The new schedule reduces flying time for customers from and to Ecuador with close to four hours each as KLM will operate the flight in 777 aircraft from Amsterdam to Ecuador and back to Amsterdam without the previous intermediate stop in Bonaire.

Currently KLM operates three times weekly, as from March 27, this will be expanded to four times weekly. At Amsterdam Schiphol Airport customers can connect conveniently to a wealth of European destinations, or for example to eight cities in Greater China offered by KLM and SkyTeam partners.

This not only offers an improved product for Ecuadorian customers but also offers better export possibilities for Ecuadorian industries like the flowers sector. On the other side, tourists from Europe will be very happy as well with the shorter connection to Ecuador, highly attractive through its beautiful nature, like the Andes, rainforest and, of course, the Galapagos islands.

KLM has operated to Ecuador since 17 July 1954. Including the direct flights to Ecuador, and the new KLM destinations Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires and Havana announced earlier, KLM increased its daily offer from Europe to Latin America with 35% year over year.

Erik Varwijk, Managing Director KLM: “With Meet & Seat, KLM takes social networking a step forward. This new service connects passengers and aims to give them a more inspirational journey.”

Meet & Seat facilitates contact with fellow travellers who have the same background or interests, making air travel even more stimulating for KLM passengers. They can find out whether someone they know will be travelling on the same flight, or discover who else will be attending the same conference in the USA, for example. Through Meet & Seat they might arrange to have a coffee before their flight, select adjoining seats or decide to share a taxi afterwards.

Passengers can only see other Meet & Seat participants after linking their Facebook or LinkedIn profile to their flight. They can decide what personal information from their Facebook or LinkedIn account they would like to share with other passengers.

Meet & Seat is available using Manage My Booking on intercontinental flights only. Passengers can choose their seat via Manage My Booking from 90 days until 48 hours before departure, and therefore easily make contact with fellow travellers.

KLM Meet & Seat starts with a pilot project on flights from Amsterdam to San Francisco, New York and São Paulo. Shortly afterwards, it will roll out to other intercontinental destinations.

Adding Spanish in addition to the existing English and Dutch services, was prompted by the fact that around 329 million people in 21 countries speak Spanish, making it the third most widely spoken language in the world.

The new service will especially benefit Facebook and Twitter fans and followers in Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru and Spain, as well as Spanish speakers in the US. Facebook and Twitter have proved their worth repeatedly in recent times. Aside from responding to questions communicated by customers, these social media channels can be used to rebook, cancel and/or book extra baggage capacity on flights.

The Spanish service will also be available 24/7. Future plans include expanding the number of languages offered via social media. The response target is to answer questions within the hour and to find solutions within 24 hours.

KLM Meet & Seat, a new service from KLM Airlines lets you find out about interesting people who will be on board your KLM flight such as other passengers attending the same event as you at your destination.

KLM Meet & Seat is currently being piloted for Bookings with 1 passenger and KLM flights between Amsterdam and New York, San Francisco and Sao Paulo from 90 days until 48 hours before departure.

KLM will not use your profile details for other purposes than Meet & Seat.

Since last year Dutch Airlines KLM has been working on the new service that lets passengers choose seat partners based on social media profiles.

KLM has been experimenting with social media since the ash cloud in 2010. KLM has more than one million followers on Facebook. This makes KLM number three most followed airlines in the world of aviation.

KLM strives to integrate social media throughout its entire flight operations. That also means that passengers get quick answer to questions and complaints, and that they can easily rebook online for a later flight due to a travel disruptions.

At the headquarters in Amstelveen, KLM has setup a permanent “Social Media Hub”, where dozens of employees are active 24 hours a day.

“KLM constantly adapts its sales assortment on board to the wishes of its passengers,” says Paul Elich, Executive Vice President of KLM Inflight Services. “By buying alcohol and cigarettes on board, passengers no longer have to carry heavy bags around the airport. It makes no difference to the weight on board.”

The assortment will include Courvoisier XO and Johnny Walker Black. The bottles will be delivered on board in sealed plastic bags. The cigarettes in the assortment are Marlboro Red and Marlboro Gold. KLM’s web shop offers a broader assortment which passengers can order online and then pick up on board.

Dutch Airlines KLM are reportedly developing a service to enable passengers to choose who they sit next to on their flight. The service operates solely through Facebook, KLM’s new Meet and Seat service will enable passengers to access their fellow travelers’ LinkedIn profiles as well.

The Meet and Seat service will allow passengers to choose their in-flight neighbors based on their occupation, mutual interests and appearance. By connecting to LinkedIn and Facebook during online check-in, passengers will be able to pick their ideal seat buddy, although both parties will have to choose to participate in the service. KLM believe it will provide an opportunity for networking, though other reports suggest it’s more likely to be used as a matchmaking tool. Those who are not interested in making friends or contacts on their journey do not have to participate. Meet and Seat is due to launch early this year.

It seems like Social Seating is the next big thing. SeatID another company seems to be developing something similar.

News analysis animators at Next Media Animation in Taiwan created their own description of how KLM’s new service might work. Video after the jump.

KLM has launched the KLM Passport app which turns people’s journeys into inspiring movies. Within the free iPhone app users can choose from one of the seven fun themes, and select their best pictures and videos taken during their journey. KLM Passport then turns these experiences into a movie that can be shared directly via Facebook or saved on the iPhone’s camera roll to be shared elsewhere. The app can be downloaded for free in English in the iTunes Store. Watch the video explaining the app below.

