2. Overview
Full name: Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.
Flag carrier airline of the Netherlands.
Headquartered in Amstelveen near its hub at Amsterdam
Airport Schiphol.
Operates scheduled passenger and cargo services to over
90 destinations around the world.
Oldest airline in the world still operating under its
founding name.
Has 31,787 employees as of 31 March 2010.
Its merger with Air France in May 2004 formed Air FranceKLM, integrated under French law with headquarters at
Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport.
Both Air France and KLM continue to operate under their
separate brand names.
Member of the SkyTeam alliance.
3. Head office
KLM’s head office is located in Amstelveen, on a 16-acre
(6.5 ha) site near Schiphol Airport.
Its current headquarters was built between 1968-1970.
Prior to the opening of the new headquarters, the airline’s
main office was on the grounds of Schiphol Airport in the
Haarlemmermeer.
4. Logo
Dick Roosenburg designed the iconic KLM logo when KLM was
founded in October 1919; in this logo, he interlinked the letters
K, L, and M, giving them wings and a crown, represented to
signify KLM’s royal status, given at the airline’s founding.
The logo became known as the “vinklogo” (in reference to the
Chaffinch bird breed).
In 1925, KLM’s initial logo was modified so that it looked more
vibrant in comparison to the initial logo.
The biggest change of the KLM logo to date happened in 1961,
the year in which the current logo was designed by F.H.K.
Henrion.
The crown remained in the logo, outlined by the line, the four
blue circles, and the cross on top of the logo.
Chris Ludlow of Henrion, Ludlow, & Schmidt further modified
the logo in 1991.
Apart from its main logo, KLM has advertised its alliance status
in its branding, such as the “Worldwide Reliability” mark with
Northwest Airlines (in use from 1993-2002) and the SkyTeam
alliance (in use since 2004).
5. KLM Asia
KLM Asia (Chinese: 荷蘭亞洲航空公司; pinyin: Hélán Yàzhōu
Hángkōng Gōngsī) is an entirely KLM owned subsidiary
registered in Taiwan.
Founded in 1995 for the purpose of operating flights to Taipei,
Taiwan, without negotiating the traffic rights claimed by KLM
for destinations in the People’s Republic of China.
One of many airline subsidiaries operating under the Asia name
with the same intention of flying to Taiwan; these subsidiaries
included Japan Asia Airways (subsidiary of Japan Airlines), Air
France Asie, Asiana Airlines, British Asia Airways, Swissair Asia,
and Australia Asia Airlines (subsidiary of Qantas).
KLM Asia’s livery does not feature national icons of the
Netherlands, like the Dutch flag, nor does it feature KLM’s
stylized Dutch Crown logo; it instead features a unique KLM
Asia logo.
Has five Boeing 747-400 Combi aircraft (part of the KLM fleet as
747-400M), seven Boeing 777-200ERs, and two Boeing 777300ERs all part of the KLM fleet.
Originally flew the Amsterdam-Bangkok-Taipei route with a
B747-400 Combi or a B747-400 non-combi aircraft.
Has flown the changed Amsterdam-Taipei-Manila route with
Boeing 777-200ER/-300ER aircraft.
12. Livery and uniforms
KLM’s previous livery featured a bright blue fuselage, with
a wide white and dark blue strip above the aircraft’s grey
belly.
The KLM logo was put in the middle of the white tail and
at the front of the fuselage.
KLM introduced its current livery in December 2002; in
this modification, the white strip was removed while the
dark blue strip was turned into a cheatline.
The bright blue color was kept; it now covers a large part
of the fuselage.
KLM’s logo was put more in the middle of the fuselage; the
logo’s position on the tail and the tail’s design remained
the same.
In April 2010, KLM introduced new uniforms for its female
cabin attendants, ground attendants, and pilots at KLM
and KLM Cityhopper.
Dutch couturier Mart Visser designed the new uniform,
which has the same KLM blue color that was introduced in
1971.
KLM even added a touch of orange, the Netherlands’
national color, to the KLM blue.
