Pieter Elbers addressed Aviation Club UK members and guests at their Club luncheon on Wednesday 5 April.  Elbers confirmed the importance of the UK market to KLM quoting the following key messages:

‘The UK is KLM’s single most important market out of the Netherlands. In three years’ time we have increased the number of seats to the UK by 20%. Last year, we opened three new UK destinations (Inverness, Southampton and London City). This is proof of our commitment to the UK and our faith in the further development of this market.

‘Currently, with 17 destinations and 71 frequencies a day we welcome on board as many as 4.2 million passengers per year. This means almost 1 out of 6 KLM passengers flying through Schiphol enter via one of our UK routes. With our network we offer services to the world from more cities in the UK than any other airline, we are UK’s regional “home carrier”!  

‘What sets us apart from the competition? Most of all, we want to offer our passengers a memorable experience. KLM will not be the most luxurious, nor have the lowest cost, but instead we have made a choice for customer intimacy. This is in our DNA.

‘Digital enables large scale customer intimacy. We have now rolled out over 14.000 iPads for frontline staff. This will enable them to personalize their service to customers and to solve problems more directly.  Ever since the ash cloud in 2009 when we evolved our social media response KLM has been a frontrunner in digital and social media. Since then a lot has happened. The world around us evolved. And so did we.

‘With 100,000 incoming messages a week that are answered within the hour, we still excel in social media. But also on digital we have a good track record:

–      Over 130 million visits per year on klm.com

–      Selling 1 out of 3 tickets via our website

–      Almost half of all online visits are on mobile

–      70% online check-ins

‘Recently Citibank published a thorough and interesting update on digitization in the airline industry, where KLM was ranked as the number one digital scoring European airline. At KLM with over 18 million followers we have more social media presence than IAG Group and Lufthansa Group combined. And we continue to invest in our leading digital position.

‘We believe we should be where our customers are.  I can honestly say that we at KLM feel at home in the UK and we wish to make UK customers feel at home with KLM.

To view the Bloomberg news article CLICK HERE

Pieter Elbers, President and CEO of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will speak at the Aviation Club UK on Wednesday 5 April 2017.  An Airline industry veteran, Pieter has over 25 years of experience in KLM, managing KLM Group’s overall strategy and performance with £9 billion in revenues and 32,000 staff.

Read more …. to download the full media release CLICK HERE.

BTN reports Aeromexico CEO Andrés Conesa was in London talking to the aviation industry at the Institute of Directors within days of Delta Air Lines announcing it had taken its interest in the carrier up to 49%.

Click here for full article

The Aviation Club UK welcomes its first speaker from Latin America next week when Aeromexico CEO, Dr Andres Conesa, joins the Club’s second lunch of the year on Wednesday 8 March 2017 in central London ..

To download the full release click here

The Aviation Club UK has chosen Orbis, the ‘Flying Eye Hospital’ dedicated to treating and preventing avoidable blindness, as its charity for the next twelve months.

To download full media release click here.

On Thursday 9 February 2017, Rob Gurney, CEO oneworld, Aviation Club member and guests, raised a glass to celebrate oneworld’s 18th Birthday.

For full report from Breaking Travel News click here.

For full report from Bloomberg click here.

For full report from BTN click here.

For full report from MICE Business Travel News click here.

For full report from News4Travel click here.

Rob Gurney, the new boss of oneworld, will speak at the Club’s first lunch of 2017 on 9 February marking the 18^th birthday of oneworld, the “most highly prized” global alliance worldwide.  Rob, who was named CEO of oneworld in August 2016 after serving with alliance members British Airways and Qantas and unaligned Emirates, is expected to outline how oneworld intends to continue to add value for its airline members and customers now that it has come of age and how the role of global alliances might develop in the future.

For full media release CLICK HERE

Long term Aviation Club member Kell Ryan passed away on 30 December 2016.  Kell was an active Club member, regularly attending Club events, who will be greatly missed.

The funeral takes place 30 January 12:15 Our Lady and the English Martyrs, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 1JR

The following articles appeared in BTN and The Irish World:

Click here for BTN article – 9 January 2017

Click here for The Irish News article – 2 January 2017

Members and guests of the Aviation Club UK raised more than £3,000 for Dreamflight at their Christmas lunch on Wednesday 7 December, with the help of Emirates Airlines….

CLICK HERE to download full story.

On Wednesday 7 December 2016, Aviation Club members and guests were addressed by Sir Tim Clark KBE, CEO of Emirates.

The world’s best airline (according to you) is launching premium economy

The Telegraph, 9^th December 2016

Emirates, Telegraph Travel readers’ favourite long-haul airline, will introduce premium economy seating within the next 18 months, the company’s president has said. The move by the Dubai-based carrier, also recognised at this year’s World Airline Awards, would make it the first major Middle Eastern airline to offer premium economy seating.

Full Article

Sir Tim Clark Confirms Delivery of A380 Jets Powered by Rolls-Royce Engines

The Aviation Club, 9^th December 2016

On Wednesday 7 December 2016, Aviation Club members and guests were addressed by Sir Tim Clark KBE, CEO of Emirates.

Full Article

Tim Clark at the Aviation Club

Business Travel News, 9^th December 2016

Emirates expects to roll out a new Premium Economy product within the next year to 18 months, the airline’s president, Sir Tim Clark, said at the Aviation Club Christmas lunch last week. He indicated that the Far Eastern routes would see the seat first. No indication was made as to whether it would be an improved Economy Class, or Business Class product without the flat-bed seats. “We are evaluating”, he said, noting it would be a “quite a big upheaval” to adapt the 250 aircraft that Emirates already operates, as well as those scheduled for delivery.

Full Article

Emirates expects to roll out premium economy within 18 months

Mail Online, 8^th December 2016

Emirates, the world’s biggest long-haul airline, expects to introduce “premium economy” tickets within the next 12 to 18 months, according to its president, Tim Clark. The Dubai-based airline, faced with pressures on margins caused by a strong dollar and tougher competition, has recently added new revenue streams.

Full Article

Emirates set to launch premium economy
Business Traveller, 8^th December 2016

As widely expected Emirates’ introduction of premium economy class is now more definite than ever. Its president Sir Tim Clark has announced that his airline is very likely to introduce a premium economy class within the next 12 to 18 months. According to Reuters, Sir Tim Clark said “I would think we would have it in the airline within the next year to 18 months, hopefully up and running. We are at the stage of finding out what form [premium economy] will take.”

Full Article

 Emirates Ends A380 Delivery Standoff After Rolls Agrees to Fund Fix

Bloomberg, 7^th December 2016

Work on the introduction of a new premium-economy class pitched between business and coach is at a “fairly advanced stage,” Clark said, and Emirates is likely to introduce the new cabins within a year to 18 months. The carrier has also said that it’s working on a response to low-cost, long-haul carriers which might see it unbundle services that are now offered as a package, cutting the prices of a ticket but charging more for extras.

Full Article

CLICK HERE for the Business Travel News report