KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and BCG Extend Partnership for Digital Airline Operations
BOSTON—In an increasingly complex and volatile environment, reliable operational performance is a differentiator for airlines. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, a pioneer in the airline industry, and Boston Consulting Group (BCG), one of the world’s leading management consulting firms, today announced a further extension of their partnership aimed at improving airline operations worldwide. The partnership was first established in 2018 and was previously extended in 2021.
Over the past six years, KLM and BCG have developed a comprehensive suite of AI-based tools to digitize and optimize airline operations. These AI-powered tools are tailored to the evolving needs of airlines, particularly post-pandemic as airlines must be resilient in the face of unprecedented volatility in the market. Covering all planning horizons from day-of operations to long-term strategic planning, these products help airlines tackle complex decisions across all functional areas including ground, fleet and maintenance, crew, and network departments.
Airlines must continually make tradeoffs that affect flights, crew, ground staff, customer experience, and profitability. Unfortunately, these tradeoffs are often based on siloed information. KLM and BCG’s fully customized in-house solutions constantly measure real-time performance and offer decision support around a single source of truth in data. This approach enables front-line operations staff to see the full picture and make informed, consistent, and data-driven decisions with a clear sense of how they will play out across the network.
Some notable products include:
Proven Results
The implementation of these solutions has led to improvements in KLM’s operations across functions, from boosting airline operational efficiency to enhancing airline disruption management, to data driven integral resources planning. KLM has reduced non-performance costs and increased value delivery within operations and delivered a strong return on investment. Staff at the Operations Control Center and other operational and network departments are performing with new levels of engagement, insights, confidence, and satisfaction.
Since the partnership’s last extension in 2021, KLM and BCG have expanded their tailored solutions to other airlines. Today, the KLM-BCG partnership serves a prominent network of carriers of all sizes across multiple geographies including both full-service and low-cost carriers, as well as various business models ranging from point-to-point, single- and multi-hub.
“Our Partnership with BCG continues to be one of the building blocks supporting KLM operations that bring value to our customers. Thanks to the continuous extension of our suite of tools and the KLM in-house capabilities that we have built up in recent years, and our world class people, KLM was able to derive a lot of value from its Operations Decision Support set of tools. KLM is excited to continue to innovate and improve through this unique cooperation with BCG,” said Maarten Stienen, chief operating officer at KLM.
“We are thrilled to extend our partnership with KLM. Together, we have cemented our position as a leading player in digital airline operations over the past six years,” said Dirk-Maarten Molenaar, a BCG managing director and senior partner. “As the needs of airlines evolve, we are excited to continue engaging and innovating with the world’s leading carriers and supporting the digital transformation and optimization of their operations.”
Media Contacts:
Eric Gregoire
+1 617 850 3783
gregoire.eric@bcg.com
KLM, Media Relations
+31 20 649 45 45
mediarelations@klm.com
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For over a century, KLM has been a pioneer in the airline industry. KLM is the oldest airline still operating under its original name and aims to be the leading European network carrier in customer centricity, efficiency and sustainability. The KLM network connects the Netherlands with all of the world’s key economic regions and is a powerful engine driving the Dutch economy.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is part of the Air France–KLM Group. KLM is also a member of the global SkyTeam Alliance, which has 19 member airlines.
For more information about KLM, please visit KLM.com, KLM Newsroom, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.