KL relaunches services to Bangalore, India as per May 25th

KL879 77W 1400 AMS BLR 0310
KL880 77W 0600 BLR AMS 1230

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands on Wednesday announced that it will resume operations on its Bengaluru-Amsterdam route from May 25. As per the details shared by the airline, It will operate 3 flights per week between Bengaluru And Amsterdam.

Any idea why AF719 has been stopping in LPA as of late? It's usually nonstop DSS-CDG

ikolkyo wrote:

Any idea why AF719 has been stopping in LPA as of late? It's usually nonstop DSS-CDG

It could be because of that jet fuel shortage in Dakar ?

https://www.aviation24.be/airports/dakar-dss/jet-fuel-shortage-in-dakar-airlines-must-ensure-their-own-fuel-supply/amp/

AOMlover wrote:

ikolkyo wrote:

Any idea why AF719 has been stopping in LPA as of late? It's usually nonstop DSS-CDG

It could be because of that jet fuel shortage in Dakar ?

https://www.aviation24.be/airports/dakar-dss/jet-fuel-shortage-in-dakar-airlines-must-ensure-their-own-fuel-supply/amp/

That would do it, interesting.

ikolkyo wrote:

AOMlover wrote:

ikolkyo wrote:

Any idea why AF719 has been stopping in LPA as of late? It's usually nonstop DSS-CDG

It could be because of that jet fuel shortage in Dakar ?

https://www.aviation24.be/airports/dakar-dss/jet-fuel-shortage-in-dakar-airlines-must-ensure-their-own-fuel-supply/amp/

That would do it, interesting.

Explains why DL has been stopping at SID, too!

FlyingHonu001 wrote:

KL relaunches services to Bangalore, India as per May 25th

KL879 77W 1400 AMS BLR 0310
KL880 77W 0600 BLR AMS 1230

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands on Wednesday announced that it will resume operations on its Bengaluru-Amsterdam route from May 25. As per the details shared by the airline, It will operate 3 flights per week between Bengaluru And Amsterdam.

Did they ever operate 77W pre-covid?

Yes, but just a few times between NOV 2019 to MAR 2020.
Most of their flights were B789/10.

Messy day at AMS as KLM ground staff stage impromptu strike

https://nltimes.nl/2022/04/23/schiphol- ... rport-full

Revised livery on F-GUOB


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FRB72MhWUAA ... name=large

mercure1 wrote:

Messy day at AMS as KLM ground staff stage impromptu strike

https://nltimes.nl/2022/04/23/schiphol- ... rport-full

Yup quite a mess alright. Mainly EUR and Cityhopper flights suffered the most with cancellations across the board.

KL's intercontinental flights also severly disrupted, just 6 on-time departures so far, others going with at least +2 or +3hr delays

mercure1 wrote:

Revised livery on F-GUOB


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FRB72MhWUAA ... name=large

Beautiful airplane.

I did always find it funny that some the 747 cargo fleet, which has now been gone for years, wore this new livery. Meanwhile the 777Fs never got it until now.

Are KLM's 738's now all fully refurbished?

deltatrav wrote:

Are KLM's 738's now all fully refurbished?

No, and not all 738s will be refurbished

deltatrav wrote:

Are KLM's 738's now all fully refurbished?

The oldest 737's will be replaced first, starting in 2023. The newer ones are being refurbished (seats and Wi-Fi) because they will be around for some years.

Interesting news article today on luchtvaartnieuws.nl on the A320/A321neo order for KLM and Transavia.

According to KLM’s Director of Operations, the MAX was a preferred candidate but the uncertainty with certification of the MAX10 was a big driving factor for ordering Airbuses. Boeing couldn’t give a clear introduction and delivery date for the MAX10, which would have been the dominant type for the order.

The costs of retraining to Airbus was much better to oversee and calculate than the uncertainty of certification and introduction of the MAX10.

Very interesting info and a small glimpse on things airlines consider when ordering new aircraft.

https://www.luchtvaartnieuws.nl/nieuws/ ... oot-risico

Cheers!

LifelinerOne wrote:

Interesting news article today on luchtvaartnieuws.nl on the A320/A321neo order for KLM and Transavia.

According to KLM’s Director of Operations, the MAX was a preferred candidate but the uncertainty with certification of the MAX10 was a big driving factor for ordering Airbuses. Boeing couldn’t give a clear introduction and delivery date for the MAX10, which would have been the dominant type for the order.

