After 10 years as president of

11658-399: The mid-1950s, the livery was changed to feature a split cheatline in two shades of blue on a white upper fuselage and angled blue stripes on the vertical stabilizer. The tail stripes were later enlarged and made horizontal, and the then-new crown logo was placed in a white circle. The final major variation of this livery saw the vertical stabilizer painted completely white with the crown logo in

11792-421: The mining industry. With a fleet of 15 aircraft, Star Air Service was a dominant airline in Alaska, but the airline continued to struggle financially because of high maintenance costs for its wood-and-fabric planes. In 1937, McGee came back to the airline and opened a liquor store, and the airline began flying liquor to remote Alaskan communities. That year, Star Air Service purchased Alaska Interior Airlines and

11926-526: The motto "For the same price, you just get more". Analysts felt that Alaska Air needed deeper cost cuts. At the same time, the company had many strikes by the flight attendants' union. Alaska continued to take delivery of new MD-83s during the 1990s, both to meet the demands of a growing route system and to replace its aging and fuel inefficient 727 fleets. Their last 727 was retired in March 1994. The airline's MD-80 fleet peaked at 44 aircraft in 1996. Vecci

12060-482: The newer Boeing 737-800s that were being ordered to replace them. According to the airline, the MD-80 burned 1,100 US gallons (4,200 L) of fuel per hour, while the 737-800 burned just 850 US gallons (3,200 L) per hour. The last MD-80 flights flew in August 2008, with one flight from San Jose to Seattle and another from Sacramento to Seattle. To mark its transition to an all-Boeing fleet, Alaska Airlines unveiled

12194-598: The next 25 years. It became the first carrier to fly the Lockheed L-100 Hercules L382 model, the civil version of the military C-130 cargo turboprop, which was used to transport oil drilling rigs to Alaska's North Slope and later to Ecuador . Alaska also owned Lockheed Constellation propliners including two Lockheed L-1649A Starliners from 1962 to 1968, and three L-1049's which were used for Military Air Transport Service operations. Smaller prop and turboprop aircraft were operated, including

12328-469: The other hand, Air New Zealand does not offer business class on its domestic network. Business Class is available on flights between New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands when operated by Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 family aircraft, both of which have lie-flat seats. On short-haul flights Air Canada offers recliner seats, which are similar to what is offered on regional business class in

12462-564: The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, this was the world's longest-distance scheduled service by airplane. By 1926, it was offering flights to Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels, Paris, London, Bremen, Copenhagen, and Malmö, using primarily Fokker F.II and Fokker F.III aircraft. In 1930, KLM carried 15,143 passengers. The Douglas DC-2 was introduced on the Batavia service in 1934. The first experimental transatlantic KLM flight

12596-565: The potential for confusion with military aircraft. European routes were limited to services to Scandinavia, Belgium and the UK, with flights to Lisbon (bypassing both British and French airspace) starting in April 1940. When Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940, several KLM aircraft—mostly DC-3s and a few DC-2s—were en route to or from the Far East, or were operating services in Europe. Five DC-3s and one DC-2 were taken to Britain. During

12730-432: The prototype 747-100 variant, KLM instead acquired the higher-gross-weight 747-200B powered by Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines, becoming the first airline to put the type into service on 14 February 1971. In March 1971, KLM opened its current headquarters in Amstelveen . In 1972, it purchased the first of several McDonnell Douglas DC-10 aircraft—McDonnell Douglas's response to the 747. In 1973, Sergio Orlandini

12864-532: The purchase of two smaller airlines, Alaska Coastal Airlines and Cordova Airlines, in 1968. In the beginning of the 1970s, Alaska Airlines began Boeing 707 charter flights to Siberia in the Soviet Union. This was the result of three years of secret negotiations between Alaska Airlines and Soviet authorities, in which the US Department of State reluctantly chose not to block the plan for fear of

12998-426: The rating for an airline's performance across both airport staff and cabin staff combined. It is the second consecutive year that KLM won this award; in 2012 it was awarded this title as well. On 19 June 2012, KLM made the first transatlantic flight fueled partly by sustainable biofuels to Rio de Janeiro . This was the longest distance any aircraft had flown on biofuels. In 2019, KLM celebrated its centennial, as it

13132-629: The regular menu prior to the flight. The alcoholic beverage choices for business-class cabins are generous, with airlines offering different premium wines, and an assortment of beers and liqueurs. The exact name for business class may vary between operators. Bold text indicates airlines for which business class is the highest class of service offered. Greenhouse gases , mainly carbon dioxide, are emitted from aircraft due to burning fuel. About 2% of global carbon emissions are produced by aviation industry. Flying business class results in greater emissions than flying in economy-class seating, in part due to

