Amid the controversy of flight operations being cut in Amsterdam Schiphol, JetBlue has called on the U.S Department of Transport to ban KLM from operating flights into New York if they cannot operate such flights.
The flight cap has been controversial not just in the airline space, but also on the political front closer to home in the Dutch capital.
So what will this fight entail, and ultimately what will it mean for operators moving forward?
Context: JetBlue Lobbying The U.S DoT…
As per reporting from the NL Times, it is understood that JetBlue has sent a fresh letter to the U.S DoT over concerns about the flight caps out of Amsterdam Schiphol from New York.
The U.S carrier believes that it could lose slots at the Dutch airport if the proposal for flight reductions goes ahead, calling it “proportionate” retaliation if it does go ahead and the U.S government opts for this move.
In response, they are expecting the government body to remove KLM’s ability from operating into New York’s JFK as a result.
As per data from Cirium & FlightAware, the KLM code is on four services to the American airport that operate every day, two from the airline themselves, and two from their codesharing partner Delta Air Lines.
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What Will This Mean for KLM in New York?
As for KLM in New York, if the U.S DoT goes forward with the request from JetBlue if the Schiphol flight cap does go into full effect, then this could offer some consequences for them.
It’s two daily services, being the KL641 and 643 rotations wouldn’t be able to operate into JFK, which would prove a blow to a route that is quite popular for them.
If the ban was to go ahead, it’s unclear whether the codeshared flights with Delta would be affected in the perspective of not being allowed to place their KL code on it or not.
In the scenario that it was extended that far, then JetBlue would succeed in its entirety of providing a further blow to KLM on being restricted in that nature.
Could The Dutch Carrier Just Go To Newark Instead?
In the event that this does happen (It’s unclear whether it will go this far or not), but the wording of the letter from JetBlue suggests New York JFK only from Amsterdam Schiphol. So in that case, what about Newark?
It isn’t as close to central Manhattan as the other airport, but the transportation options are accessible and available to the point that the Dutch carrier could go there if this all explodes further.
Either way, depending on how the Dutch government wish to approach the flight cap out of Schiphol, it will be interesting to see what the reaction will be moving forward.
But for now, all eyes will be on this situation to see how it develops, and whether indeed we could see a situation in which because of JetBlue’s continued persistence, KLM gets booted out of New York JFK as a result of this flight cap at Amsterdam Schiphol.
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