The costs of retraining to Airbus was much better to oversee and calculate than the uncertainty of certification and introduction of the MAX10.

Very interesting info and a small glimpse on things airlines consider when ordering new aircraft.

https://www.luchtvaartnieuws.nl/nieuws/ ... oot-risico

Cheers!

Thank you for sharing. I've always suspected this was one the most important reasons for the switch to Airbus, and I believe I mentioned this before on this site. The current inability of Boeing to deliver aircraft has lost them one of their last major European clients. Years of getting the MAX recertified, now the delays in the MAX-7 and MAX-10 certification, now another delay with the 777X, you cannot rely on Boeing to deliver aircraft in time. KL doesn't want to be in the same situation of EK, who are waiting for years for the 777X. Especially considering the AMS situation, where many pressure groups want the number of flights reduced by as much as 40%, and the main defense of the supporters for the number of flights to remain at least at post COVID level, is the introduction of more and more eco-friendly aircraft.

It's indeed one thing to calculate the cost of for example extended leases (for example, KL had to extend leases of A333s as a result of the delayed delivery of at least 5 787-10s), but another to calculate the cost of losing slots at AMS because you don't have the latest generation aircraft in your fleet. And even if you do, can you claim this with the aircraft manufacturer? Therefore, I can understand the MAX-10 is too much risk...

And with the extended delays of the 777X, I won't rule out the A350 can make a 'comeback' in KL's order book eventually. And Boeing better fix the 787 problems this year, or Airbus may get a surprise A350 order even earlier than expected

frigatebird wrote:

LifelinerOne wrote:

Interesting news article today on luchtvaartnieuws.nl on the A320/A321neo order for KLM and Transavia.

According to KLM’s Director of Operations, the MAX was a preferred candidate but the uncertainty with certification of the MAX10 was a big driving factor for ordering Airbuses. Boeing couldn’t give a clear introduction and delivery date for the MAX10, which would have been the dominant type for the order.

The costs of retraining to Airbus was much better to oversee and calculate than the uncertainty of certification and introduction of the MAX10.

Very interesting info and a small glimpse on things airlines consider when ordering new aircraft.

https://www.luchtvaartnieuws.nl/nieuws/ ... oot-risico

Cheers!

Thank you for sharing. I've always suspected this was one the most important reasons for the switch to Airbus, and I believe I mentioned this before on this site. The current inability of Boeing to deliver aircraft has lost them one of their last major European clients. Years of getting the MAX recertified, now the delays in the MAX-7 and MAX-10 certification, now another delay with the 777X, you cannot rely on Boeing to deliver aircraft in time. KL doesn't want to be in the same situation of EK, who are waiting for years for the 777X. Especially considering the AMS situation, where many pressure groups want the number of flights reduced by as much as 40%, and the main defense of the supporters for the number of flights to remain at least at post COVID level, is the introduction of more and more eco-friendly aircraft.

It's indeed one thing to calculate the cost of for example extended leases (for example, KL had to extend leases of A333s as a result of the delayed delivery of at least 5 787-10s), but another to calculate the cost of losing slots at AMS because you don't have the latest generation aircraft in your fleet. And even if you do, can you claim this with the aircraft manufacturer? Therefore, I can understand the MAX-10 is too much risk...

And with the extended delays of the 777X, I won't rule out the A350 can make a 'comeback' in KL's order book eventually. And Boeing better fix the 787 problems this year, or Airbus may get a surprise A350 order even earlier than expected

Leeham news just posted an interesting article/interview with Udvar-Hazy about all the Boeing production delays. You sum it up nicely.

https://leehamnews.com/2022/04/27/all-a ... re-delayed

Last month they also mentioned there was a existing 787 customer experiencing delays that might take the NTU Aeroflot 350s waiting in TLS.

Very interesting, Airbus seems to have delay problems too, but not because they cant get their certification together but because they cant produce them fast enough. That are luxury problems in these times...

KL cancelling flights due to staff shortages and overcrowding at AMS due to May spring break. Mainly at European mainline and Cityhopper.
International widebody flights are unaffected.
https://nltimes.nl/2022/04/29/klm-preem ... hol-crowds

So is this like a general rehearsal for whats coming up for Summer 22?

