KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is to introduce a daily service from Amsterdam to Dallas Fort Worth from the start of the summer season 2008, in co-operation with Northwest Airlines. It will be KLM”s 61st intercontinental destination and will operate using an Airbus A330-200, offering 30 World business class seats and 221 in economy.
”Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex is an important business and leisure destination, and is one of the fastest growing markets in the US. For that reason we want to offer our customers another direct flight to an important growth region in the US,” said KLM president and CEO, Peter Hartman.
Dallas Fort Worth is the largest economic metropolitan area in the US, not being served by the combined KLM-Northwest Airlines network. The metroplex has a population of 6m, ranking 4th among other US metro markets.
In terms of airport, Dallas Forth Worth ranks 6th in the world for passengers, with more than 60m passengers annually. In total, KLM and Northwest Airlines will operate 250 flights a week between Europe and North America.
In another move, and also for the summer season 2008, KLM is to re-introduce services between Amsterdam and Panama City last flown in 1998. The flights to the city”s Tocumen Airport will be KLM”s 62nd intercontinental destination.
Effective 30 March 2008, KLM will operate thrice-weekly non-stop flights between Amsterdam and the Central American destination.
The new KLM flight will be flown by Mc Donnell Douglas MD-11 equipment, offering a total of 294 seats; 24 in World business class and 270 in economy class.
Flight KL757 will depart from Amsterdam on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 13:30 and will land at Panama City at 17:40 the same day. The return flight KL758 leaves Panama on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 19:35, with a planned touch down at Amsterdam Airport at 13:10 the next day (all times local).
The new service will offer numerous connections at Panama to flights operated by COPA Airlines. Claimed to be the largest regional operator in Central America, COPA recently joined SkyTeam as an Associate Member.