Further growth ahead for KLM in China: COO Elbers(2)

Miffy is not the only bridge for KLM, Panda is the other one, for example. In 2012, KLM named a new Boeing 777 as "Wolong National Park", which is the home of the panda, and then adopted a panda later that year. 

Participating in the Chinese market is the main strategy of KLM, but the purpose is not only to promote KLM, but also to promote the Netherlands. 

"That's why we wanted to have so many destinations and so many connections," said Elbers. "We have clearly seen the results of that. Quite a few Chinese companies have chosen Amsterdam or the Netherlands to place their European headquarters or to make their European facilities and regional offices here in Amsterdam." 

"The majority of our marketing campaigns have been organized around this idea of the city of Amsterdam as a gateway to Europe and Schiphol airport as a wonderful hub," he added. 

"We think this is an ideal starting point for our Chinese costumers who travel to and from Europe. It is easy to connect; it is great for shopping; and the network we have in Europe is an excellent opportunity to discover the rest of Europe." 

The COO emphasized the strategy of his company "is a combination of growth by KLM as an entity and Air France-KLM as a group and at the same time enhancing a further deepening of the relationship with our Chinese partners." 

One of these partners is China Southern Airlines, KLM has been cooperating with the Chinese Airlines since 1996. And now KLM has more: China Eastern Airlines, Xiamen Airlines etc. 

KLM applied similar strategies to other parts of the world, including South America. 

According to Elbers there is a strong connection between China and South America. "These two economic power houses are perfectly connected via Amsterdam. We have embarked on a more significant growth in South America, partly by opening up Buenos Aires. In addition, we have increased frequency levels to Panama, Ecuador and Peru." 

In addition, KLM foresees economic growth potential in both Asia and Africa in the next two decades. This is illustrated in their expansion ambitions in these regions, Elbers explained. 

"We expect significant growth in Vietnam, but the African continent is also a promising region, offering an enormous potential. We have increased frequencies to Lusaka and Harare. Also, KLM cooperates with Kenya Airways to provide connections from and to Nairobi." 

Given the attention to all potential growth areas, China remains an important market of potential growth for KLM, especially now that Europe is facing its economic crisis. 

"Shifting market focus and creating new partnerships is clearly an effective way of dealing with the crisis," Elbers concluded. "If we look at the number of big cities in China, and the used potential of Chinese customers wanting to explore the rest of the world, then I see further growth ahead of us."