KLM’s 90th Anniversary – Celebrating the world’s oldest airline

90 years ago on 7th October 1919, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines was founded in the Netherlands, and is this year celebrating its 90th anniversary! KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is the oldest airline in the world still operating under its original name.

This month, the official anniversary month, sees KLM host a European "Tour of Inspiration" visiting 29 European cities in 45 days including London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle. The tour has been designed to celebrate and showcase KLM’s products and services including the recently launched "Economy Comfort" seating zone.

KLM’s 90th anniversary celebrations first launched on 1 January 2009 with a celebration flight of a Boeing 737-800 over Holland which was painted in KLM’s old livery especially for the occasion.

Earlier this year, to mark the milestone anniversary, the world famous Keukenhof gardens presented KLM with its very own Tulip, the KLM Tulipa, and earlier this month, Dutch fashion designer Mart Visser also revealed a brand new ladies uniform for the carrier’s 11,000 plus cabin and ground crew members, including female pilots serving KLM and KLM Cityhopper ex UK.

Speaking about the short term future of the aviation industry at a symposium at the National Aerospace Laboratory, KLM President & CEO, Peter Hartman, discusses the airline’s continued development and application of sustainable fuels. "We are working hard in this area and hope to be able to redouble our efforts as soon as the economic crisis allows."

Not foreseeing a great change to aircraft over the next 20 years he adds, "After that, we will see a whole new generation of aircraft and will perhaps bid farewell to the familiar winged tube with engines. What the new model will look like exactly, I have no idea, but the change will happen."

KLM has also been supporting a good cause throughout this anniversary year, namely, Cycling Blue for Kenya. This is a joint project with the charity Cycling Out of Poverty. Over the next three months Cycling Blue for Kenya is a KLM AirCares project. The aim is to train people in Kenya as cycle repairers, to set up cycle repair shops there and to finance bicycles for Kenyan children who live more than ten kilometres from their schools.

To celebrate their anniversary, KLM is offering you the opportunity to win either one pair of flights to any KLM worldwide destination or one pair of flights to any destination in their European network.

You can also visit KLM’s customised truck showcasing their products and services. The truck is touring Europe as past of KLM’s Tour of Inspiration and will be in Liverpool on Thursday, 29 October 2009.