History of KLM

KLM was founded by Albert Plesman on 7 October 1919. The first flight commenced on 17 May 1920 using a leased Airco de Haviland DH-16. In 1921, KLM started its scheduled services.

Its first intercontinental flight, with Batavia (now Jakarta) as a final destination was served on 1 October 1924. The trial succeeds, so the scheduled flights Amsterdam-Batavia began in September 1929. Until 1939, this route was KLM’s world longest-distance scheduled service.

During World War II, lots of KLM aircrafts were damaged that the airline must rebuild its network. At the same time, the Dutch government expressed their interest in gaining more stakes and nationalizing the airline. However, Plesman insisted that KLM remain as a private company with the Dutch government owning only a small share.

KLM was the first European airline starting transatlantic schedule flights between Amsterdam and New York City on 21 May 1946. By 1948, KLM had expanded its services to Africa, North and South America, and the Caribbean. The expansion continued in 1950s with the addition of several destinations in western North America.

After Plesman passed away in December 1953, the company entered a difficult economic period. At the same time, the Dutch government increased their ownership of the company and nationalized the airline. However, the board of directors still remained under the private shareholders’ control.

When the wide body jets era began in February 1971, KLM became the first airline using higher gross-weight Boeing 747-200 into their service.

The oil crisis in 1973 caused the second difficult economic period that led KLM to seek for government fund. In return, KLM issued an additional share of stock for the government. By the end of 1970s, the government’s stake in KLM had increased to 78%.

In the late 1980s, KLM started to develop its hub at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. In December 1991, KLM was the first European airline to introduce a frequent flyer loyalty program called Flying Dutchman.

On 30 September 2003, Air France and KLM agreed to a merger plan. The merger was completed on 5 May 2004 by a creation of a holding company named Air France-KLM which becomes the world’s largest airline group.

After the merger, both companies become subsidiaries of Air France-KLM. Both airlines also retain their own brands with Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol as their key hubs.

Children and Infants Policies of KLM

• Infant is below under age of 2 by the time of travel and will travel as a lap infant.
• One adult can travel with maximum 2 infants, but only one can sit as lap infant. The other one must have a booked seat.
• When travelling across Europe, children of European Union Citizens must bring their own passport or ID card.
• If travelling to or from Thailand without or with 1 parent only, children age of 16 and younger must bring a copy of their certificate and a letter of reason to travel from the parents.
• As of June 2015, for travel to or from South Africa all children need to bring various documents even if they travel with their parents.
• On intercontinental flights, kids aged 2 and older will have children’s meals and receive Bluey Play Set as an inflight entertainment, both at no extra cost.