KLM

[TheLocalYokel]

Qatar is flying people to the east. We fly to Australia each year and out of interest have looked at KLM via AMS (from BRS in our case) more than once in the past but the timings and duration of the overall journey made it untenable for us - it usually entailed two aircraft changes en route and you paid more money for the doubtful privilege. On the other hand, when we used to visit North America regularly we invariably used KLM via AMS.

I think that Qatar and KLM, although with some overlap, effectively serve two different markets.

 

[Cruzeiro do Sul]

KLM have cancelled the morning rotation to CWL on 1st May. They have also cancelled Amsterdam departures to three other U.K. and seven European destinations which were due to leave at around the same time on Tuesday.
It is not a Dutch public holiday.
Does anyone know if winds are the problem or could it be caused by Schiphol running up against its annual slot limit?

 

[Foxlimayankee]

I think there's storms forecast tomorrow in AMS.

 

[aviatorconcorde]

Qatar is flying people to the east. We fly to Australia each year and out of interest have looked at KLM via AMS (from BRS in our case) more than once in the past but the timings and duration of the overall journey made it untenable for us - it usually entailed two aircraft changes en route and you paid more money for the doubtful privilege. On the other hand, when we used to visit North America regularly we invariably used KLM via AMS.

I think that Qatar and KLM, although with some overlap, effectively serve two different markets.

Yes that's exactly what I was thinking. If KLM got desperate to fill seats they could just drop fares and work the point to point Market from Cardiff. I hear from too many people too often KLMs pricing is ridiculous on the CWL-AMS route.

 

[Jerry]

News

16 May
KLM celebrates 30 year partnership with Cardiff Airport

The route first launched on 16 May 1988 (operating under the Netherlines name between 1988-1991) with a Saab 340 aircraft, which had the capacity to carry up to 34 passengers. During the first year of operation in 1988, 12,500 passengers flew on the new KLM service to Amsterdam. In 2017, passenger numbers rose to 134,000, marking an increase of 972% since operations commenced.

Increased demand on the route saw the introduction of the Fokker, with Cardiff seeing the final Fokker flight in October 2017, after nearly 30 years of flying.

Today the route is serviced by the new and more efficient Embraer 175 and 190 aircraft, carrying up to 88 and 100 passengers respectively, while using 22% less fuel in comparison to its predecessor.

Bénédicte Duval, General Manager of Air France KLM UK & Ireland commented on the milestone, “We’re happy to be celebrating this anniversary with Cardiff Airport, where over the past three decades over three million passengers have flown between the two cities, with some travelling onwards to our network of 165 destinations worldwide.”

“We’ve seen strong bookings on this route over the last 30 years, and with the recent change to Embraer aircraft, now operating three times daily, we’ve been able to increase capacity between the two cities. We are confident that our continued investment in the region will result in stronger business links between Cardiff and the Netherlands and we are proud to be able to further support tourism and local businesses in the region” she added.

Spencer Birns, Cardiff Airport’s Commercial Director added: “KLM has been instrumental in linking Wales to the World via their Amsterdam hub. Their services are a major contributor to Welsh tourism, with thousands of customers visiting Wales for business, leisure, sport, and education annually. We are very proud KLM has provided its service to Cardiff for 30 years already and we look forward to developing our relationship further to continue this important air link for Cardiff Airport and Wales.”

Today, there are currently 20 departures a week from Cardiff Airport to Amsterdam. Passengers connecting long-haul are most likely to travel to Dubai, Beijing, Tokyo & New York and the top European destinations are Munich, Frankfurt, Copenhagen & Prague.

KLM offers online check-in, allocated seating and complimentary in-flight drinks and snacks on all flights.

Flights between Cardiff and Amsterdam start from £99 economy return including taxes and charges. To book your next holiday to Amsterdam or the world, visit www.klm.co.uk or call our reservations line on 0207 66 00 293.

https://www.cardiff-airport.com/new...tes-30-year-partnership-with-cardiff-airport/

 

[Jerry]

Booked the return flight of my trip to Barcelona in July with KLM with a nice 5 and a half hours layover in Amsterdam to take some photos. Will be the first time i've flown their mainline on an inter European route (first inter European flight!) on one of their 737 800s though service wise i doubt there will be much difference to Cityhopper. Flight cost 30 euros and 11,500 Flying Blue miles which also includes a checked bag but not seat sel
Seen a post online today about the 09.55 departure saying that it was nearly full with only 3 empty seats left. With Qatar now operating from the airport it will be interesting to see if KLM are effected at all by the new route.

 

[aviatorconcorde]

Booked the return flight of my trip to Barcelona in July with KLM with a nice 5 and a half hours layover in Amsterdam to take some photos. Will be the first time i've flown their mainline on an inter European route (first inter European flight!) on one of their 737 800s though service wise i doubt there will be much difference to Cityhopper. Flight cost 30 euros and 11,500 Flying Blue miles which also includes a checked bag but not seat sel
Seen a post online today about the 09.55 departure saying that it was nearly full with only 3 empty seats left. With Qatar now operating from the airport it will be interesting to see if KLM are effected at all by the new route.