Airbus A350-900 or Airbus A350-1000 for KLM? That would be possible, but KLM is never waiting for many types of aircraft that are not certified. Airbus also has its own problems, just like Boeing itself. However, I think that for Air France-KLM it is most advantageous to have 2 airlines with all Airbus fleet. FAA has become much stricter after 2 crashes with Boeing 737-MAX8, it is logical that Boeing must now meet all the requirements of the FAA in order to still be certified for Boeing 737-MAX7 and Boeing 737-MAX10.

KLM may still be able to order Boeing 777X in the distant future if they are certified, as a successor to Boeing 777-200ER and Boeing 777-300ER.

We cannot see how things will develop in the aviation world in the distant future, but due to the corona pandemic and problems surrounding Boeing, war in Ukraine and possible oil crisis, the aircraft bowers may be forced to develop environmentally friendly aircraft instead of traditional aircraft that use kerosene. use to fly. Airbus is much further in developing a hydrogen aircraft and Boeing is aiming to develop an aircraft that uses bio-kerosene to fly.

KLM and Air France must certainly also go along with making flying, handling and etc. at airports in the Netherlands and France more sustainable. I also read on the Dutch aviation news site that Maastricht Airport has started a trial with a company that wants to make baggage handling more sustainable. KLM should have looked into this option sooner or whether fewer baggage handlers would be needed to introduce an electric sustainable baggage method.

Berven1 wrote:

Airbus A350-900 or Airbus A350-1000 for KLM? That would be possible, but KLM is never waiting for many types of aircraft that are not certified. Airbus also has its own problems, just like Boeing itself. However, I think that for Air France-KLM it is most advantageous to have 2 airlines with all Airbus fleet. FAA has become much stricter after 2 crashes with Boeing 737-MAX8, it is logical that Boeing must now meet all the requirements of the FAA in order to still be certified for Boeing 737-MAX7 and Boeing 737-MAX10.

KLM may still be able to order Boeing 777X in the distant future if they are certified, as a successor to Boeing 777-200ER and Boeing 777-300ER.

That's very true but then they will have to early retire the 777-300ER if they want the A350. Although I think the more likely conclusion for them is more 787-9/10's to replace the -200ER's and AF's A330-200s's so long as Boeing can quickly fix themselves and give some serious Black Friday deals. AF's 777-300ERs are getting up in age so they might purchase some A350-1000s (maybe even QR's used ones)

Berven1 wrote:

I also read on the Dutch aviation news site that Maastricht Airport has started a trial with a company that wants to make baggage handling more sustainable. KLM should have looked into this option sooner or whether fewer baggage handlers would be needed to introduce an electric sustainable baggage method.

What Maastricht is doing, has been done/started already at Schiphol/KLM (and is still ongoing).
It's nothing more than replacing gas vehicles with electric ones.

Martinair may still be a freight company that has transported passengers in the distant past, but many questions still arise about Martinair's future as a freight company.

Martinair has 1 Boeing 747-400BCF(PH-MPS) and 3 Boeing 747-400ERF in KLM Cargo colors in its fleet, albeit a small fleet. Only freight activities make Martinair stronger on connecting lines, but I don't think this is really future-proof. Martinair also transports freight on behalf of KLM and Air France, but also sometimes from other airlines.

After Martinair ceased passage in the autumn of 2011, I wonder whether the future of Martinair will ever resume passenger activities. I think it was a missed opportunity for KLM-AF to set up a low-cost airline for long-haul flights. Especially with Star Alliance, this is Eurowings and with One World it is Level. KLM and Air France are now carrying out scheduled holiday flights to distant destinations. After reading the interview of the founder of Martinair, I agree with him that Martinair would continue with passenger flights. It could very well be that Martinair offered cheap long-haul flights than before, because Martinair was already a household name in America and Caribbean destinations.

However, KLM executives together with Air France decided that Martinair should only carry freight, which is very risky for changing market shares in the near future. In that case, Martinair has simply been belittled by the large KLM, or worse, completely destroyed to have to work out so favorably for KLM. It is such a shame that Martinair is now leading the way. It seems that the management does not understand how the aviation world works and is only for profit.

Berven1 wrote:

It seems that the management does not understand how the aviation world works and is only for profit.

Is not the whole point of running a business hopefully to make a profit??

Why would anyone invest in a business without an opportunity to make a return on your money.

mercure1 wrote:

Berven1 wrote:

It seems that the management does not understand how the aviation world works and is only for profit.

Is not the whole point of running a business hopefully to make a profit??

Why would anyone invest in a business without an opportunity to make a return on your money.