13266-408: The revised Amsterdam-Taipei- Manila route with Boeing 777-200ER aircraft. KLM Asia aircraft are also occasionally used in services to other destinations, including China, in the wider KLM network. Dirk Roosenburg designed the KLM logo at its establishment in 1919; he intertwined the letters K, L, and M, and gave them wings and a crown . The crown was depicted to denote KLM's royal status, which

13400-424: The seats are in the same cabin. Some airlines such as Air France and Lufthansa use convertible seats that seat three people across in economy, or adjust with a lever to become two seats with a half seat length between them for business-class use. Business class has started to disappear from some short/medium haul routes, to be replaced with full fare economy and discount economy ( KLM and SAS ). On these routes,

13534-404: The seats are the same for all passengers, only the flexibility of the ticket and the food and beverage service differs. On shorter routes (typically less than one hour) many airlines have removed business class entirely (e.g. BMI on many routes) and offer only one class of service. British Airways used to offer "Business UK" on their domestic system, offering the same service as economy class, with

13668-430: The spring of 1967, greatly increased passenger loads required a quick addition of fleet aircraft. Alaska purchased a Convair 990 jetliner, formerly operated by Brazilian air carrier Varig as PP-VJE, which then became Alaska Airlines N987AS. This aircraft remained in service along with an increased fleet of Boeing 727-100s. They were joined by stretched Boeing 727-200s which became Alaska Airlines' signature aircraft for

13802-544: The statutory managing directors and executive vice-presidents of KLM's business units that are represented in the Executive Committee. The supervision and management of KLM are structured following the two-tier model ; the Board of Managing Directors is supervised by a separate and independent Supervisory Board . The Supervisory Board also supervises the general performance of KLM. The Board of Managing Directors

13936-561: The takeoff phase is repeated. Private jets are also problematic, as emissions are generated for only a small number of people. Business class is the highest class of service in China high-speed rail , while first class and second class are the more affordable options. Business class passengers have access to a pre-departure lounge if available. Train seats of business class are arranged in 1-1 or 2-1 configuration with fully enclosed seats. Free meals, unlimited snacks, and beverages are provided for

14070-498: The time. Because the airline was struggling financially, the airline's board ousted president and CEO Charles Willis. Former board member Ronald Cosgrave succeeded him. The airline was US$ 22 million in debt when Cosgrave took over, so Cosgrave began to make major cuts. The airline's cargo business was dropped completely, as were many flights and employees. Cosgrave also sought to improve the airline's tarnished image of "Elastic Airlines", referring to its poor schedule keeping. The logo

14204-467: The war, the airline lacked funds and equipment, and pilots were often forced to buy fuel for their planes out of their own pockets. The company, which was frequently subjected to lawsuits, also went through many different presidents during this time. In 1943, Alaska Airlines purchased the Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar , its first multi-engine aircraft. That same year, the company's stock was traded for

14338-472: The war, these aircraft and crew members flew scheduled passenger flights between Bristol and Lisbon under BOAC flight numbers and registration. On 3 March 1942, Douglas DC-3 PH-ALP " Pelikaan ", then registered as PK-AFV, was shot down over Western Australia by Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service Mitsubishi A6M Zeros during the attack on Broome while carrying a package of diamonds. The DC-3 crash landed at Carnot Bay, 80 kilometers from Broome. Pelikaan

14472-426: The white tail and the front of the fuselage. In December 2002, KLM introduced an updated livery in which the white strip was removed and the dark-blue cheatline was significantly narrowed. The bright blue colour was retained and now covers most of the fuselage. The KLM logo was placed more centrally on the fuselage while its position on the tail and the tail design remained the same. In 2014, KLM modified its livery with

14606-538: The world's first Business Class in 1979. On November 1, 1981, Scandinavian Airlines System introduced EuroClass with a separate cabin, dedicated check-in counters and lounges for full-fare passengers. Simultaneously, first class disappeared from their European fleet. Both Qantas and Virgin Australia offer business class on their domestic networks as well as on trans-Tasman flights to New Zealand . Flights between Perth and Sydney typically feature lie-flat seats, with deep recline cradle seats on other routes. On

14740-516: Was MarkAir . Since it began operating in 1984, competition had been reduced because it had worked out feeder agreements with Alaska Airlines. However, after Alaska Air declined to buy the airline in the fall of 1991, it intensified competition with Alaska. Mark Air offered low-cost service on the Anchorage-Seattle route and other routes in Alaska, where Alaska Airlines earned almost one-third of its revenues. This hurt Alaska Airlines. For

14874-470: Was acquired by and merged into Western Airlines in 1967. Northwest and Pan Am at different times operated Boeing 747 wide-body jetliners on their services to Alaska with Northwest flying Seattle–Anchorage nonstop with the jumbo jet and Pan Am flying Seattle–Fairbanks nonstop with the 747. To set itself apart from the competition, Alaska Air turned to some cheap but imaginative gimmicks such as having safety instructions read as rhymes, staging fashion shows in

