Jet, Air France-KLM JV to boost Schiphol

Passenger traffic between India and Amsterdam grew 56 per cent in the first eight months of 2016 on a year-on-year basis

Schiphol airport, which competes with hubs in Europe and the Persian Gulf, is set to garner a larger share of India's international traffic as Jet Airways prepares to expand its commercial partnership with Air France-KLM.

Passenger traffic between India and Amsterdam grew 56 per cent in the first eight months of 2016 and is expected to receive a big boost with Jet Airways negotiating a joint venture pact with the two European airlines.

“The traffic volume from Amsterdam to India in 2015 was 247,000 passengers. In 2014, it was 366,000, but with Delta stopping its Amsterdam-Mumbai flight the passenger numbers dropped in 2015,” said a spokesperson of Schiphol airport.

The airport did not disclose airline-specific passenger figures but said in eight months till August, traffic to India rose 56 per cent to over 250,000 passengers.

“For sure, the total amount in 2016 will surpass previous years,” the spokesperson said and added growth of traffic from India was among the highest. Schiphol airport is the fourth busiest in Europe after London, Paris and Frankfurt and the 14th busiest globally with 58 million annual passengers. But it has been a smaller hub for India.

“With the arrival of Jet Airways to Amsterdam, there is also a close cooperation between KLM and Delta. The flights of Jet Airways to Amsterdam connect to 30 European destinations and 11 North American destinations. Of course, the vast network of Jet Airways in India is used to feed passengers to each other’s flights," the Schiphol airport spokesperson added.

SCHIPHOL’S SIGNIFICANCE

• Schiphol airport in Amsterdam is the fourth-busiest in Europe and 14th-busiest globally, with s58 million annual passengers. It is a hub for KLM and Delta Airlines
• Passenger traffic between India and Amsterdam grew 56 per cent in first eight months of 2016 on a year-on-year basis
• Jet Airways plans a joint venture  with Air France-KLM and thus Amsterdam will attract more passengers from India
• It plans to use Boeing 777 aircraft on its India-Amsterdam service and its onward connection to Toronto

Air France-KLM do not figure in top 10 airlines in India measured by international passenger traffic. Dubai is the biggest aviation hub for travellers from India and Emirates commands a market share of 10.8 per cent of India's overseas traffic.

Etihad Airways, which co-owns Jet Airways, is the fastest growing international airline in India, garnering about 4.7 per cent share. Jet Airways now flies from Mumbai and Delhi to Amsterdam and onward to Toronto. It plans to expand capacity deploying bigger Boeing 777 aircraft on these routes.