It seems KLM is again pushing hard to be the regional airline that connects the UK to Amsterdam, and the world with them planning to launch a service to Exeter in the South West of England.
It is the first time Exeter Airport has served Amsterdam in almost five years, and it is also a first for KLM from the Devon airport as it seeks to expand its UK regional footprint.
The move links Exeter Airport with KLM’s network of worldwide destinations via Amsterdam.
The flight time is around 90 minutes with departures from Amsterdam to Exeter at 16.15 local time, and from Exeter to Amsterdam at 17.20 local time, seven days a week.
Services will be operated by KLM Cityhopper from 30 March next year. This service will be operated by an 88-seat Embraer 175 regional jet aircraft. Customers will have the option to choose between Economy and Business class, as well as Premium Comfort (Premium Economy) on long-haul intercontinental flights.
In Quotes
Steven van Wijk, Commercial Director for UK & Ireland at Air-France-KLM; Stephen Wiltshire, Managing Director of Exeter Airport and Jerome Salemi, General Manager for UK & Ireland at Air-France-KLM.
Exeter Airport Managing Director Stephen Wiltshire said:
“This is a tremendous boost for regional connectivity, and we are hugely excited by the opportunities KLM will create for passengers across the South West. Flights will operate every day of the week, providing a fantastic gateway for both business and leisure travellers from their local airport.”
Jerome Salemi, General Manager for UK & Ireland at Air-France-KLM, said:
“We are very excited to launch Exeter as KLM’s 18th departure point from the UK to Amsterdam and beyond.
“We hope our new services will contribute towards the economic, touristic and cultural development of the region and the local community. We look forward to working with Exeter Airport on making this route a success.”
Paul Coles, Chief Executive of the South West Business Council, welcomed the announcement. He said:
“This is fantastic news for Exeter Airport and the region. KLM is a word class global carrier and if there is one route the business community wanted to see from Exeter, Amsterdam is it. Well done to Stephen and the team at Exeter Airport, and we extend a warm Westcountry welcome to KLM.”
Regional Connectivity Matters
With a certain flag carrier having the moniker of “London Airways” (for not having anything that flows in and out of London, and not much direct from the regions), the regions have been left to fend for themselves when it comes to connectivity.
But rather than feeding into the congested London airports, they’ve gone either to attract regional service to Ireland (via Aer Lingus), Amsterdam (via KLM) or Frankfurt (for Lufthansa) or have invited long-haul carriers to fill in the gap (with Emirates taking advantage of this).
Whilst LoganAir and Eastern Airways trying to fill domestic gaps, it seems that KLM has the capacity and the aircraft to dedicate a daily service to connect to its evening bank of departures.
For a lot of travellers who are heading east, this could be very tempting indeed – if to avoid the joy of going through London.
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