Due to technical issues, KLM Cityhopper is having difficulty fully deploying the E2. KLM Cityhopper is consulting with Embraer and engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney to seek a solution for these issues, which have no impact on flight safety.

KLM Cityhopper has deployed alternative capacity by retaining E190s that were to be returned to lease companies. Several wet lease agreements have also been signed.

Flight schedule
The KLM Cityhopper Embraer 175 aircraft will have a total seat capacity of 88. The service will commence at the start of the summer schedule on the 26^th of March 2023. The flight schedule will be the same from Monday through Saturday, with different times on Sunday.

• From Monday through Saturday, Flight KL1255 will depart Amsterdam Airport Schiphol at 14:25 hours, arriving at Rennes Bretagne Airport at 16:00 hours. KL1256 will depart Rennes Bretagne Airport at 16:30 hours, arriving at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol at 18:10 hours.
• On Sundays, KL1255 will depart Amsterdam Airport Schiphol at 11:45 hours, arriving at Rennes Bretagne Airport at 13:20 hours. KL1256 will depart Rennes Bretagne Airport at 13:50 hours, arriving at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol at 15:30 hours.  

APEX is the largest international organisation when it comes to passenger perceptions related to airlines and has developed into a renowned research and rating organisation. This year’s World Class Award was given to eight airlines. Alongside KLM, this included Japan Airlines, Qatar Airways, Emirates, Xiamen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Saudia and Turkish Airlines. To stand a chance of winning a World Class Award, an airline must already carry a five-star rating.

“Virtual Reality (VR) makes training more accessible. It is on-demand and site-independent – pilots don’t have to be in a classroom or a simulator at a certain time. What’s more, it invites them to explore, something they can do safely in a virtual environment,” says Sebastian Gerkens, Senior Instructor Embraer at KLM Cityhopper. “VR allows pilots to familiarise themselves with the cockpit in advance, so that they make more effective use of their simulator time.”

The new training approach will also generate cost savings, among other things because it cuts down on the number of external suppliers and makes pilot scheduling more flexible.

Three applications

The VR training courses for the Embraer 175 and 190 were developed by KLM’s own VR experts in cooperation with KLM Cityhopper. Training consists of three applications, all part of the Type Rating Course in which pilots learn the specific characteristics of the aircraft type they are going to fly.

1. Virtual cockpit –  the pilot is inside the cockpit, i.e. an interactive, computer-generated image of the control panels. 
2. Instruction video –  the pilot watches a 360-degree POV video of a flight from the cockpit jump seat. 
3. Virtual walkaround – the pilot walks through and around the aircraft, composed of 360-degree static photographs. 

“These are also the three different ways to capture content used to create VR applications,” explains Werner Soeteman, manager of the VR Centre Of Excellence at KLM IT. “The interactive virtual cockpit was created on computers entirely by our team of VR developers and 3D designers. To produce the 360-degree video and photographs, one of our VR engineers sat in the cockpit operating an advanced 360-degree camera during a flight, in close cooperation with the KLM Cityhopper pilots. Our developers haven’t the faintest idea how an Embraer works, although they’ve certainly learned a lot.”

EASA certification

KLM has been long been interested in using VR in staff training. For example, it already has VR training courses for maintenance engineers and KLM Cityhopper cabin crew. Now the Embraer 175 and 190 pilots are joining this select company.

The VR courses complement KLM’s existing training programme. KLM Cityhopper is exploring whether it can obtain EASA certification for these courses, which would then eventually replace some of the standard training components, such as classroom instruction, the cockpit poster and textbooks. The safety and quality of training is and naturally always will be top priority.

Better customer experience

The new aircraft will be equipped with new Recaro seats, which are ergonomically designed and leave space for more legroom. They are lighter than the current seats. This is beneficial for fuel consumption and will reduce CO₂ emissions. The Business Class seats have adjustable back and headrests. All seats will have a USB port and there will be Wi-Fi on board. The Recaro seats are already in use aboard KLM’s newest Boeing 737s. The cabin has atmospheric lighting and the newly designed overhead compartments offer more space for carry-on baggage. By adding a third cabin attendant aboard these flights, KLM expects to optimise the travel experience for its customers.

Sustainability

Although the new Embraers offer greater capacity, they are more sustainable and silent than their predecessors. The E195-E2 burns 9% less fuel per flight and emits 31% less CO₂ per passenger than the E190. The Embraer 195-E2 is also 48% more silent than the Embraer 190. The replacement of older aircraft with newer types is in line with KLM’s initiative Fly Responsibly.

Fly Responsibly

With Fly Responsibly, KLM has committed itself to creating a more sustainable future for the airline industry. Fly Responsibly encompasses all efforts KLM is undertaking and intends to undertake to improve the sustainability of its operations. However, true progress can only be achieved if the whole industry cooperates. With Fly Responsibly, KLM therefore invites customers and others to make use of available CO₂ compensation schemes and urges businesses to compensate for staff air travel via the KLM Corporate BioFuel Programme.

Do you want to know more about the pick-up of a new Embraer? Take a look at our vlogs about the test flights and the ferry flight back to the Netherlands.

The Embraer aircraft also support KLM’s customer focus. The new aircraft offer greater comfort and more space for passengers, therefore helping to create memorable journeys.

KLM Cityhopper currently operates the biggest Embraer fleet in Europe. By mid-2018, the overall KLC fleet will consist of no less than 49 aircraft produced by the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer. Delivery of the 46^th Embraer is expected in March.

Superb Farewell Fokker book
The Fokker 70 is a striking and unique aircraft, with its characteristic wing profile and typical T-shaped tail. They aircraft will continue to operate elsewhere, because KLM has sold its last Fokkers to airlines in Asia, Africa and South America. Moreover, fans of the Fokker 70 will take delight in the special Farewell Fokker 70 book “Dutch at Heart”. This beautifully illustrated book is available as a limited edition via www.fokker-70.nl.

Fokker monument unveiled
On the morning of Sunday, 29 October, a special KLM-Fokker monument was unveiled at Schiphol-Oost. In the presence of guests and journalists, the monument was unveiled by KLM President & CEO Pieter Elbers, former KLM Cityhopper Director Boet Kreiken and Fokker Vice President Frans van der Pol.

The plaque on the monument reads: “This monument was erected in honour of all the hard-working employees of KLM, Fokker and KLM Cityhopper, who worked with these superb Dutch aircraft from 1920 to 2017, flying them across the globe and making aviation history.”

Fleet renewal
Following the phase-out of the Fokker 50, Fokker 100 and now Fokker 70, a new generation of aircraft are operating in KLM service. In 2008, KLM Cityhopper began replacing its Fokker fleet with modern E-Jets – the Embraer E-190 and Embraer E-175+. These new aircraft allow further expansion of our existing network, increase flight frequency (more than 106,000 flights a year) and reduce costs substantially. With this far-reaching modernisation of its fleet, KLM Cityhopper contributes to more efficient and sustainable operations, with improved service standards and greater comfort for passengers.

KLM is currently a codeshare partner on CityJet’s services from the Netherlands to London City Airport. In the new cooperation, CityJet will also place its code on KLM-operated services connecting Amsterdam to London City, Manchester and Newcastle, increasing the range of routes and frequencies on offer to its customers.

Boet Kreiken, Managing Director of KLM Cityhopper commented: “KLM has been a long term partner of CityJet in its operations from the Netherlands to London City Airport. After an absence of eight years, KLM commenced services from Amsterdam to London City in February with our Embraer 190 aircraft, currently operating four per weekday. With the new wet lease agreement, we will be able to increase our frequency into London City Airport, offering greater choice for our customers, and with our long-standing partner CityJet codesharing on all flights.”

Cathal O’Connell, Chief Commercial Officer of CityJet said: “As we continue our strategy of refocusing CityJet into an airline with a strong mix of scheduled services and wet lease operations on behalf of other airlines, this new agreement sees further growth in our portfolio of wet lease customers in parallel with using our extensive experience of operations into London City Airport on behalf of a customer airline. CityJet will continue its presence in London City market as a codeshare partner of KLM on the Amsterdam route in addition to our own services between London City and Dublin, Antwerp, Florence, Avignon and Toulon”.

The flights will be operated by KLM Cityhopper using Embraer 190 equipment, which can carry up to 100 passengers. In addition to this service, KLM also offers its passengers various flights to London City in cooperation with CityJet, also from Rotterdam.

In 1991, the airline’s name was changed to KLM Cityhopper, following a merger between NLM Cityhopper and NetherLines (established in 1984). In 1997, Air UK was also incorporated into the airline, bringing with it a fleet consisting primarily of Fokker 100s and 50s – a major expansion.

Today
Today, KLM Cityhopper operates around 300 flights a day, which amounts to around 100,000 flights a year, carrying more than 7 million passengers. The KLM Cityhopper fleet currently consists of 30 Embraer 190s, 3 Embraer 175s and 13 Fokker 70’s.

In 2017, KLM Cityhopper will bid farewell to its last Fokker 70. The airline welcomed its first two Embraer 190s in December 2008, and took delivery of its third Embraer 175 in August this year. By early 2018, the KLM Cityhopper fleet will consist of 30 Embraer 190s and 17 Embraer 175s. These new arrivals are not only more economical, but also produce fewer emissions.

In 2015, an international panel chose KLM Cityhopper as “Regional Airline of the Year”.

KLM recently announced its latest European destination: Dublin. KLM will begin serving the Irish capital at the start of the new winter schedule on 30 October, with KLM Cityhopper operating two daily flights.

Click here to read the KLM-blog about KLM Cityhopper 50 years.