KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to continue flying to the Philippines

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has announced it will continue to offer flights to the Philippines. The airline has recently renewed its permit to fly to the country. It is the only European carrier to serve the Philippines with flights to Amsterdam via Taipei. KLM has been operating flights to Manila for the past 61 years.

KLM had discontinued its nonstop flights between Manila and Amsterdam in 2012 because of high taxes by Philippine government. The airline is yet to start operating its flights once again, even as Philippine Airlines has started serving European destinations.

Jurriaan Stelder, KLM's General Manager for the South China Sea, said that the airline might take time to resume its nonstop service and has no intention of abandoning its one-stop service to Amsterdam via Taipei in the immediate future. He said that the airline is considering increasing seat capacity on the route.

The gradual entry and expansion of Middle Eastern carriers coupled with the growing market share of low-cost carriers in the rapidly rising Southeast Asian market has clearly made KLM worrisome.  The airline wants to aggressively compete with these carriers head on, and has recently upgraded cabins in its business class flights to offer the best services to its customers. The airline is investing in new aircrafts, refurbishing its existing fleet and offers competitive prices.