KLM to Add Luanda Link

Dutch national carrier KLM is to inaugurate flights to the Angolan capital Luanda on November 14, its fifth new long-haul destination to be added during the forthcoming Northern Winter schedule. The airline will offer two flights per week from Amsterdam using a Boeing 777-200 configured with 318 passengers - 35 in World Business Class and 283 in Economy Class. It has already announced that it will also serve Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Havana and Punta Cana this winter.

The twice weekly link to Africa will strengthen KLM’s presence in the continent, an area that is of key importance to the carrier and its partner Air France. The French national carrier already offers two flights per week from Paris CDG to Luanda and the KLM schedule has been developed to complement this existing service.

KLM can expect a high yield on this new route as Luanda is a key oil destination. Approximately 645,000 O&D passengers currently fly from Europe to Angola every year, with Air France currently holding a 6.8 per cent share of this market. In the last year the airline carried an estimated 9,000 O&D passengers between Paris CDG and Luanda, each paying $1,719 each way.