A little bit too much of the nostalgia I think…

AF KL were criticized for having too many subsidiaries, and have finally narrowed it down. Why would they now restart that? You had AF, KL, Martinair, a few Transavias, HOP, Cityhopper, Joon, and so on and so on.

I think the awareness of MartinAir might also be overstated a bit. I know plenty of past and present AF KL employees who know almost nothing about it. The recurring issue with many of the former holiday airlines from Europe is that Americans generally didn’t use them. Either because they couldn’t, or they just didn’t know.

Martinair is a bit like KLM in that I think they’re lucky that they even still exist as their own entity.

Air France says the Group will seek EUR 4bil in recapitalization by end of 2022. The funds likely will be from a mix of shares being issued and bonds sold and used to stabilize the balance sheet.

https://www.lesechos.fr/industrie-servi ... on-1404184

To be honest, Martinair practically doesn't exist anymore since it has been embedded into the AirFranceKLMartinairCargo subsidiary. Imho the brand is also no longer relevant in todays cargo market, since everything is nowadays controlled by the AFKL Group.

Following a profitable 2nd Quarter, KLM makes a first 32% repayment on its Euro 942 Million government COVID loan.

KLM only drew €942 million from the total Euro 3.4 Billion loan package available. The repayment in the second quarter is €311 million, which reduces the outstanding debt of this loan package from €942 million to €631 million. If recovery continues, KLM may make further repayments later this year.

https://news.klm.com/sharp-improvement- ... klm-group/

factsonly wrote:

Following a profitable 2nd Quarter, KLM makes a first 32% repayment on its Euro 942 Million government COVID loan.

KLM only drew €942 million from the total Euro 3.4 Billion loan package available. The repayment in the second quarter is €311 million, which reduces the outstanding debt of this loan package from €942 million to €631 million. If recovery continues, KLM may make further repayments later this year.

https://news.klm.com/sharp-improvement- ... klm-group/

We are in Q2 right now.
They meant Q1 according to that article.

AF-KL increase frequencies at Buenos Aires EZE from 01JUN22

* AMS-EZE-AMS goes from 6x w to daily, operates with B789 (*) flight continues to SCL from EZE with 5th freedom rights

* CDG-EZE-CDG goes from 5x to 6x w, operates with B789, it is expected AF will return to a daily operation at EZE in a matter of months

https://www.sirchandler.com.ar/2022/05/ ... -en-junio/

New AF 77W cabin incoming, features J seats with doors along with new Premium Economy and Economy seats.
https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/ ... e_en_0.pdf
https://samchui.com/2022/05/10/air-fran ... nq8FYzMK3B

ikolkyo wrote:

New AF 77W cabin incoming, features J seats with doors along with new Premium Economy and Economy seats.
https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/ ... e_en_0.pdf
https://samchui.com/2022/05/10/air-fran ... nq8FYzMK3B

This will be inline with KL's World Business Class refurbs, their 777's will get a similar update by 2023

FlyingHonu001 wrote:

ikolkyo wrote:

New AF 77W cabin incoming, features J seats with doors along with new Premium Economy and Economy seats.
https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/ ... e_en_0.pdf
https://samchui.com/2022/05/10/air-fran ... nq8FYzMK3B

This will be inline with KL's World Business Class refurbs, their 777's will get a similar update by 2023

To be unveiled by the end of this month, I believe. Along with Premium Comfort (PE) Glad to see fixed shell concept disappear! Will be interesting to see how many business class seats KL's 777s will have, not as many as the 48 AF will have (a slight increase vs AF's current 3 class 77W's), but not less than the 34 business class seats KL's 777 now have.

PE in KL's 787s will go at the expense of regular economy seats, we'll know at the end of this month how the final configuration will be. Looking forward to giving it a try early next year

ikolkyo wrote:

New AF 77W cabin incoming, features J seats with doors along with new Premium Economy and Economy seats.
https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/ ... e_en_0.pdf
https://samchui.com/2022/05/10/air-fran ... nq8FYzMK3B

Looks very nice and clean modern. In love with the seahorse emblem.

Aresxerexade wrote:

ikolkyo wrote:

New AF 77W cabin incoming, features J seats with doors along with new Premium Economy and Economy seats.
https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/ ... e_en_0.pdf
https://samchui.com/2022/05/10/air-fran ... nq8FYzMK3B

Looks very nice and clean modern. In love with the seahorse emblem.

Absolutely. Although keeping them that clean is going to be quite the challenge. Carts bumping into them, bags rubbing on the white, etc.

