PJK

According to http://www.luchtvaartnieuws.nl/News/?id=29484 KLM will cancel their service to Aruba from the start of the summer schedule on March 29th. Passengers will be rebooked on Martinair. That'll be 767's...

Apparently AFKL will cut more capacity from their longhaul network in the summerschedule.

Quite a historic step for KLM I guess... Decision made in Paris?

redtailshark

Ah yes, incipient disintegration of the shadowy "koninklijk", maybe we can say "imperial," route structure. I am sure you're right, this edict comes from the under the Seine. I wonder if the Gaullists will similarly dismember their underperforming far-flung royaume operations.. MRU, REU etc.

As for AUA, a shame it won't be served by the blue demons any more. What next, CUR?

ralfkrippner

I do find that shocking indeed. And very sad.

It seems that Martinair will increase frequency on that route +1 day/week.

Frisbee

What an arrogance on KLAF part to just cancel this destination. It will lead to some serious problems on the island, as Martinair and Arkefly are not very good in flying on time My booked (and paid!) flights for april in C (at a wopping €3100 each!) for me & the missus will be flown by Martinair now. By the way not a peep from KLM yet offcourse.
Will have to look at alternatives now.................
Disgusted and angry with this bunch of Morons in Amstelveen/Paris.

Hope KLM will have the decency to take care of the KLM staff at AUA, as these are a perfect team and are a example for all at SPL ! If you ever flown in C or are a plat/gold.... you will know how well they treat you.^

NickB

Uhh, last I looked, KL was a commercial enterprise, not a public service operator. If Aruba considers that this is a vital link, then it is up to them to make it worth KL's while to fly there.

MichielR

Are we forgetting that KL now own 100% of Martinair? Are they supposed to conltinue to compete against their own subsidiary? Are both KL and MP expected to fly half empty planes on the same route?

I can sense your frustration of finding out here that you might fly on MP instead of KL C in April but don't forget that KL have dropped its prices on the AUA and CUR routes already. Maybe, maybe, they think that the nature of the traffic better justifies an increased MP B767 operation and that the M11 can be best used on another route.

By the way, the KL website still books AUA in a KL M11 from April. And in terms of alternatives, KL might rebook you to CUR (which should still be KL with C on the M11) and then across on one of the three airlines to fly CUR-AUA (Inselair, DAE and Tiara Air).

Aviatrix

Another thing people don't seem to consider - or maybe you're all too young to remember - is that Aruba managed quite well before it had a direct KLM service. I don't know when the direct flights started, but they certainly didn't exist when we went there on honeymoon in 1988. We flew KLM to CUR and then continued on a Twin Otter operated by a little outfit called ALM. The change of plane did not seem to have any adverse effects on the tourism industry.

It's a shame that the service is being discontinued, but one has to accept that this is a tourism route for which a tourist airline like Martinair is probably better suited. It may not suit people who post here, but it probably does make financial sense.

Frisbee

Think a lot of people will not agree with you here! The Arubian tourist minister had a fit, as he thought KLM was a reliable partner as they invested a lot in advertising and promotions getting more tourist to the island.
The public service part : these islands still are part of the Dutch Kingdom, and I know for sure the frogs will never abandon their territories in whatever part of the world.

NickB

But that is the point: KLM is NOT the Kingdom of the Netherlands's public service carrier: It is a commercial enterprise, operated for profit. If its planes can be utilised for greater return on another route, that is where they should be. This is how a market economy works.
Of course the Arubian tourist minister is unhappy (like most Arubians, I would imagine) but that is irrelevant.

Richelieu

DZA is no longer serviced by the former French flag carrier. RUN is profitable with many government employees flying there, which doesn't seem to be the case with AUA. MRU was also mentionned, it's a former English colony (1814-1968) then an independant country (1968-today) and hardly qualify as a public service destination as it stopped to be French around the same time as AMS... But feel free to ignore facts when unfounded xenophobia is so much fun.

Aviatrix

Those who compare Aruba with Reunion are forgetting that there is a significant difference between the two:

Aruba is an independent country which shares a monarch and an appeal court with the Netherlands but not much else. It is not ruled from The Hague.

Reunion is part of France. It is ruled from Paris (which explains the government traffic mentioned by the previous poster)

As others said, KLM is a commercial company, and it is under no obligation whatsoever to run any particular route. And AUA is not being abandoned, it's just being handed to Martinair. The majority of passengers probably don't care whether they fly on one or the other. The only people to whom it really makes a difference are (a) Flying Blue members and (b) people flying in business class. The average holidaymaker doesn't really care who gets them from A to B - and it's the average holidaymaker that makes up the majority of traffic on this route.

I've heard it said that legacy carriers are kept in the air by those travelling in C and at full Economy fares. There aren't many of those on holiday routes, which is why holiday routes are rarely profitable for legacy carriers.

jetfan

Newspapers in Netherlands reported that Transavia and Martinair will be restructured under one board of directors.
I am sure this will mean further alignment of the (AF)KL/MP/HV networks.

Whilst irritating for some, from a financial/commercial point of view it does make sense.

johan rebel

They are already cutting flights on an ad hoc basis. 400 so far in April, I've been told. Cabin crew are being encouraged to take unpaid leave etc.

Johan

PJK

I guess the previous over-stretched utilization rate on the KLM-metal won't be a topic on this board anytime soon again

johan rebel

Several hundred KL FAs will temporarily be tranfered to HV this summer.

Johan