KLM CEO Update

Transcript

Pieter Elbers:Well, we have actually opened up quite a few new destinations on the long-haul, both long-haul as well as medium-haul, last year in 2016, and we're doing the very same thing this year. We have a few sort of traditional openings, network destinations which perfectly match our network, like Minneapolis. But also some more seasonal operations, which we do, like Colombo, and that's really complementing and supplementing each other. Well, in the long-haul network, we're clearly having the influx of the 787-9s. We're up to 8 now, we've got another 2 delivered this year, and we continue to roll in the 777s. So our long-haul network is basically propelled by 787s. New 787-8s coming in and some of the triples. On the medium-haul network, we are phasing out our Fokker aircraft, and actually by the end of this year, all the Fokkers are gone, which being Dutch is a sort of historic milestone, but we're very pleased actually with the Embraer operating. We do have, of course, a long tradition in 737s, we continue to fly them, but next to that we are having the Embraer 190s and 175s, and actually by the end of the transition from Fokker to Embraer, We will be the largest operator in Europe of Embraers. Well, for us, being a Dutch carrier, actually only 1 out of 5 customers is Dutch, and the other 4 out of 5 are international. So the Dutch nostalgia for Fokkers is limited. But with that, we must say that the Embraer is a fantastic aircraft. It's doing its mission. Customers love it. The atmosphere on board, the space of the bins, the noise in the aircraft, it's We got very good remarks and feedback from our customers. No, for KLM we have not. We put all our efforts and our investments actually really in transforming our company and investing in the new fleet. We're investing in new long-haul fleet, we're putting new seats on board of the Airbus fleet we have, we're investing in digital, so we put a lot of efforts and energy in investing in our existing products and fleets and buying new fleets. And at the same time reducing our costs in order to be effective. And our business model with the connectivity we have is really crucial to do that, so we keep our existing business model on the KLM side. Well, Norwegian made the announcement, we have to see if it materializes or not. If we look to the KLM product, we do offer a fantastic product in terms of value for money and customer appreciation, and if new competitors are coming, we're ready for that. To my view, the speed of change in the outside world when it comes to digital and digital transformation is so huge and so rapid, actually, that for airlines with a long tradition like ours, with the 97, 98 years of history, we need to catch up with that reality. We do have a good tradition and we do have good sort of standards when it comes to digital world, social media, etc. Yet, in order to be able to catch up, to keep the momentum, and to continue to embrace all these new developments, I do see as one of the biggest challenges we have here.

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