I’m with you though, I love the return to prominence of the Hippocampe (crevette) logo. It’s a unique piece of branding and it’s nice to see it used as an accent to the rest of the branding

Many good things to say about the design. Row 1 looks like a winner, the Hippocampe being more prominent is nice, sliding doors is a must have these days, especially since BA have started equipping their fleet. I see they retained the carpet design from the A220. Good idea not retaining the fixed shell in Y+. Huge IFE in Y, same size as EK I believe, thats a huge leap for AF.

But in terms of aesthetics a few steps back come to mind. Firstly the loss of the grey you have on the A350 and 777-300 COI fleets, no red in the little storage cubby unlike the previous herringbone seat, Y does not have coloured headrests anymore (all black instead of alternating blues and white). Might sound minor but one of the problems with the original circa 2015 refit was that the cabins looked so bland with the black and white seats. I hope they at least pay for mood lighting this time.

How may different j classes douse Af have the 330 have a 2-2-2, the 777 and 787s have reverse herringbones, and the a350 has the Sanfan Optima which I thought was the seat going forward. and now this.

4engines4short wrote:

How may different j classes douse Af have the 330 have a 2-2-2, the 777 and 787s have reverse herringbones, and the a350 has the Sanfan Optima which I thought was the seat going forward. and now this.

What's more, this is, at least according to the above link, only to be installed on 12 aircraft? Would those be the 12 aircraft that are currently configured 42C/24Y+/315Y?

Taking elegance to new heights: new AF brand film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBfe4CGenow

Once the mod is done AF will have

Best&Beyond Cirrus (1-2-1)
19x 777-300er (all with First)
All 777-200
All 787-9

Optima (1-2-1)
12x 777-300er (COI)
All A350-900 (second config expected soon)

Equinox (2-2-2)
All A330-200

Cirrus v2 (1-2-1 with door)
12x 777-300er

Whilst there will essentially be 4 products throughout the fleet theres not much that can be done. The A330 will probably be out soon once their replacement has been sorted (more 787 or maybe a330neo), any change to the 787 product can wait until new orders as they are only about 6 years old I believe.

The next big step will be the new A350 config and what the 777-300er replacement at AF will be. If they go for the A350-1000 then we’ll probably see the 777 fleet dwindle down to 24 (COI and Cirrus v2) and have the new seat available on a much larger portion of the fleet. No matter what happens AF will have at least 2-3 different J seats for the foreseeable future. Interesting times ahead.

https://www.airfranceklm.com/en/air-fra ... global-air

Interesting one. AFKL partnering with CMA CGM for cargo. I think it’s a great move for both sides. Once they really get up and running I wouldn’t be too surprised to see CMA CGM take over AF cargo in the same manner that Martinair does KLM.

A bit funny though, the maritime company that resulted from a merger due to business dying from airline travel…partnering with one of the chief airlines responsible.

AF/KL and CMA CGM Cooperation details, including a 9% CMA CGM shareholding in AF/KL:

It will result in the joint operation of all AF/KL and CMA CGM freighter aircraft and passenger belly cargo capacity:

"Air France-KLM and CMA CGM will join and exclusively operate the full-freighter aircraft capacity of the respective airlines consisting initially of a fleet of 10 full-freighter aircraft, and an additional combined 12 aircraft on order:

- 4 full-freighter aircraft at CMA CGM Air Cargo (with outstanding orders for an additional 8 aircraft, 2 of which may be operated by Air France-KLM in the future),
- 6 full-freighter aircraft at Air France-KLM Group based at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (with outstanding orders for an additional 4 aircraft)[2].

This new commercial partnership also covers Air France-KLM’s belly aircraft capacity, including over 160 long-haul aircraft."

As part of this long-term exclusive partnership, CMA CGM will reinforce its commitment in the air freight industry by becoming a new reference shareholder in Air France-KLM. CMA CGM has the firm intention to take up to 9% of Air France-KLM’s ex-post share capital, for a period consistent with the implementation of the strategic commercial partnership.

https://www.airfranceklm.com/en/air-fra ... global-air

FGITD wrote:

https://www.airfranceklm.com/en/air-france-klm-and-cma-cgm-join-forces-and-sign-major-long-term-strategic-partnership-global-air

Interesting one. AFKL partnering with CMA CGM for cargo. I think it’s a great move for both sides. Once they really get up and running I wouldn’t be too surprised to see CMA CGM take over AF cargo in the same manner that Martinair does KLM.

