A new service between Amsterdam and Hangzhou, to be operated three times a week by the Air France-KLM group, reflects a steady improvement in international routes from the precipitous fall in demand that characterized the early part of 2009. The two airlines officially merged in 2004 by forming a holding company, but maintained their distinct identities.
KLM will fly the route with the Boeing 777-200 ER, which can carry 318 passengers.
The Franco-Dutch airline group will be the first carrier to offer direct service between Europe and Hangzhou, capital city of East China’s Zhejiang province, one of the country’s wealthiest provinces.
People’s Daily Online said Hangzhou will become the airline group’s fifth destination on the Chinese mainland, after Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu.