KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will soon be expanding its global network to include Las Vegas (LAS), Nevada. As of summer 2019, the entertainment city of the United States will be accessible up to three times a week with a direct KLM flight from Amsterdam. The flights will be operated using 787-9, seating 294 passengers a flight.
“Las Vegas will become KLM’s 18th North Atlantic destination to be served directly. Including Las Vegas as KLM’s latest destination will offer our customers even more flight connections to and from the west coast of America,” said KLM President & CEO Pieter Elbers.
KLM will operate flights between Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Las Vegas on Fridays and Sundays from 6 June 2019. A third weekly flight will be launched on Tuesdays from 2 July 2019.
In order to open Las Vegas as a new destination, changes had to be made to KLM’s network. Partly due to Schiphol’s slot restrictions, KLM was forced to revise its portfolio of destinations sooner than expected. With effect from 29 March 2019, KLM will therefore stop flying to Freetown in Sierra Leone and Monrovia in Liberia. While the Freetown/Monrovia route launched in 2017 would have previously been given more time to grow in terms of performance, KLM is now compelled to deploy its fleet and slots differently.