The Group

KLM and Air France were both founded on 7 October, the first in 1919, under the name Koninklijke Luchtvaartmaatschappij – a royal Dutch airline covering the Netherlands and the colonies –, the second in 1933, through the merger of five French airlines – Air Union, Air Orient, Société Générale de Transport Aérienne (SGTA), CIDNA, and Aéropostale. 

Both are among the few existing airlines to have been founded before the Second World War. Both are pioneers in civil aviation. 

In 1920, KLM completed its first flight from London to Amsterdam with an Airco DH 16 piloted by Jerry Shaw, KLM's first official pilot. From 1921 onwards, the company gradually developed regular routes to Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels, Paris, and London, then Bremen, Copenhagen, and Malmö, with Fokker aircraft. 

In 1929, it established a regular long-haul route between the Netherlands and Indonesia – a Dutch colony at the time. Next, KLM set its sights westward and, in 1934, created a transatlantic link between Amsterdam and Curaçao, in the Netherlands Antilles, operated by a Fokker F-XVIII. 

Meanwhile in France, several private-equity companies were launching their own commercial aviation project, focused on transporting mail. Among them was the "Lignes Latécoère" company, founded in 1919, which became Aéropostale in 1927. 

In 1924, Jean Mermoz established the route between Toulouse and Barcelona, which flies over the Pyrenees. Next came the Casablanca-Dakar route and the regular crossing of the desert in 1926; the first non-stop flight between Toulouse and Saint-Louis, Senegal in 1927; the launch of a route flying over the Andes in 1929; and finally, the first Atlantic crossings from 1930 onwards, initially under the Aéropostale name and then Air France. 

1945 - 1960: First steps towards a global network 

With flights having been grounded during the war, both companies resumed their operations. In France, as with many companies deemed to be of public interest, Air France was nationalised. 

In 1946, Air France and KLM established the first regular services between Europe and North America, linking New York with Paris and Amsterdam. Including stopovers, the flight took almost 24 hours. A DC4 was used for the route – a four-engine aircraft tried and tested during the war that could carry around 40 passengers at 360km/h. 

At the same time, Air France and KLM had acquired a number of Lockheed Constellation aircraft, inaugurated by Air France on the Paris-New York route in 1947. The flight lasted around 15 hours with no need for a stopover on the return trip. Flying the same aircraft to similar destinations, the two companies began to offer each other assistance. 

In 1958, a new route to Tokyo was inaugurated: the polar route, with a stopover in Anchorage. 

1960 - 1980: The jet revolution 

The growth of the civil aviation sector was being stifled by the technical limitations of propeller aircraft. Everything changed when the first jet planes arrived in the late 1950s. 

From that point forward, aircraft could cross the Atlantic Ocean in a single bound, with the Boeing 707 and the Douglas DC-8 reaching speeds of over 900km/h. In 1958, Air France commissioned the first Caravelle aircraft for European flights to North Africa and the Middle East, while also operating the first Boeing 707 aircraft, which reduced the flight time between Paris and New York to 8 hours. As for KLM, the company had opted for Douglas DC-8 aircraft. 

And with these new planes came new infrastructure. The number of passengers continued to increase, and the world was opening up to travel. In 1952, Air France moved from Le Bourget airport to Orly. In 1961, Air France established its operations and workshops in Orly Sud. 

In the Netherlands, KLM was also on the move, and in 1967, one of its aircraft took off from the brand-new Schiphol airport near Amsterdam for the first time. The progress in aircraft and airport infrastructure continued in parallel with the growth in air traffic and the number of airlines. In 1970, Air France began operating Boeing 747 aircraft on its long-haul routes, which could accommodate some 500 passengers. KLM followed suit in 1971. 

The era of wide-body aircraft and mass air transport had begun. Orly no longer had sufficient capacity, so in 1974, Air France moved into the new Paris-Charles de Gaulle 1 terminal and then into CDG 2 in 1982. 

In 1976, Air France commissioned the supersonic Concorde aircraft, first for the Paris-Rio, Paris-Caracas, and Paris-Washington routes, and then, in 1977, for Paris to New York, connecting the two cities in a flight time of 3 hours and 45 minutes. 

From the 1980s onwards, airspace became open to competition and air travel became accessible to more and more people. The world was within reach of the masses. 

In 1989, for the first time in the history of air transport, an alliance was entered into between KLM and the American airline Northwest Airlines, which joined forces to offer their customers easy access to both their networks. An initial Open Skies agreement was signed in 1991 between the Netherlands and the United States, authorising the joint venture for all KLM and Northwest Airlines flights between Europe and the United States from 1993. 

Air France took over UTA in 1990. The merger between the two companies was completed two years later, with Air Inter becoming the Group's main shareholder, a company specialising in domestic flights in France, in which it holds 72% of the capital. Six years later, Air Inter became Air France Europe, before being taken over by Air France in 1997. 

Air France opened its capital to private investment in early 1999. Its first shares were listed on the Paris Stock Exchange on 22 February 1999. 

Throughout the 1990s, KLM also expanded and evolved. In 1991, it founded its regional company, KLM Cityhopper, through a merger of NLM Cityhopper and Netherlines, and increased its stake in Transavia from 40% to 80%. 

This provided the two companies with a comprehensive network combining long-haul services and domestic routes. The companies wanted to make optimal use of these synergies. To do so, in 1992, KLM created the first European hub at Schiphol airport connecting its medium- and long-haul flights. 

The following year, Air France adopted the same model by setting up a connecting hub between its medium- and long-haul flights at Paris-Charles de Gaulle. 

With the world opening up, and competition increasing and intensifying (the Open Skies agreement between France and the United States would be signed in 2001), it became clear that airlines needed to offer more destinations and infrastructure. In 2000, Air France further expanded its operations by merging with Regional Airlines, Flandre Air, Proteus, BritAir, and CityJet to create its regional hub. However, it needed to take action on a global scale. 

The first solution was to join forces with complementary companies, sharing networks and providing each airline's customers with easy and transparent access to the destinations offered by its partners. This was the principle behind the SkyTeam alliances for passenger transport, and SkyTeam Cargo for cargo operations, launched in 2000 by Air France, Aeromexico, Delta Airlines, and Korean Air. SkyTeam has been scaling up its operations ever since. It was joined by Alitalia and CSA Czech Airlines in 2001, followed by KLM and its US partners Northwest Airlines and Continental in 2004, and Russian airline Aeroflot in 2006. The following year, China Southern Airlines also became a member, making SkyTeam the first alliance to include a mainland Chinese airline. Air Europa, Kenya Airways, Romanian airline TAROM, and Vietnam Airlines also added their networks to SkyTeam, which was able to double its flights and destinations within 10 years. 

A second, complementary solution was to join forces even more closely, which is exactly what Air France and KLM decided to do in 2003. On 30 September, the two companies announced their planned merger via a Public Exchange Offer (PEO) by Air France for KLM shares. The PEO was launched on 5 April 2004 on the Euronext Paris and Amsterdam markets as well as on the New York Stock Exchange. This operation to transfer the majority of Air France's capital to the private sector by diluting the French government's stake, resulted in the French airline's privatisation. 

The Air France-KLM Group was founded. The Group kept both companies' prestigious brand names while combining their strengths. A new adventure was about to begin: the establishment of a leading group in Europe, comprising the necessary teams, skills, and technical, commercial, and industrial resources to achieve the shared goal of attracting and retaining customers. 

The Group quickly capitalised on the synergies between the two airlines. For example, in 2005 the marketing, commercial, and sales teams of Air France Cargo and KLM Cargo were integrated into a single entity, the Joint Cargo Team. In 2005, the Flying Blue loyalty programme, common to both companies, was launched. 

