KLM West-Indisch Bedrijf
IATA ICAO Callsign
KL KLM KLM
Founded1934
Commenced operationsDecember 22, 1934
Ceased operationsAugust 1, 1964
HubsCuraçao, Paramaribo
Focus citiesDutch West Indies, Venezuela
Parent companyKLM
HeadquartersAmstelveen, Netherlands
FounderAlbert Plesman

KLM West-Indisch Bedrijf (WIB[1] or KLM West Indies Company) was a subsidiary of KLM, which operated flights within the Dutch West-Indies (Netherlands Antilles and Suriname) and their neighbouring countries.

History

A KLM West-Indisch Lockheed 14 Super Electra on a flight from Curaçao to Miami in 1943

Its foundation was made possible partly by the insurance of the Dutch PTT, who offered a lucrative contract for delivering mail to the Dutch Colonies. The first mail flight arriving from the Netherlands to Curaçao by the Fokker F.XVIII PH-AIS "Snip" on December 22, 1934, marked the beginning of the company.[2][3]

Initially, the West-Indisch Bedrijf mainly flew from Willemstad, Curaçao to Aruba (with the first flight occurring on 19 January 1935), Venezuela and Jamaica in cooperation with Koninklijke Nederlandse Stoomboot-Maatschappij (KNSM). Only after World War II regular flights Amsterdam-Curaçao occurred. World War II itself was of major importance to WIB. Because of the oil refineries in Aruba, WIB became a major transporter and one of the best-run airlines of its day.

On August 1, 1964, the West-Indisch Bedrijf was transformed into ALM Antillean Airlines, in which the Netherlands Antilles became a shareholder.[4]

Fleet

KLM West-Indisch Bedrijf operated the following aircraft:[5]

KLM West-Indisch Bedrijf fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Convair CV-340 9 1953 1964
Douglas C-47 Skytrain 10 1946 1960
Douglas C-54 Skymaster 8 1946 1954
Douglas DC-5 2 1950 1951
Douglas DC-6 7 1957 1963
fokker F.VIII 2 1937 1939
Fokker F.XVIII 2 1935 1938
Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior 1 1944 1945
Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra 4 1938 1948
Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar 2 1943 1948

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Aviation Safety Network > ASN Aviation Safety Database > Operator index > Curaçao > KLM West-Indisch Bedrijf".
  2. ↑ "A Fokker F-XVIII flies to the Antilles".
  3. ↑ "History of KLM - KLM Netherlands".
  4. ↑ "KLM West-Indisch Bedrijf history from Americas, Dutch West Indies".
  5. ↑ "KLM West Indies". Aerobernie.bplaced.net. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
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