40 years on：KLM Celebrates 40 Years of Flights to Taipei

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TAIPEI, Nov. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Today KLM Royal Dutch Airlines hosted a celebration dinner to mark the 40th anniversary of its Taipei–Amsterdam service Taipei. The celebration was attended by a KLM senior management delegation led by Marjan Rintel, President and CEO KLM, with the presence of Wouter Vermeulen, General Manager Air France KLM Greater China, Johnson Wan, Regional Manager Taiwan, and other distinguished guests from the industry and community, as well as local staff.

KLM was established on 7 October 1919, now the world’s oldest airline still operating under its original name, and recently celebrated its 104th birthday on October 7 last month. Via a vast network of 92 European cities and 70 intercontinental destinations, KLM now offers direct services to key economic centers all over the world.

KLM operated its first flight from Amsterdam to Taipei on April 2nd1983, with the PH-BUB ‘Donau’, a Boeing 747-200 aircraft. The route went through Vienna, Dubai and Bangkok and took 17hours. Since then, KLM has been operating regular passenger and cargo flights on the Taipei–Amsterdam route. In 2012, KLM began operating direct flights from Amsterdam to Taipei. KLM has seen a significant growth in passenger traffic, which is a testament to its commitment to providing exceptional services to its customers travelling between Amsterdam and Taipei.  

“Since our first flight in 1983, KLM has built the air bridge between Taiwan and the Netherlands and the rest of the world throughout four decades of operation. Going forward, we will fulfill our commitment to the Taiwan market through our extensive network, modern fleet, flexible connectivity, investment in service and technological innovation and sustainability, together with our partners, as a testament to our core values: being passionate, caring, innovative and responsible.” Said Marjan Rintel, President and CEO, KLM.

Wouter Vermeulen, General Manager, Air France KLM Greater China added “We are delighted to celebrate this milestone on KLM’s AMS-TPE route, and it has been a great pleasure for us to connect travelers from the Taiwan market to the Netherlands since 1983 – we are happy to see the important role KLM has been playing in facilitating trade and people-to-people exchanges between the Taiwan market, the Netherlands and Europe. For the next 40 years and beyond, we will continue to fly our passengers safely and in comfort to their destinations, while also focusing on making flying cleaner, quieter and more fuel-efficient.”

As of 29 October, KLM resumed 4 direct weekly flights between Taipei and Amsterdam for the winter season. The direct services are operated with B787-9 and B777-2 aircraft featuring with our brand-new Premium Comfort Cabin, elevating customers’ experience. KLM operates a total of 22 passenger flights from 4 destinations in its Greater China market, namely Taipei (4 weekly flights), Hong Kong (4 weekly flights) and, Beijing (Daily Flight), Shanghai (Daily flight).

KLM TPE-AMS 2023 Winter Flight Schedule (as of October 29, 2023):

*These are all local times. Flight schedule may subject to change. Detailed flight times, days and fares may be consulted on KLM.com or in the KLM app.

*We recommend passengers check the latest travel regulations prior to departure. See klm.traveldoc.aero for more information.

KLM new cabin class: Premium Comfort and New World Business Class seats 

Premium Comfort is an entirely new inflight class with its own cabin, offering a new type of seats as well as distinctive service and catering concepts. The seats of Premium Comfort Class seats will vary from 21 to 28, which will be wider than standard seats, offering more legroom, a larger screen and a footrest. Premium Comfort seats can also recline further than Economy Class seats.

The broader seats of our new World Business Class seats have a sliding door ensuring greater comfort and privacy. Thanks to various innovations, the seats and their fittings are 10-15% lighter than other business class seats in this market segment, thereby contributing to KLM’s sustainability objectives.

KLM, A forerunner in sustainable aviation

KLM pioneers to become a frontrunner in sustainable aviation and took important steps on this path, for example it began to blend o.5 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) on flights departing from Amsterdam and signed a multi-year SAF supply contract, first steps towards achieving our 10%worldwide SAF target by 2030.

For the third consecutive year, KLM has again won the APEX World Class Award. This special recognition is awarded by customers and the industry for performance in relation to themes including safety, customer well-being and sustainability.

About KLM

KLM was established on 7 October 1919, making it the world’s oldest airline still operating under its original name.

KLM Group

Carrying 34.1 million passengers and 621,000 tonnes cargo, KLM and KLM Cityhopper form the heart of the KLM Group. Via a vast network of 92 European cities and 70 intercontinental destinations, KLM offers direct services to key economic centres all over the world.

KLM is a partner in the SkyTeam Alliance, which offers passengers even more possibilities, jointly serving 1,063 destinations in 173 countries. The KLM Group also includes the wholly-owned subsidiaries Transavia and Martinair. Transavia is the leading low-cost airline in the Netherlands, carrying almost 9 million passengers in 2018, operating out of Amsterdam, Eindhoven and Rotterdam.

Based on the principle that our people are the key to our brand, we are convinced that we can make the difference by consistently offering our customers a memorable experience. This ambition is in our DNA. Thanks to the sincere attention we give our passengers, they feel acknowledged, contented and at ease.

Following the merge with Air France in 2004, KLM has pursued the concept of 1 Air France-KLM Group, 2 airlines, and 3 core activities (passengers, cargo and engineering & maintenance). Together with Air France, KLM plays a pioneering role in the European air transport industry. KLM pursues profitable growth in order to achieve its own commercial objectives as well as more general economic and social objectives.

KLM is actively driving sustainable growth at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and seeks to gain access to any market that will improve the quality of its network. In addition, KLM endeavours to ensure a level playing field for all participants in the sector.