A bit funny though, the maritime company that resulted from a merger due to business dying from airline travel…partnering with one of the chief airlines responsible.

I think it’s the reverse - AF-KLM may take over CMA CGM ops. Indeed 2 of CMA CGM’s orders may be operated by AF-KLM. Also, Martinair is owned by KLM, so not sure how that would be similar anyways.

jbs2886 wrote:

FGITD wrote:

https://www.airfranceklm.com/en/air-france-klm-and-cma-cgm-join-forces-and-sign-major-long-term-strategic-partnership-global-air

Interesting one. AFKL partnering with CMA CGM for cargo. I think it’s a great move for both sides. Once they really get up and running I wouldn’t be too surprised to see CMA CGM take over AF cargo in the same manner that Martinair does KLM.

A bit funny though, the maritime company that resulted from a merger due to business dying from airline travel…partnering with one of the chief airlines responsible.

I think it’s the reverse - AF-KLM may take over CMA CGM ops. Indeed 2 of CMA CGM’s orders may be operated by AF-KLM. Also, Martinair is owned by KLM, so not sure how that would be similar anyways.

Valid point. I suppose it might make sense for CMA CGM to cease actually operating the aircraft etc and instead simply having a codeshare type deal. Compared to a decade ago it definitely seems like AF is dipping their toes back into dedicated cargo quite a bit more

ikolkyo wrote:

New AF 77W cabin incoming, features J seats with doors along with new Premium Economy and Economy seats.
https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/ ... e_en_0.pdf
https://samchui.com/2022/05/10/air-fran ... nq8FYzMK3B

I’m excited about this. Already a fan of the recent AF cabins especially in premium economy and business and will fly them for long haul if at all possible.

jbs2886 wrote:

FGITD wrote:

https://www.airfranceklm.com/en/air-france-klm-and-cma-cgm-join-forces-and-sign-major-long-term-strategic-partnership-global-air

Interesting one. AFKL partnering with CMA CGM for cargo. I think it’s a great move for both sides. Once they really get up and running I wouldn’t be too surprised to see CMA CGM take over AF cargo in the same manner that Martinair does KLM.

A bit funny though, the maritime company that resulted from a merger due to business dying from airline travel…partnering with one of the chief airlines responsible.

I think it’s the reverse - AF-KLM may take over CMA CGM ops. Indeed 2 of CMA CGM’s orders may be operated by AF-KLM. Also, Martinair is owned by KLM, so not sure how that would be similar anyways.

Probably the 2 777F on order with CMA CGM. Can imagine these will be based at AMS, maybe the 2 AF 777F will head the same way once the A350F's will be online. This way the 4 obsolete 744F's now operated by KL/MP at AMS can be phased out.

Walking around CDG, I was not aware just quite how many A350s AF has taken delivery of in just 3 years. Every other gate feels like it’s an A350

AF’s A350s are a very nice ride, however the Wifi was not working. Not sure if it was an aircraft thing or what.

ikolkyo wrote:

Walking around CDG, I was not aware just quite how many A350s AF has taken delivery of in just 3 years. Every other gate feels like it’s an A350

AF’s A350s are a very nice ride, however the Wifi was not working. Not sure if it was an aircraft thing or what.

Oh yes they’ve got about 17 now. I was surprised too until I saw a tweet with a pic of the 17th aircraft being delivered

KLM had another meltdown at AMS this weekend. About 50 flights were canceled.

Separately on Friday it was announced Air France-KLM entered into "exclusive discussions" with the American investment fund Apollo concerning the injection of 500 million euros of capital.
https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-fi ... 18660.html

mercure1 wrote:

KLM had another meltdown at AMS this weekend. About 50 flights were canceled.

I'd call this a little hysterical exaggeration!

Let's consider the facts:

- KLM cancelled 21 return services (7%) due to staff shortages and operated 288 return flights on Saturday May 21st.
- KLM cancelled 20 return services (6%) due to staff shortages and operated 307 return flights on Sunday May 22nd.
- BA cancelled 20% of its AMS services on Saturday, and 25% of its AMS services on Sunday, due to staff shortages.
- OS cancelled 25% of its AMS services on Saturday.
- LH cancelled 17% of its AMS services on Saturday,

Yes, airlines in many parts of the world are suffering post-COVID staff shortages and as a result have to cancel some planned operations.
It may not be what we were used to, but labour shortages are currently a fact of life in many industries.

Source: Schiphol Airport flight data.