Dutch airline KLM will resume flights between Amsterdam (AMS) and the Mexican destination of Cancun Airport for the northern winter season. From October 18th, 2022, to March 25th, 2023, the airline is set to offer travelers in the Northern Hemisphere an escape to the sunny destination.
Christmas in the Caribbean
The airline’s operations in the Mexican Caribbean market first commenced last winter. In line with its intercontinental network restructure – fueled by closed borders in many countries – KLM looked to meet the supply of sun and beach destinations, with Cancun being an evident destination.
Furthermore, Mexico is KLM’s second-largest Latin American market, after Brazil, while the Netherlands is the fifth-largest European market in Mexico. Between November 2021 and July 2022, the Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC) recorded 85,057 passenger movements and 558.5 tons of cargo mobilized on the Amsterdam-Cancun route.
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Capitalizing on this popularity and the preference for warmer destinations during winter, KLM’s return to this flight route comes as no surprise. The seasonal route will kick off with a frequency of three flights a week this month, before ramping up to four weekly flights in November.
KLM is scheduled to operate Flights KL 689 (AMS-CUN) and KL 690 (CUN-AMS) on a Boeing 777-200ER, offering 320 seats in two classes (34 business class, 286 economy class). In December, the addition of a Boeing 777-300ER will increase capacity by 408 seats per flight in two classes (34 business class, 374 economy class), catering to peak holiday demand.
Post-COVID travel boom
Sparked by the inability to travel due to lockdowns and closed borders, the demand for travel has seen an unprecedented increase. In July 2021, global management consulting firm, McKinsey predicted a looming travel boom. As expected, current trends show that the recovery in air travel continues to be strong.
From January to August 2022 – with an average load factor of 86.8% on 1,195 flights – 294,309 passengers flew between the Netherlands and Mexico. This is a 147.7% increase from the same period in 2021, a testament to the inevitable post-lockdown travel boom.
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All in the family
KLM’s sister airline, Air France, also serves the Mexican market, and is due to provide 20,786 seats per week in 60 operations for the northern winter 2022/23 season – a whopping 42% increase from this summer season.
The French flag carrier operates daily flights on the Boeing 777-300ER to the holiday destination. Together, the Franco-Dutch duo will fly a combined total of 9,522 seats on 22 operations in Cancun.
Bloomberg reported that the growth in the number of Cancun holidaymakers has accelerated Mexico to the top of global destination charts. While the local tourism industry might face challenges rising up to the demand, this growth proves beneficial for airlines such as KLM and Air France.
As the leading operator in the Netherlands-Mexico segment, KLM owns 44.8% of the market share. Beyond this, KLM will fly to 163 destinations - 93 European and 71 intercontinental - in the upcoming northern winter. The big season will be an advantage for travelers looking to escape the cold, especially after spending several seasons in lockdown.