15008-403: Was appointed to succeed Gerrit van der Wal as president of KLM. At the time, KLM, as well as other airlines, had to deal with overcapacity. Orlandini proposed to convert KLM 747s to "combis" that could carry a combination of passengers and freight in a mixed configuration on the main deck of the aircraft. In November 1975, the first of these seven Boeing 747-200BM Combi aircraft were added to

15142-475: Was being tested in 1999 at Anchorage. This concept, known as "Airport of the Future" by the airline, was first tested in Anchorage and was later brought to its Seattle hub, and it drew attention from other airlines. The airline was the first airline in the world to integrate GPS and Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) technology, adding a real-time, three-dimensional display of terrain. The system

15276-711: Was between Amsterdam and Curaçao in December 1934 using the Fokker F.XVIII "Snip". In July 1935 the KLM had three major international passenger flight crashes in one week. The "Kwikstaart" crashed in Amsterdam on 14 July, the "Maraboe" in Bushir and on 20 July and the “Gaai” crashed in San Giacomo . The week of 14 to 20 July 1935 is known as the "black week". In these three crashes KLM lost three airplanes and lost crew in two crashes. With an earlierer crash in April of

15410-455: Was changed to an image of a smiling Inuk man, which remains today. Although the exact identity of the man is unknown, some believe it to be the face of either Chester Seveck, a reindeer herder in Kotzebue, or Oliver Amouak, an Inupiat man. Both were Alaskan natives. As a result of these efforts, the airline made a profit in 1973 and continued to be profitable thereafter. Alaska Airlines

15544-410: Was dismissed in 1995 and replaced with John Kelly, the former Horizon Air CEO. The airline soon expanded West Coast routes to take advantage of an "open skies" agreement between the US and Canada. Alaska Airlines pioneered some new technologies through the 1990s. It added a heads-up guidance system in 1989 to operate better in foggy conditions, becoming the first airline to use this technology. In 1995,

15678-404: Was extended to a code share agreement in 2012. In early 2018, the cooperation with Inselair was terminated, including any interlining agreements, after Inselair found itself in financial difficulties which forced the airline to sell off part of its fleet and cancel some of its routes. On 20 February 2013, KLM announced that Peter Hartman would resign as president and CEO of KLM on 1 July 2013. He

15812-419: Was forced to cut their summer schedule due to disruption at airports across Europe. Key business and operating results of KLM are shown below (as at year ending 31 December): As of July 2022 , KLM's corporate leader is its president and chief executive officer (CEO) Marjan Rintel, who succeeded Pieter Elbers . The president and CEO is part of the larger Executive Committee, which manages KLM and consists of

15946-579: Was founded in 1919. Since it is the oldest airline still operating under its original name, it was the first airline to achieve this feat. Being heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic , KLM cut at least 6,000 jobs in total. It also said that the decision of the government to have all the passengers and crew COVID-19 tested before flying will have an impact on its flights. On 16 December 2021, Air France-KLM announced an order for 100 Airbus A320neos to be divided between Transavia and KLM. In July 2022, KLM

16080-506: Was granted at KLM's establishment. The logo became known as the "vinklogo" in reference to the common chaffinch . The KLM logo was largely redesigned in 1961 by F.H.K. Henrion . The crown, redesigned using a line, four blue circles and a cross, was retained. In 1991, the logo was further revised by Chris Ludlow of Henrion, Ludlow & Schmidt. In addition to its main logo, KLM displays its alliance status in its branding, including "Worldwide Reliability" with Northwest Airlines (1993–2002) and

16214-491: Was incorporated as Star Air Lines. Star was again sold later that year to a group of miners. In 1938, federal regulation began when Congress created the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), which awarded the airline most of the routes that it wanted in Alaska, but the coveted route between Seattle and Fairbanks was awarded to Pan American Airways . In 1941, Star Air Service was purchased by Raymond Marshall,

16348-424: Was named CEO of Alaska Airlines. Ayer had been serving as president under Kelly since 1997, having come to Alaska from Horizon two years earlier after spending 13 years with the smaller airline. Ayer took over as chairman and CEO of the Alaska in 2002 upon Kelly's retirement. He led the company through a transformation called Alaska 2010 that was intended to insulate the airline from the traditional boom-bust cycle of

16482-567: Was one of only three US carriers that supported the 1978 Airline Deregulation Act , knowing that it would reap significant growth and other benefits from deregulation. After deregulation, the company's real-estate division was spun off into its own company, with Cosgrave becoming its chairman. The leadership of the airline was passed to Bruce Kennedy, a close associate of Cosgrave. Cosgrave allied with Alaska Airlines to purchase competitor Wien Air Alaska . This ultimately failed and resulted in fines for Alaska Air and its leaders for improprieties during

