tourism

KLM to offer direct flights

courtesy of Air France-KLM

takeoff: Air France-KLM has its eyes not only on the Panamanian market, but on other parts of Central and South America, too.990678

Beginning March 30, KLM will operate three weekly direct flights between Amsterdam and Panama. The new flight will offer various connection options at both destinations.

Axel Metselaar, the new general manager of Air France-KLM for Panama, has been working hard the last few days. Metselaar is in charge of making all the commercial and operational arrangements for the first direct KLM flight between the Dutch city and the Isthmus. Air France-KLM has a had a presence in Panama for nearly 50 years, but stopped flying directly to the country in March of 1998, afterward naming Continental Airlines and Pan Alliance ro represent it here. Now that the Panamanian economy has taken off, the airline has decided to regain control and renew its operations.

HOW IMPORTANT IS THE PANAMANIAN MARKET TO THE AIRLINE?

The Panamanian market is fundamental for the regional operations of our airline. With this new flight, we are thinking not only of the Panamanian market, but also of Central America, as well South American countries such as Colombia and Ecuador. Also, around 80 percent of the passengers that arrive in Amsterdam in Holland on KLM have a connecting flight to other countries. Similarly, we think that more or less half the passengers that arrive in Panama continue their journey to other destinations on a connecting Copa Airlines flight. KLM´s expectation is to achieve a balance between sales made in Central America and those in Europe.

IS IT A CHALLENGE TO ORGANIZE THE AIRLINE´S OPERATIONAL INFRASTRUCTRE AGAIN? WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST DIFFICULT PART?

Panama is growing every day, with more economic activity. It is a market with high demand and and little supply; the prices of goods and services are rising rapidly. That is a basic economic rule. Our first calculations of local operating costs have had to be adjusted many times for that reason. One specific challenge that I can mention was finding and negotiating for adequate facilities for our operations.

APART FROM AIR FRANCE-KLM'S INITIAL NEW OPERATIONS IN PANAMA, WHAT IMMEDIATE PLANS DO YOU HAVE FOR CONSOLIDATING BUSINESS ON PANAMANIAN SOIL?

As I mentioned before, the immediate plan will be to consolidate our position in the Panamanian and Central American markets, and we have accordingly launched a marketing effort in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The new destination will be promoted within the Air France-KLM network.

HOW MANY PASSENGERS DO YOU HOPE TO HAVE IN THE FIRST MONTHS OF OPERATION, AND WHAT DEADLINE HAS BEEN SET TO OBSERVE THE RESULTS OF YOUR EFFORTS?

Based on three flights weekly, we want to transport 80,000 passengers a year. We predict that April and May will be the months with the least demand, but that levels will pick up in June, and in July and August we expect fo fill our flights to 100 percent of their capacity. Lately, we have noticed that there is a "slow demand," as we call it, an effect of late booking in the international markets, which is much more pronounced than before, although not specific to our Panama routes. The recent news about an economic recession greatly affects passengers' travel plans.

What is specific to the route is that it is new, and it always takes some time for our clients, travel agencies, and tour operators to find out that we have a new flight within our network. And that is a good reason to offer attractive prices, in an effort to ensure that the flights are well-booked in the months ahead.

HOW MUCH WILL THE FLOW OF EUROPEAN VISITORS TO PANAMA INCREASE WITH THE REINITIATION OF KLM´S OPERATIONS?

The principal European markets are Holland, Spain, Italy, Germany, and France, in Asia principally the Phillippines, China, and Japan. It is expected that 85 percent of the passengers will not have a Panamanian passport. So this is going to affect the flow of visitors substantially.

WHAT DOES ALL THIS NEW ACTIVITY MEAN TO YOU, AND WHAT GOALS DO YOU HOPE TO ATTAIN WITH THIS NEW VENTURE?

I feel very honored that the company trusted me with the responsibility of opening this new destination within the Air France-KLM network, such an important destination because it connects us with one of the associate members of the SkyTeam alliance, Copa Airlines. We are starting with three weekly flights, and we will gradually grow to offer daily flights between Panama and Amsterdam. For the moment, I am 100 percent focussed on the operations and organization of KLM in Panama. Once that has been established, I am going to focus my efforts on the commercial side with the rest of the markets in Central America.