As of January 21, 2002,
As of January 21, 2002,
Passengers traveling from Belgium have extra possibilities to travel to Schiphol for their connecting flight with KLM and its alliance partners. Passengers for or from Antwerp who book flights through Schiphol will be simultaneously booked on connecting Thalys services. Passengers will only need show their KLM tickets at Antwerp Berchem or Schiphol-Center stations to receive their train tickets and their seat reservation numbers. Costs will be processed in the KLM fare.
Additional frequency service
The Thalys service is additional to the thrice-daily air service operated by KLM between Amsterdam Schiphol and Antwerp airports, substantially expanding frequency of service to and from this Belgian city. In addition to the three roundtrip flights, travelers can board Thalys trains three-times daily from Antwerp to Schiphol on working days (four on Saturday, three on Sunday) and six-times daily from Schiphol to Antwerp on working days (five on Saturday and Sunday).
The Thalys services provide good connections at Amsterdam Schiphol with the global network operated by KLM and its partners between Amsterdam Schiphol and 400 cities worldwide. On the connecting Thalys services, a maximum of 15 Comfort 2 Class seats will be reserved for KLM passengers. However, no seats are reserved on the remaining Thalys services between Schiphol and Antwerp. The train journey lasts one hour and 41 minutes, stopping in Rotterdam and The Hague on the way.
Comfortable and convenient
At Antwerp Berchem station, travelers can present their KLM tickets at the Belgian railways desk to obtain their Thalys ticket. On arrival at Schiphol they check in for their connecting flights as usual. Travelers for Antwerp flying in to Schiphol present their KLM ticket to the KLM desk in the Arrivals Hall to obtain their Thalys ticket. Passengers transfer their baggage to the train station themselves. The transfer is relatively simple since the Schiphol rail station is integrated in the air terminal building. Antwerp`s Berchem station is an attractive alternative for passengers traveling to the Antwerp city center, as it lies closer to the center than Antwerp airport.
Access to Schiphol
Train services are providing an increasingly important alternative for transporting passengers to and from Schiphol, and hassle-free access to its Amsterdam hub and homebase is a factor of importance for KLM. Additionally, short-haul travel by train provides an excellent supplement to scheduled flights.
Thalys
Thalys is a joint venture between Dutch train operator NS, and its Belgian, French and German counterparts. Launched in 1996, the Thalys service has expanded to become a Europe-wide network of high-speed train services, now connecting 31 cities in five countries. To date, Thalys has carried almost 25 million travelers in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, and Switzerland.
From 2006, when construction of the new high-speed line connecting Amsterdam and Brussels is scheduled for completion, KLM and NS will jointly operate a high-quality, and frequent high-speed train service between these cities and Paris. Through its participation in operating the Thalys service KLM will gain experience which will prove of great value for this future partnership.
Benefits for KLM`s frequent fliers
To make travel by Thalys more attractive still, members of KLM`s Flying Dutchman loyalty program traveling by Thalys to and from Antwerp will earn double mileage points.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
