From modest beginnings, KLM, a member of SkyTeam, saw its first inaugural flight in 1920 piloted by Jerry Shaw, in a De Havilland DH-16, carrying only two English Journalists, and a lot more newspapers, from Amsterdam to London.

KLM has come a long way since then, with a fleet size now of 190 planes, servicing a network of 250 destinations, partly due to a 2004 a strategic partnership with Air France, which saw its reach spread even further. KLM has the largest combi fleet in the world and three freighter aircraft.

An economic entity in its own right, it now holds a number of subsidiaries such as KLM UK/Cityhopper, KLM Cargo, KLM Asia, KLM Flight Academy, transavia.com, a 50% share in Martinair and a 26% share in Kenya Airways.

KLM flies with two class differentiations, Business and Economy. Business long-haul is called World Business Class, which feature seats ranging from 135-degree inclines on a Boeing 767, to 170-degree incline sleeper seats on Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 services. A wide range of entertainment is available throughout the World Business Class cabin, with newer planes offering massage chairs, laptop power, telephones, and email and SMS capabilities.

The food on KLM World Business Class is worth a mention, with menus designed in conjunction with the Jeunes Restaurateurs d'Europe and offering flyers a full three-course meal alongside a selection of wines by sommelier Hubrecht Duijker. Snacks and drinks are available throughout the whole flight.

KLM Economy Class offers long-haul passengers at least a 31" seat pitch, with the new Airbus A330 offering a 32" seat pitch. KLM aims to keep everyone entertained with Economy Class in the newer models including personal interactive video screens with music, video and gaming capabilities. Individual telephones with email and text message capabilities, like those in Business Class, are available too.

KLM has also shown an acknowledgement of the necessity of aviation companies to have a social presence, in 1999 it was the first airline in the world to receive ISO 14001 certification for the Environmental Care System. KLM AirCares program also sponsors four different children’s charities, and is a supporter of the Doctor 2 Doctor program.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has launched a trial at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol involving the transmission of messages to travelers using Bluetooth technology. Bluetooth is a short-range wireless communication platform for portable devices such as mobile phones and electronic organizers. Travelers who are within range of the Bluetooth transmitter automatically receive messages from KLM, but only if they have activated the Bluetooth function on their electronic devices.

The introduction of this so-called BlueCasting system is in line with KLM’s ambition to connect with its customers via innovative channels of communication. The trial was developed in collaboration with the Amsterdam-based Lost Boys company.

Travelers currently receive an animated image encouraging them make use of internet check-in facilities to avoid long queues at check-in. The message includes the text: “Check in online, avoid queues.” Travelers will only receive the message once. If they have momentarily been outside the transmitter’s range, they will not receive the message a second time.

The BlueCasting trial will run until February 4, 2007. KLM will subsequently assess whether passengers appreciate being approached in this manner and if further functionality can be added to enhance customer service.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is to begin operating a second daily roundtrip between Amsterdam and Moscow when the summer schedule commences on Sunday, March 25, 2007. The new flight, KL905, will depart from Amsterdam in the afternoon, returning from the Russian capital as flight KL906 in the early evening, arriving at Schiphol just before 20:00 hrs.

The new flight supplements the two existing codeshare flights that KLM and the Russian carrier Aeroflot already operate on the Amsterdam-Moscow route. The two SkyTeam members initiated codesharing between their Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Moscow Sheremetyevo hubs on November 1, 2006.

KLM currently operates a morning flight, KL903/904, from Amsterdam to Moscow that departs from Schiphol every morning and returns from Moscow Sheremetyevo in the afternoon. At the same time, Aeroflot operates a morning flight from Moscow to Amsterdam. The return flight departs from Schiphol just before noon, arriving at Moscow Sheremetyevo at the end of the afternoon.

The new flight will offer KLM and Aeroflot passengers a third daily codeshare frequency on the Amsterdam-Moscow route as of next summer.