Hopefully it won't because KLM still have the hold on the Western Hemisphere and Europe, Saudi and the UAE. Qatar have added something new with Australia and New Zealand. The far east and Africa are really the only crossing points.

If KLM feel they aren't filling enough seats they could probably drop the fares on CWL-AMS and work the point to point market. The ammount of people I know who fly from Bristol to Amsterdam is crazy.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

The ammount of people I know who fly from Bristol to Amsterdam is crazy.

Do these people fly with easyJet or KLM?

 

[aviatorconcorde]

Do these people fly with easyJet or KLM?

Easyjet as a rule. Have heard of 1 or 2 using KLM from bristol. Another bizzare one i've heard is Easyjet from Manchester.

A lot of people from work like Amsterdam and use Bristol.

 

[Jerry]

Hopefully it won't because KLM still have the hold on the Western Hemisphere and Europe, Saudi and the UAE. Qatar have added something new with Australia and New Zealand. The far east and Africa are really the only crossing points.

If KLM feel they aren't filling enough seats they could probably drop the fares on CWL-AMS and work the point to point market. The ammount of people I know who fly from Bristol to Amsterdam is crazy.

I actually wonder if it will help them as there will be people who flew from Heathrow who are using Qatar from Cardiff now or in the future who might start using Cardiff for other flights as well.

 

[aviatorconcorde]

I actually wonder if it will help them as there will be people who flew from Heathrow who are using Qatar from Cardiff now or in the future who might start using Cardiff for other flights as well.

Agreed Jerry. If the KLM passengers just start using Qatar instead then CWL hasn't gained anything.

 

[Jerry]

I noticed this morning on FR24 that the 06.05 departure which is the overnight aircraft was an E190 not an E175 would be nice in the future if the E190 became a daily regular again.

 

[superking]

I noticed this morning on FR24 that the 06.05 departure which is the overnight aircraft was an E190 not an E175 would be nice in the future if the E190 became a daily regular again.

It was a cover for the E175. I don't know why the reason for cover. Take youre pick on that one.

 

[Jerry]

Flew back to Cardiff last night on the 21.25 arrival. The aircraft was mostly full with a few empty seats which i'm surprised by as i'd have thought this would've the more quiet service out of all the flights KLM do. Hopefully if all the flights are pretty full all the time then we might see the E190 again in the future.

 

[Foxlimayankee]

Lots of business people travel back on the evening flight, as well as European afternoon departures with connections in AMS.

 

[Jerry]

Landing at Cardiff 5/7/18 on KLM Cityhopper

 

[Jerry]

New trip report from me, this one of my flight from Amsterdam to Cardiff with KLM Cityhopper.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

New trip report from me, this one of my flight from Amsterdam to Cardiff with KLM Cityhopper.

Thanks, Jerry. Another fine video that brought back memories for me.

In the 1990s and early years of this century I used KLM Cityhopper to or via AMS a lot. Began with Saab 340s, then Fokker 50s and finally Fokker 70s (mainly) and occasionally Fokker 100s. I haven't used the link for over ten years so the KLM Cityhopper Embraers are an unknown experience for me.

Last time we used the then newly-opened Polderbaan runway which can entail a three-mile taxi to the terminal. It seemed to go on forever. Quite expected the aircraft to finish up parking in the middle of Amsterdam.

 

[Jerry]

Thanks, Jerry. Another fine video that brought back memories for me.

In the 1990s and early years of this century I used KLM Cityhopper to or via AMS a lot. Began with Saab 340s, then Fokker 50s and finally Fokker 70s (mainly) and occasionally Fokker 100s. I haven't used the link for over ten years so the KLM Cityhopper Embraers are an unknown experience for me.

Last time we used the then newly-opened Polderbaan runway which can entail a three-mile taxi to the terminal. It seemed to go on forever. Quite expected the aircraft to finish up parking in the middle of Amsterdam.

My first flight with was with the Fokker 70 which i miss as it was such a unique aircraft, the E jets are very nice to fly in.
I've landed and taken off a few times on that runway and it does seem like you are taxiing forever!

 

[mathers_wales_uk]

My first flight with was with the Fokker 70 which i miss as it was such a unique aircraft, the E jets are very nice to fly in.
I've landed and taken off a few times on that runway and it does seem like you are taxiing forever!

I remember KLM Operations once advising that when that runway was in use. The length of time taken to taxy for departure was actually sometimes longer than the Fokker 50 flight from Amsterdam to Rotterdam

 

[Jerry]

I remember KLM Operations once advising that when that runway was in use. The length of time taken to taxy for departure was actually sometimes longer than the Fokker 50 flight from Amsterdam to Rotterdam

I wouldn't be suprised about that!