The sighting on the runways in Amsterdam: a KLM Asia Boeing 777. What company it is and where it flies
Arriving at, departing from, or transiting through Amsterdam airport, you happen to come across KLM airplanes that do not have the crown on the [...]
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Arriving at, departing from, or transiting through Amsterdam Airport., you happen to come across KLM airplanes that do not have a crown on the tail and have 'KLM Asia' written on them. That they are dedicated planes for flights from Schipol to Asia, precisely? Not exactly. If so, there should be many more, given the Dutch carrier's substantial network in the largest of the six inhabited continents.
The origins of KLM Asia can be traced back to the 1990s. and in the tense climate that arose in that decade between China becoming a global power and Taiwan, which Beijing has always regarded as an island extension of its national territory.
In this escalation of international tensions, with the governments of most Western countries that had recognized Taiwan and maintained regular diplomatic relations with the island-state in the China Sea, the Beijing government went so far as to threaten airlines flying into Taipei that they would no longer be allowed to fly to China, which had already become a lucrative market at that time.
Thus it was that Amsterdam made the decision to create a division of the Dutch carrier registered in Taiwan, without the crown on the tail and the flag of the European Union and Holland on the fuselage, and with KLM Asia titles on the tail and fuselage, where the words Royal Dutch Airlines disappeared.
The first to don the livery, deprived of any reference to Holland were it not for the 'PH' brands, Were some Boeing 747-400s. These planes flew to Taiwan and also to other countries, but could not serve destinations in the People's Republic of China.
(Photo: Sharon Hahn Darling CC BY-SA 2.0)
A total of seven Boeing 747-400 'Combi' (capable of carrying a mix of passengers and cargo on the main deck) Wore the colors of KLM Asia between 1995 and 2017. Such a high number was not strictly related to connections between Amsterdam and Taipei, but allowed KLM maximum 'elasticity' in the use of airplanes and their rotations within its global network.
Since 2017, with the retirement of the 'Combi', the burden and honor of wearing the unique livery passed to the Boeing 777s: in the beginning seven 777-200ERs and two 777-300ERs. Today, seven 777-200ERs with 320 seats in two classes (34 Business, 286 Economy) And a single 777-300ER with 381 seats in three classes (35 Business, 24 Business, 322 Economy). These planes, on the inside, are in every way identical to those of the 'parent company'. (PhotoAlec Wilson from Khon Kaen, Thailand - PH-BVC, CC BY-SA 2.0)
Although the waters between Beijing and Taiwan still remain choppy, over the years, the Chinese government dropped the ban on companies that served Taiwan from flying the same planes in the People's Republic of China.
But, if other companies that had created their own 'Asia division' (including Air France, British Airways and Swissair, now Swiss) have gradually eliminated them, KLM continues to dress eight of its aircraft with the KLM Asia sign.. Although, then, it also uses those planes to fly to Beijing and Shanghai and to Taipei it flies just five times a week, two of them with Boeing 777-200ERs and three times with a Boeing 787-9 that does not even have the 'Asia' livery.
Photo Aero Icarus CC BY-SA 2.0
What, then, is the reason why KLM Asia still exists? It could be because the division has now existed for almost 30 years and it would be more complicated to dismantle it than to maintain it. Or, to be ready in case Beijing goes back to the wicket, returning to impose restrictions on carriers serving both the People's Republic and Taiwan.
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