16616-544: Was operating nonstop DC-10 service on the Fairbanks–Seattle route at this time as well. There were tensions with unions, particularly mechanics and flight attendants. In 1985, the company had a three-month-long strike with its machinists . By June 1985, it was able to end the strike by promising to reduce labor costs and maintain peace with unions. In November 1985, the airline introduced a daily air-freight service called Gold Streak , with service to and from Alaska. In

16750-586: Was operational in all the carrier's Boeing 737-400s by April 1999. The late 1990s saw the carrier recording much profitability. The airline added new training and maintenance facilities. The airline began buying new 737s, ordering three Boeing 737-700s and became the launch customer for the Boeing 737-900 when it placed an order for ten of the jets in November 1997. With the delivery of Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft starting in 1999, Alaska began launching more medium-haul flights. In 2000, Alaska started service between Anchorage and Chicago. In May 2001,

16884-489: Was piloted by Jan Thomassen à Thuessink van der Hoop. In 1927, Baltimore millionaire Van Lear Black , who had heard about the 1924 flight, chartered H-NADP to do the same flight, which departed June 15 and went successfully (16 days), and flew back to much rejoicing. This inspired KLM to make a second test flight, which left on 1 October, returning successfully with much experience gained. In September 1929, regular scheduled services between Amsterdam and Batavia commenced. Until

17018-424: Was reinstated by the end of 1945. Domestic and European flights resumed in September 1945, initially with a fleet of Douglas DC-3s and Douglas DC-4s . On 21 May 1946, KLM was the first continental European airline to start scheduled transatlantic flights between Amsterdam and New York City using Douglas DC-4 aircraft. By 1948, KLM had reconstructed its network and services to Africa, North and South America, and

17152-475: Was speculation in the airline industry that supersonic aircraft would corner the market for the highest-paying premium passengers, and that a three-class market would emerge consisting of supersonic first class and subsonic business and economy classes. In 1977, El Al announced plans to reconfigure its aircraft with a small first class cabin and larger business-class cabin on the assumption that most transatlantic first class passengers would shift their business to

17286-640: Was subsequently strafed by the Zeros that had shot it down, killing three passengers and the flight engineer. Diamonds worth an estimated 150,000–300,000 Australian pound were stolen from the wreckage of the aircraft, and nobody has been convicted of the crime. Douglas DC-3 PH-ALI " Ibis ", then registered as G-AGBB, was attacked by the Luftwaffe on 15 November 1942, 19 April 1943, and finally shot down on 1 June 1943 as BOAC Flight 777 , killing all passengers and crew. Some KLM aircraft and their crews ended up in

17420-517: Was succeeded by Camiel Eurlings . Hartman remained employed by the company until he retired on 1 January 2014. On 15 October 2014, KLM announced that Eurlings, in joint consultation with the supervisory board, had decided to immediately resign as president and CEO. As of this date, he was succeeded by Pieter Elbers . KLM received the award for "Best Airline Staff Service" in Europe at the World Airline Awards 2013. This award represents

17554-400: Was succeeded by Leo van Wijk . In August 1998, KLM repurchased all regular shares from the Dutch government to make KLM a private company. On 1 November 1999, KLM founded AirCares , a communication and fundraising platform supporting worthy causes and focusing on underprivileged children. KLM renewed its intercontinental fleets by replacing the Boeing 767s, Boeing 747-300s, and eventually,

17688-402: Was the first European airline to fly. On 31 December 1953, the founder and president of KLM, Albert Plesman, died at the age of 64. He was succeeded as president by Fons Aler . After Plesman's death, the company and other airlines entered a difficult economic period. The conversion to jet aircraft placed a further financial burden on KLM. The Netherlands government increased its ownership of

17822-671: Was the only civilian airline to receive the Douglas DC-5 ; the airline used two of them in the West Indies and sold two to the East Indies government, and is thus the only airline to have operated all Douglas 'DC' models other than the DC-1. The outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 restricted KLM's operations, with flights over France and Germany prohibited, and many of its aircraft painted in overall orange to limit

17956-597: Was unscheduled, with flights taking off when passengers, a load of cargo, or mail needed passage. The airline struggled financially during the Great Depression . Too many airlines were in Anchorage at the time, with not enough demand to support them. As a result, the airline underwent multiple mergers. The first of these mergers was in 1934, when McGee sold his namesake airline for US$ 50,000 (equivalent to $ 1,138,806 in 2023) to Star Air Service , an airline also located in Anchorage. This allowed McGee to enter

#873126