KLM to start Havana flights

Dutch flag carrier KLM will begin to offer three-times-a-week flights to Cuba starting Oct. 31, the Cuban tourism ministry announced.

The flights, on 285-seat MD11 aircraft, will connect Amsterdam and Havana on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

The Havana flights are part of a “marked expansion” of the airline in the Caribbean, KLM President and CEO Peter Hartman said in a press release earlier this year. KLM’s target clientele will be not only Dutch tourists, but also travelers from other European countries, according to Hartman.

Dutch tourists aside, the KLM connection, according to the Cuban tourism ministry, is expected to bring in more visitors from Scandinavia, Germany and Eastern Europe.

KLM powers flight with cooking oil derivative

Dutch carrier KLM has made history by powering scheduled flight KL1233 from Amsterdam to Paris on biokerosene produced from used cooking oil.
The flight, which took off at 1230 from Amsterdam Schiphol airport, was operated by a B737-800 aircraft, with 171 passengers on board.
The flight is a precursor to a schedule which will see over 200 biokerosene flights being operated by KLM between Amsterdam and Paris this September.
Managing director of KLM Camiel Eurlings said that the intiative showed the carrier “leads the world in showing that innovation and sustainability are inextricably linked”.
KLM says it is “open to using different raw materials for the end product, as long as they meet a range of sustainability criteria, including substantial reductions in CO2 emissions and minimum negative impact on biodiversity and food supply”.