The two Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Schiphol hubs would operate in tandem, with the networks using their complementary and equivalent features to respond to variations in demand with maximum flexibility. 

At the end of November 2006, Air France and Transavia Holland decided to found a new low-cost French airline named Transavia. This new airline became a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is 100% owned by Air France. In 2007, its first medium-haul flights to leisure destinations out of Paris-Orly took to the air. In 2008, the Group bought out Dutch cargo airline Martinair, which was already 50% owned by KLM, and in 2009, it acquired 25% of Alitalia's capital, which thus became a privileged partner. 

Through the Group's strength and alliances, it mobilised a network of first-class infrastructure. In 2007, a new boarding satellite (S3) was opened at Paris-Charles de Gaulle, known as the "Parisian Gallery", exclusively for Air France-KLM and the SkyTeam alliance. The satellite's main purpose was to provide quick connections between short-, medium-, and long-haul flights, enabling six A380 aircraft to be boarded simultaneously. 

The Group has continued to implement the alliance strategy originally undertaken by the two companies. A major agreement was reached in May 2009. Air France-KLM and the American company Delta Airlines launched a joint venture to collectively operate their transatlantic routes, sharing revenue and costs. The following year, Alitalia also joined what is currently the largest transatlantic joint venture in existence. 

In November 2010, a similar approach was taken to the joint venture agreement on sharing revenue from the Paris-Canton service between Air France and China Southern. 

The global economic crisis hit the air transport sector hard. The Group responded by investing in modernising its services and restructuring certain activities such as its cargo operations. The fleet is being upgraded; the Group's first Airbus A380 aircraft made its maiden flight on 23 November 2009. 

The Air France-KLM story continues to be written in the sky and over the airwaves, with the Group establishing a more extensive digital and social media presence. Artificial intelligence and exclusive apps are characteristic of a Group at the cutting edge of innovation. 

In 2012, the Group set out to regain its competitiveness and reposition its offering. Air France and KLM installed new cabins on their long- and medium-haul aircraft and became increasingly focused on a customer-centric, high-quality service. Both airlines opted to modernise their long-haul fleet with the Boeing 787 – the latest-generation, more eco-friendly aircraft, equipped with the latest travel cabins and Wi-Fi. For its part, Air France restructured its medium-haul service and launched the regional airline HOP!, while developing the activity of its low-cost subsidiary Transavia. Air France's sister company, Joon, was founded a few years later in 2017 and offers customers a next-generation travel experience. 

In early September 2014, the Group presented the new "Perform 2020" strategic plan outlining its continued efforts toward competitiveness and aimed at expanding the Group's presence in growth markets. 

2015 heralded the inclusion of the Boeing 787 into the Group's fleet. 

In 2016, Air France-KLM went back on the offensive with the launch of a new business plan: "Trust Together". 

On 7 October 2019, KLM – the oldest airline in the world still operating under its original name – celebrated its 100th anniversary. The Dutch government purchased 14% of Air France-KLM shares. 

The year 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic had a major impact on the air transport sector and the activity of the Air France-KLM Group throughout the entire year. Air France-KLM took a range of important measures to reduce its costs and protect its cash flow. The Group also benefited from financial support plans implemented by the French and Dutch governments. 

The Covid-19 crisis had a significant impact on the Group's results and financial position throughout the 2021 financial year and will continue to do so, at a time when there is limited visibility on the recovery of demand, with travel restrictions still in force in most destinations served by the Group. In 2021, in order to strengthen its cash position, the Group implemented various measures, which, with regard to Air France, were approved by the European Commission as part of its decision to authorise €4 billion in financial support from the French government to recapitalise Air France and its holding company. 

After a decade of collective effort, the Group can be very proud of its achievements. Today, it is a leader in each of its three major business sectors: passenger transport, cargo transport, and aircraft maintenance. Moreover, as a committed player in responsible air transport, it is recognised as the leader in sustainable development in its sector.