KLM affirms Liverpool commitment
Air France KLM's general manager Henri Hourcade has affirmed the airline's commitment to Liverpool John Lennon Airport and said its routes from the city are performing well.
Speaking to Insider, he said the company was happy with the performance of its three daily flights to Amsterdam Schiphol, adding that competition from low-cost carriers Ryanair and Easyjet was not an issue.
"We are close to 300,000 passengers since April 2009 so we're on target," he said. "We're in a consolidation period at the moment, but our main purpose as a hub carrier is to transport people from Europe to long-haul destinations, so we're not about to launch lots of new routes from the region."
KLM launched services from the city to Amsterdam Schiphol two-and-a-half years ago, marking a return to the city after a 70-year absence. It previously last flew to Liverpool from 1934 to 1939, when World War II grounded cross channel flights. The routes from Liverpool connected the city to more than 650 worldwide destinations.
Hourcade added: "It's a different business model to other carriers that operate from Liverpool as about 50 per cent of our travellers fly on from Schiphol to other destinations. Our best-sellers from Liverpool are to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong and we are optimistic about our growth in the region."
He also said that the company has continued to invest in its services, demonstrated last week when Air France KLM has agreed to purchase 60 A350XWB (extra wide body) aircraft from Airbus. The Airbus plant at Broughton, near Chester, employs about 6,000 staff making wings for its aircraft.
"The airline has demonstrated that we are investing despite the challenging times caused by rising fuel prices," said Hourcade. "We have launched 16 new long-haul routes this year alone and the Airbus agreement is a massive investment."
Speaking after the Air France-KLM deal, Airbus chief operating officer John Leahy added: "We are honoured that our all new, extra efficient A350XWB will contribute to Air France KLM's long-term success.
"The unbeatable economics and environmental credentials will establish the aircraft as the future backbone of the airline’s long-haul fleet."
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