KLM initiates flights to Riga and Kristiansand

On commencement of its 2004 summer schedule, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will initiate roundtrip service to Riga (Latvia) and Kristiansand (Norway). KLM cityhopper will operate both routes from March 28, 2004, using Fokker 70 aircraft. Riga will receive twice-daily service and Kristiansand will have one flight a day. The flights will involve codesharing with Northwest Airlines and will tie in well with KLM's schedule at Schiphol and the worldwide route network of KLM and its partner airlines.

Riga is a brand new destination for KLM. Latvia will gain membership to the European Union in May of 2004 - a step that will undoubtedly result in increased business and tourist traffic. The Latvian capital will be KLM's second destination in the Baltic states. KLM already serves Vilnius (Lithuania) from Amsterdam as a codeshare destination; operated by Lithuanian Airlines.

Kristiansand has been part of the KLM route network on several occasions in the past. In fact, on June 1, 1939 a KLM DC-2 was the first aircraft to reach the new airport in Kristiansand. The southern Norwegian harbor city will be KLM's sixth destination in Norway after Bergen, Oslo, Sandefjord, Stavanger, and Trondheim.