In a first for San Diego, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines launched its new nonstop flight to Amsterdam on Thursday, marking the city’s fourth overseas route.
The San Diego International Airport celebrated the occasion with a formal ribbon-cutting and remarks by local airport and tourism leaders, as well as the airline’s chief financial officer.
Operating three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, the new nonstop will use a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft that has 224 economy seats, 21 in comfort, and 30 fully flat business class seats. Spanning 4,878 nautical miles, the flight between San Diego and Amsterdam is KLM’s longest U.S. route to date.
The flight departs from San Diego at 1:55 p.m. and arrives in Amsterdam the following day at 9:15 a.m.
San Diego’s other overseas flights are to London, Japan and Munich.
With the new route to Amsterdam, travelers will be able to more easily connect to multiple European cities and will have access to SkyTeam Alliance, which has the advantage of shared benefits with 19 other international airlines’ loyalty programs. KLM touts the flight as providing a gateway for travelers to more than 160 destinations throughout Europe.
KLM said it is already seeing a very favorable response to the new flight.
“For our very first month of operation in May, we currently have four out of every five business and seats booked, a strong start to our busiest season which is summer,” a spokesperson for the airline said Thursday. “With a single terminal setup allowing walking from gate to gate, and connecting times as low as 50 minutes, we see two-thirds of engers on this route connecting, many going to cities in Scandinavia, , Italy and Spain. For winter season, it’s still very early in the booking window for a full picture.”
This will be the 10th international route from San Diego, with the 11th one — a nonstop on Copa Airlines to Panama City — set to debut next month. It’s also the 22nd direct KLM connection between Amsterdam and North America. By July, the San Diego airport will have 102 weekly flights to 11 international destinations
KLM already offers nonstop service to Amsterdam from three other West Coast airports — in Portland, Ore., Los Angeles and San Francisco.
