KLM Increases Global Connectivity With 3 New International Flights

The flag carrier of the Netherlands, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, or simply KLM, is ready to expand its global footprint even further by announcing three new destinations across three different continents. From the US in North America, Guyana in South America, and India in South Asia, here’s a look at which three cities in these countries have been added to KLM’s network.

3 new international destinations

KLM has announced three new cities that will be connected with nonstop and direct flights from its hub at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) in 2025. The first of these services will be to San Diego, California, US, starting from May 8. The Amsterdam-San Diego route will become the carrier’s 22nd route in North America.

After about a month, on June 4, the carrier will start a new service to Cheddi Jagan International Airport (GEO) in Georgetown, Guyana, and on September 2, the carrier will commence nonstop flights to Hyderabad Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (HYD) in South India.

Schedule

Flights to San Diego

This will be a thrice-weekly service on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. The carrier will deploy its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on the route as per the following schedule:

• KL639 departs from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) at 09:50 and arrives at San Diego International Airport (SAN) at 12:00 local time.
• KL640 departs from San Diego International Airport at 13:55 local time and arrives at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport the following day at 09:15.

Flights to Georgetown

This will be a twice-weekly service with a short stopover in Sint Maarten. The carrier will fly its Airbus A330-200 on this route on Wednesdays and Saturdays according to the following schedule:

• KL789 departs from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport at 10:00 and arrives in Sint Maarten (SXM) at 13:00 local time. This flight then departs from Sint Maarten at 14:20 local time and arrives at Cheddi Jagan International Airport (GEO) at 16:35 local time.
• KL789 departs from Georgetown at 17:55 local time and arrives at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport the next day at 09:15.

Flights to Hyderabad

KLM will fly to Hyderabad three times a week on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays and will utilize its Boeing 777-200ER on this route as per the following schedule:

• KL873 departs from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport at 11:40 and arrives at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (HYD) at 00:30 local time.
• KL874 departs from Hyderabad at 2:20 local time and arrives at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport the same day at 08:40.

Other KLM news

These announcements come close on the heels of the airline declaring its Q3 financial results. KLM reported an operating profit of €396 million ($420 million) on a turnover of €3.5 billion ($3.72 billion).

However, this was less than what the carrier achieved during the same time period last year and mainly attributed this to high costs of equipment, staff, and airport charges.

Recently, Schiphol Airport announced a fee hike of around 41%, which will make it the second most expensive airport in Europe. KLM responded to the hike, with its CEO Marjan Rintel commenting:

“Schiphol shifts additional costs of setbacks and budget overruns largely to the traveler.. More expensive tickets are inevitable if you increase airport charges so drastically. This is unreasonable and unwise. Unreasonable, because Schiphol is placing the costs of all setbacks and Covid-19 entirely on the airlines. Unwise, because in doing so, the airport undermines its competitive position as an international hub. This poses risks for the hub function, the connectivity of the Netherlands, and our economy.”