Amsterdam-based KLM Airlines has announced six new Intercontinental routes for the coming winter season across the United States, Kenya, Mexico, Thailand, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.
All of the new destinations will route via an existing or new KLM destination. This means that it will not only save money rather than being a brand-new, stand-alone long-haul leisure route in the current climate, while also reducing risk. It may also be possible that the existing airport airport it is tagged with may currently be underperforming.
Six new destinations
The new destinations and their respective launch dates are:
- Phuket: starting 1st November 2021; 4-times-a-week with Boeing B777-300ERs
- Barbados: starting 1st November 2021; thrice-weekly with Airbus A330-200s/300s
- Port of Spain: starting 1st November 2021; thrice-weekly with Airbus A330-200s/300s
- Cancun: starting 2nd November 2021; thrice-weekly with Boeing B787-9 Dreamliners
- Mombasa: starting 4th November 2021; twice-weekly with Boeing B787-9 Dreamliners
- Orlando: starting 4th November 2021; 4-times-a-week with Boeing B787-9 Dreamliners
For the reading convenience, I am embedding the schedules of all of the six new routes.
The airline is targeting destinations that are recovering quicker and where demand may therefore be higher. It hopes to benefit from demand shifting from worst-hit locations or where entry is very restrictive. It is the same as Lufthansa Group adding multiple new routes.
A big focus on one-stops
As you would have seen from the schedule above, Cancun will be only destination that will operate nonstop in both the directions. It’ll be a fully standalone service that won’t continue anywhere else.
Meanwhile, the other 5 destinations will all be linked, with some operating triangularly (Mombasa, Orlando, Port of Spain and Barbados) and 1 (Phuket) as a one-stop in both directions.
- Phuket: operating via Kuala Lumpur in both directions
- Orlando: twice-weekly non-stop before continuing to Miami and back to Amsterdam; twice-weekly via Miami and then non-stop from Orlando to Amsterdam
- Mombasa: non-stop to Mombasa, before continuing to Nairobi and returning to Amsterdam
- Barbados/Port of Spain: non-stop to Barbados and then returning to Amsterdam via Port of Spain
Pieter Elbers, CEO, KLM, said:
For KLM, this represents the next, significant step towards rebuilding its network for the benefit of our customers. As many as 99 destinations in Europe will be served during summer and, with this latest expansion, KLM’s intercontinental network will also be significantly strengthened for winter.
Featured image by MintFares
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