KLM to launch scheduled flights between Amsterdam and Chengdu

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is to launch a scheduled service between Amsterdam and Chengdu in Central China effective May 28, 2006. The new roundtrip flight will be operated twice weekly using Boeing 777 200ER equipment. The service will be operated in cooperation with KLM's partner China Southern Airlines.

Chengdu is the capital of the province of Sichuan, and together with the nearby area of Chongqing is home to some 120 million residents.

KLM Cargo will be able to ship more than 15 tons of cargo on board the Boeing 777 flights to and from Chengdu.

“KLM views China as one of its most important growth markets,” said KLM deputy president & CEO Peter Hartman. “With the introduction of this new service we are matching words with deeds to connect an entirely new region to Europe and, via Schiphol, with the rest of the world.”

Capacity for this new scheduled service will be released once the 13th new Boeing 777 has been taken into the KLM fleet effective May this year.

Effective May 28, 2006, flight KL 891 will depart from Schiphol on Wednesdays and Sundays at 20:40 hours, arriving in Chengdu at 12:30 hours the next day. The return flight, KL 892 will then depart on Thursdays and Mondays at 14:00 hours, arriving in Amsterdam on the same day at 18:45 hours.

See other recent news regarding: Travel News Asia, KLM, Chengdu