Collect stamps in your KLM Passport
Users collect a country stamp and the distance traveled, with every movie they created with the app. This way it creates a unique record of all journeys. The app also workes offline, so it’s the ideal way to pass the time on the flight home. 

Seven fun themes
KLM Passport contains seven fun themes:

• Fly around the World: Going to travel the globe? Capture the essence of every place you visit.
• Family and Friends: Instead of one crowded group photo, snap candid shots of your nearest and dearest.
• Dutch Touch: See Holland in a fresh light. Go beyond windmills and tulips to become a true Dutch Master.
• The sunny side: Island-hopping, dune-bashing in a 4×4, or lounging on a sun-kissed beach? Share your hottest shots.
• Winter Wonders: Video your winter sport thrills and spills. For snowball fights and après-ski, photos are safer.
• Love Story: Preserve all the magic moments from a romantic getaway for a lasting souvenir of your journey.
• Adventure: Going wild? Spice up your photography with offbeat angles, extreme closeups, and unusual subjects.

Feedback and suggstions
KLM and IceMobile (concept and production) are curious about what users think of KLM Passport. Any feedback or suggestions for the app can be shared within Facebook or via Twitter. KLM’s social media service is available 24/7.

Dutch airlines KLM is currently developing a checking service to help you find your perfect fellow passenger based on their social media profile. KLM plans to launch this service under the name “social seating ‘early next year.

Passengers will be able to link their social media accounts, such as LinkedIn, and select a fellow passenger with similarities. The ‘social seating’ feature could potentially lead to networking opportunities for business people, according to the airline.

The service has not been officially announced but only discussed by a top executive at a conference.

It seems like Social Seating is the next big thing. SeatID another company seems to be developing something similar.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Tribal DDB designed the platform not only to provide visitors to KLM.com with practical information, but also to provide inspiration around KLM’s product and services. The challenge was to offer this content within KLM.com and not on a separate “brand experience site.”

When a visitor to KLM.com searches for information, the platform offers him or her a “journey of inspiration” before departure. Consumers can get a preview of onboard services (such as the meal), a peek behind the scenes, and more background information on KLM and its history. In addition, every component of the interactive platform can be shared with friends through social media.

The platform was developed with the latest technology, including HTML5 and a digital asset management system, which means that the current number of more than 20 videos and interactive elements can be easily expanded. This approach also enables KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to reuse the content within the website and in mobile apps.

Among the challenges presented by this new technology was translating the platform into no fewer than sixteen languages and rendering it suitable for different types of browsers.

The platform was developed in collaboration with the following partners:
Concept: Tribal DDB Amsterdam
Design & User Experience: Tribal DDB Amsterdam and Mirabeau
Digital Asset Management System: SDL Media Manager
IT Development: KLM

Creative:
http://www.klm.com/travel/nl_en/prepare_for_travel/on_board/dining_on_board/dining_in_business_class.htm

http://klmf.ly/experience_uk

About Tribal DDB Worldwide
Tribal DDB Worldwide (www.tribalddb.com), an Advertising Age A-List Agency, is headquartered in New York with 60 offices spanning 42 countries around the globe.  Since it was founded in 2000, Tribal DDB has expanded and been recognized well beyond its digital roots.  By 2005 Tribal DDB was named Interactive Agency of the Year by Adweek and at the Cannes International Advertising Festival, where it took home the most Lions and the Cyber Grand Prix. This was followed in 2007 by Tribal DDB being the first “digital” agency to win Global Agency Network of the Year from Advertising Age, and then in 2009 being the first to win the Grand Prix in Film at the International Advertising Festival at Cannes. Tribal DDB continues to draw on its expertise in digital innovation and its heritage of creativity and insights to bring clients the most effective and differentiating marketing solutions for today’s world.  Tribal DDB Worldwide is part of Omnicom Group’s DDB Worldwide.

About DDB
DDB Worldwide Communications Group Inc (www.ddb.com) ranks among the top five consolidated advertising and marketing services global networks, according to Advertising Age. Consistently one of the most awarded networks globally for creative excellence, DDB was Campaign‘s 2009 Global Network of the Year, the 2010 Spikes Asia Network of the Year, 2010 Eurobest Network of the Year, 2010 Campaign Asia Pacific Creative Network of the Year, and captured both the Cyber Grand Prix and Film Craft Grand Prix at the 2010 International Advertising Festival in Cannes. With more than 200 offices in over 90 countries, DDB Group believes in the power of Social Creativity to grow the value and influence of brands around the world by creating ideas that people want to play with, participate in and pass along.  DDB Worldwide is part of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC).

SOURCE Tribal DDB Worldwide

Peter Goossens’ restaurant Hof van Cleve has three Michelin stars. Goossens was also ranked 15th in the world’s top 50 restaurants in 2011.

“KLM is continuing to work with top chefs and sommeliers,” says Erik Varwijk, Managing Director KLM. Peter Goossens has become a household name in the international culinary world. KLM is therefore extremely proud to be working with him.”

“It is a great honour for me to be given the opportunity to send my creations around the world. Working with the group of professionals at KLM and the team at my restaurant Hof van Cleve, we have produced a highly successful result,” according to Goossens.

Peter Goossens’ meals will be served from 1 December 2011 to the end of September 2012 on intercontinental flights from Amsterdam. KLM and Peter Goossens have developed a total of three menus. When composing the menus Goossens drew his inspiration from typically Flemish products, giving them an international twist. Wines to accompany each meal have been specially selected by the Hof van Cleve sommelier, who has several times been named the best sommelier in Belgium.