Amsterdam airlines

The main airport in The Netherlands is Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, wich is located in Hoofddorp.

For visitors to the USA or Canada travelling from Britain, a flight from a UK regional airport via Amsterdam (Schiphol) can be very much more convenient than from Heathrow or Gatwick. The advantage of not having the long trip back home from the airport while in a jetlagged state after an overnight flight is very considerable.

After taking into consideration the cost of transport to and from Heathrow or Gatwick, plus a possible overnight stay near the airport and long-term car parking, the Amsterdam option can even work out less expensive.

Amsterdam airport consists of a single huge terminal. Several long piers radiate out from the central shopping area.

For small planes which cannot draw up to a gate, such as the connecting flights from British regional airports, a bus takes you between the plane and the terminal building. This system works very well and is not a problem at all. Flight times fully allow for the bus transfer.

There is some seating on the main level of the terminal, especially near the casino between "E" and "F" piers. There is also a large amount of seating available on the terminal's upper floor, together with a variety of restaurants including a self-service cafeteria and a McDonald's, but these facilities could be better signposted. The upper floor is in two sections; the section above the central section of shops has the seating, the section above the casino area has the cafeteria and the McDonald's.

Schiphol has introduced a number of very intelligent innovations which other airports would do well to copy. There are separate holding areas at each gate, with an adequate amount of seating (this concept is not unique to Schiphol, but it is sadly not yet universal at all airports). The gates for large planes at Schiphol have jetways which divide and connect to two aircraft doors, instead of the usual one, allowing planes to be boarded and exited more quickly. Also, passengers are issued with reusable colour coded cards which indicate which range of seat row numbers they are in, thus avoiding the usual rush when planes are boarded since it is immediately obvious who should be in the queue to board at each stage and who should not.

English is spoken almost universally in the Netherlands and certainly by all workers at Schiphol and on KLM/NorthWest planes who have contact with passengers.

Most of the year the Netherlands is one hour ahead of UK time. In the past the two countries were on the same time for a week or two each spring and autumn due to the change from summer time to winter time or vice versa occurring on different dates. However, I believe that the dates when times change has now been unified.

Prices in shops and restaurants in Schiphol are very expensive and bargains are few and far between, even for visitors from Britain with the supposedly high Pound. In the spring of 2001 all prices were quoted in Euros as well as Dutch Guilders. In the duty free shops two different prices are quoted - duty free (for passengers whose destination is outside the EU) and duty paid (a higher price, for travellers staying inside the EU, where there is no longer any duty free). I believe that payment is also accepted in US Dollars and possibly some other major currencies.

Every year that we have travelled via Schiphol there has been some building work going on and the summer of 2000 was no exception. Disruption to passengers due to building work seems to be fairly well planned and kept to the minimum. The building work at the start of "D" pier which was in full swing in the summer of 1999 has now been completed and the central shopping area between "D" and "E" piers is now being refurbished. The depressing, drab and poorly lit octagonal waiting room on "D" pier for flights to UK regional airports is no longer in use, but unfortunately it has been replaced by an even more depressing and bare rectangular room (also on "D" pier) which does not have sufficient seating.
Transit Passenger Procedures
When flying from Britain to the USA or vice-versa via Amsterdam with KLM UK and KLM or Northwest Airlines, hold baggage is transferred between the two flights for you. Passengers on these flights do not reclaim their hold baggage at Amsterdam. There are no customs or immigration formalities at Amsterdam for passengers travelling from Britain to the USA but in the reverse direction there is a passport inspection at Amsterdam since you are then entering the EU.

BudgetAir Amsterdam

Flies with reliable airlines. Because you can a budget air book ticket both online and at reisburo. budget air has himself no own planes, but buys be based on on flights of several renowned airlines. The very sharp prices are possible by exclusive appointments with our partners. Economy class is based on against low tariffs, but with the service which you have got used of a good airline company.


KLM

The KLM organization is the biggest Dutch airline

* In 2005, KLM had 34,848 employees worldwide; 31,051 in the Netherlands and 3,797 outside the Netherlands.
* KLM transported 20 million passengers and more than 600 thousand tons of cargo. It also provided engineering and maintenance services to more than 20 different airlines.
* The KLM fleet consists of 181 aircraft.
* The KLM Group serves 128 cities in 65 countries on six continents.
* KLM has the largest combi fleet in the world (17 Boeing 747-400 ER) and three freighter aircraft (Boeing 747 400 ERF).
* KLM realized an operating income for 2004/2005 of EUR 91 million.
* KLM has interests in KLM UK/Cityhopper (100%), transavia.com (100%), Martinair Holland (50%), and Kenya Airways (26%).

KLM and its partners let you fly around the world at special airfares in Business or Economy. By connecting the networks of many different airlines throughout the world, we can take you to almost any spot on the globe. Whether you want to take a dream vacation or fly around the world on business, KLM and its partners offer you the best possible product. To see the complete list, visit their website: http://www.klm.com.


Martinair

More than 50 destinations are serviced worldwide, and we carry more than two million passengers annually. The personal service on Martinair flights is one of our strongest plus points. Excellent meals and a particularly friendly crew ensure that most of our passengers quickly feel at home on board. In the cargo arena Martinair grows to become the largest convertible carrier in the world.

Destinations
From Amsterdam, we fly to over 20 destinations in the Mediterranean region such as Spain, the Canary Islands, Greece and Turkey. Intercontinental flights serve the U.S., Canada, and great parts of Central America and the Caribbean. These flights are sometimes carried out as charters, but usually as a scheduled service.

The Fleet
Martinair owns a modern fleet of wide-body aircraft including the Boeing 747, 767, the Boeing MD-11 and A320


Transavia Airlines

transavia.com flies to more than 70 destinations. The destinations are listed under Destinations. On a transavia.com flight one thing has top priority: a safe flight. Naturally the quality and safety standards of Transavia airlines also apply to these flights. Transavia airlines was the first airline in the Netherlands to receive international recognition from the Civil Aviation Authority, on behalf of the Joint Aviation Authorities, for its overall airline operation.
More information can be found on their website www.transavia.com.