Q & A with Jack UrlusMarketing Manager of KLM in Spain
by Jose Carlos de Santiago
About the new policies that Air France-KLM is about to implement in the Iberian Peninsula, as well as its marketing strategy for the near future, Caribbean News Digital talked exclusively with Jack Urlus.
Q.- Is KLM going through any structural changes after your appointment in Spain?
A.- The only change is that the personnel of the Sales Division in Madrid and Barcelona will now report directly to me, instead of to the General Manager –as it used to be in the past. For the time being, that´s the only change. However, likelihood is there´ll be some more changes coming up, especially in the way we handle the markets.
Q.- What´s the company´s standpoint when it comes to working with both the Spanish and the Portuguese markets?
A.- These two markets complement each other. There are differences between them, especially because Spain is a far larger market than Portugal. There are other differences as well, mostly in terms of would-be travelers. To us, these differences mean a pretty good balance in our job.
Q.- Are you considering the implementation of a travel policy, like the one you used to have with TAP, to fly from Portugal to the Netherlands Antilles, that is, Curacao, Bonaire and Aruba?
A.- It´s impossible to do so right away because there´s no market to keep those flights in the air.
Q.- How many passengers did KLM fly to the Caribbean from Spain and Portugal in 2005?
A.- Normally, we only provide transportation figures. In our case, Air France is the carrier that flies the most travelers to the Caribbean.
Q.- Are you planning to add more flights from Spain to Amsterdam?
A.- Absolutely. This summer is going to bring some specials from Barcelona and we´ve got plans to reactivate the nightly flight between Barcelona and Amsterdam. These flights will increase to five daily frequencies, plus a sixth flight in Saturdays –all throughout May- and the addition of a seventh flight on Sundays in the month of June. At the same time, all throughout July and August, Barcelona will benefit from more additional flights that include seven daily KLM flights on weekdays and a grand total of eight flights on weekends.
That´s the plan, to keep half a dozen daily flights for the longest time. In the case of Madrid, we´ve been unable to add a much-anticipated sixth flight to that destination.
Q.- Can you foresee an integration of the Price Divisions from Air France and KLM?
A.- We don´t have any such integration in the pipeline, at least for the time being. Nevertheless, we maintain contacts on a regular basis to lay out the right policy to follow.
