If you have flown recently or are planning to do so in the coming weeks, you will have noticed that airlines and airports all over Europe were not sufficiently prepared to cope with rapidly increasing numbers of passengers. This has also impacted many KLM passengers, and I sincerely apologize to those of you who experienced a disruption or lost a suitcase when flying with KLM this summer. We simply must do better, and in addition to earlier actions, we have taken several steps to improve our performance:

• We reduced the number of flights swiftly to go back to the reliable service and quality you may expect from KLM
• We don’t sell all our available seats and therefore keep some seats available for passengers who have missed a flight or had their original flight cancelled. We apply the same policy to luggage if needed
• We have extended transfer times between flights, giving you more time to make your connecting flight at Schiphol Airport and reducing stress for you and our airport staff serving you
• At the special request of Schiphol Airport, we are actively monitoring and managing the total number of Dutch passengers boarding at Amsterdam to ease the rush at security and customs checks at peak hours

Solving our operational challenges is KLM’s top priority. Every day 28.000 KLM colleagues work around the clock in challenging circumstances to get you and your luggage to your destination in a comfortable and timely way – as you may and, of course, should expect from us. In most cases, we definitely do. However, in recent weeks the main issue related to late delivered and/or misplaced luggage. We have put additional measures and resources in place to get the luggage back to its owners and solve the necessary aftercare and claims. We have hired extra people in our Customer Care Centers to support this effort, but because of some backlog, they are not yet as available for our customers as we want them to be. We understand that this is very frustrating and can leave customers feeling abandoned. But rest assured that we are working on your case. Please use our on-line rebooking, claims and refund services as much as possible.

In the spirit of honesty and transparency, I felt it essential to reach out and apologize to those of you who were directly affected. We will do our utmost to restore your confidence. Millions of passengers choose to fly KLM each summer, and it is in these difficult times that we must show what we’re made of to continue to earn and deserve your trust in our brand. For each and every customer and for each and every flight. Thank you for flying KLM, and thank you for your patience and understanding.

On behalf of the entire KLM Executive Committee,

Sincerely,
Marjan Rintel
President & CEO
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines