KLM encourages passengers to take the train for some short…
KLM’s chief executive, Marjan Rintel, has encouraged passengers to take the train rather than fly on some short-haul journeys to help cut carbon emissions, saying the airline sector should stop viewing rail as a competitor. National governments in Europe have been taking action to get people on to high-speed trains instead of short-haul flights, to reduce aviation CO2 emissions. Air France, which comes under the same holding company as KLM, stopped flying domestic routes where there are rail or coach alternatives taking under two and a half hours in 2020, as part of measures it agreed to with the French government in exchange for aid during the Covid-19 pandemic. This was changed last week, when the EU only approved this for 3 routes, Paris-Orly and Bordeaux, Nantes and Lyon – and their connecting flights exempted. In June, the Dutch government announced plans to cut flights from Schiphol by over 10% to 440,000 a year. The move is likely to lead to a sharp reduction in short-haul flights from Schiphol, meaning the KLM boss can advocate rail trips. Rintel said KLM had already block-booked seats on the train service linking Amsterdam to Brussels and Paris . .Tweet KLM encourages passengers to take the train to cut emissions Marjan Rintel: ‘If you’re serious on reaching your sustainability goals, the train is not a competitor. We need to work together’ By Robert Wright and Peggy Hollinger (FT) 6.12.2022 KLM’s chief executive has encouraged passengers to take the train rather than fly on some short-haul journeys to help cut carbon emissions, saying the airline sector should stop viewing rail as a competitor. “If [you] have a good alternative you should really use it,” Marjan Rintel told the Financial Times in an interview. “If you’re serious on reaching your sustainability goals, the train is not a competitor. We need to work together.” She also said she used the train when she travelled from Amsterdam, where KLM is based, to the Paris headquarters of parent company Air France-KLM. National governments in Europe have been taking action to get people on to high-speed trains instead of short-haul flights and cut the carbon cost of flying. Air France, the French carrier which comes under the same holding company as KLM, stopped flying domestic routes where there are rail or coach alternatives taking under two and a half hours in 2020, as part of measures it agreed to with the French government in exchange for aid during the Covid-19 pandemic. French parliamentarians later passed a bill formalising the ban on short term flights, a measure approved by the EU last week. Effectively, however, the changes only affect three routes from Paris, with connecting flights for instance exempted. In June, the Dutch government announced plans to slash flights from Schiphol airport by more than 10 per cent to 440,000 a year. The move is likely to lead to a sharp reduction in short-haul flights from the airport and could put a brake on national flag carrier KLM’s future growth. Rintel said KLM had already block-booked seats on the train service linking Amsterdam to Brussels and Paris in response, and she had urged the business “to develop the relationships with the Dutch railways, to see what we can do at short notice to motivate our customers to go by train to Brussels or Paris”. KLM was al
