Originally Posted by Sjoerd
Please re-read what I wrote: ".....they don't need that many UK-based clients....."
I NEVER said that KLM is planning to get rid of ALL UK-based clients, they are just re-balancing their passenger loads away from the UK. So indeed they can afford to have a few percentage-points fewer UK-based clients. Makes sense to me to diversify their client base a bit more.
The passionate hatred for all things KLM with some of the regulars here on Flyertalk is food for psychiatrists. If you don't like KLM, fine with me and use another airline. Or admit that you are a masochist and you actually enjoy being harrassed by the KLM lounge dragons.
Sjoerd, this has to be the KL post of the year. This all makes such perfect sense now.
Some of us are so blinded by our prejudice and hate of KLM and our failure to keep appointments with our therapists to deal with that anger that we cannot see what must be obvious to objective and less screwed-up people: viz. that KL problem is that they have too many customers in the UK.
How can we be so dumb as to not realise the huge potential of the Dutch market, as yet untapped by KL? How can we be so stupid as not to realise that the lowering of KL's fares on the Dutch market is a sign of vitality and profit potential on that market?
Of course, if they want to lose UK customers, they could offer fewer services to the UK. The disadvantage of this, however, is that they would be lowering their operating costs. It is a far better strategy to keep the same number of flights with the same equipment but discourage some people from taking those flights. This way, you get the load factors down, keep your costs high while lowering your earnings, which is surely a very smart move if one takes into account the fact that the reason why KL needs to lose UK pax is that they make too much money. This way, it all makes sense.
May I suggest, to build on this logic, that perhaps KL should consider switching its 9 daily flights from LHR to EXT as a first step in the summer schedule, to be soon followed in the winter schedule by a switch from MAN to BLK and from GLA to BRR?
[edited for typo/grammar]