KLM Cityhopper at 50 years of flights
On 12 September 2016, KLM Cityhopper celebrated its 50 anniversary. Normally, the anniversary should have been celebrated on 29 August, the day Nederlandse Luchtvaart Maatschappij (NLM CityHopper) operated the first flight, but 50 years ago.
The KLM Cityhopper story started in 1966. Initially the company was called Nederlandse Luchtvaart Maatschappij (NLM). It started its activity with 2 Fokker F27 aircraft, which were leased from the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The staff consisted of 22 employees.
In 1991, the company name was changed to KLM Cityhopper, as a result of a merger between NLM Cityhopper and NetherLines (established in 1984). In 1997, Air UK was incorporated into KLM Cityhopper, bringing an increase in the fleet of Fokker 100 and 50 aircraft.
KLM Cityhopper is a wholly owned subsidiary of 100% by KLM. Currently, it operates over 300 daily flights to 58 from European destinations, carrying approximately 20 000 daily passengers. The KLM Cityhopper fleet consists of 30 aircraft Embraer E190, 13 and Fokker 70 aircraft 3 Embraer E175 aircraft. But the development plan will lead to a uniformization of the fleet. In 2017, KLM Cityhopper will say goodbye to the last Fokker in the fleet. And in 2018, the fleet will include 30 x Embraer E190 and 17 x Embraer E175.