KLM
four times a week, but it will depend on demand.”
Air France’s role What does KLM’s rapid expansion mean for partner Air France, which has four long-established routes to China (Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou)?
A spokesperson for AF–KLM says: “This [Air France’s presence in China] has been driven by capacity and aircraft availability. Charles de Gaulle and Schiphol have a dual hub strategy and we have to consider our services to China as a group.”
“Most of our clients are not going to Amsterdam or Paris as their fi nal destination, they are going on to Brazil or the US, so it makes little difference if it is KLM or Air France. Our whole strategy between Europe and China is to build a cooperative network between global leaders.”
“The idea is to duplicate this kind of cooperation between Amsterdam and CDG so it’s not seven destinations from Schiphol to China that we offer, it’s hundreds worldwide.”
Having said that, he also stated Air France is “currently in negotiations” to launch a fi fth service to China, but would not be drawn on where or when. Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, Air France– KLM chief executive, made it quite clear at the group’s half year results meeting in November last year the strategy he plans for China: “By 2014 Air France- KLM will have more than 12 destinations in China.”
Clearly we will be seeing more from AF-KLM in China in the next few years.
Amsterdam Schiphol welcomes Chinese passengers For Chinese New Year this year, Schiphol ran a 10-day promotion called ‘Prosperous Offers’ directly aimed at the burgeoning Chinese market, with a package of menus in Chinese, Chinese food and signs in Chinese.
“It was a huge success and we will
defi nitely be running it next year,” explains Ivo van der Vlis, Schipol’s marketing director. “During the promotion we organised for airport workers who were Chinese speakers to meet and greet arriving passengers.”
The extraordinary growth in arriving Chinese passengers has been the key driver for this focus on the Chinese market: in 1996 there were 200,000 Chinese arrivals – last year it was 1.2 million. Of that fi gure, 140,000 were tourists, the rest were business, and 70% were transfer passengers. Freight to and from China is also a major sector for Amsterdam.
RN
www.routesonline.com
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