Posted on June - 25 - 2010
Memphis airport celebrates 15 years of nonstop service to Amsterdam
Photo by Mike Brown // Buy this photo
Tommy Simpson (left) and Gary Vaughters, who both work on the ramp for Delta Airlines, get champagne flutes of juice for a toast to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the first direct flight from Memphis to Amsterdam that took place on June 27, 1995.
Two million passengers and $2 billion in economic impact later, a flight linking Memphis and Amsterdam marks its 15th anniversary Sunday.
Celebrating the milestone Thursday, speakers at a ceremony at Memphis International Airport said the flight hasn’t just survived; it has thrived, despite market forces that have grounded international nonstop flights from larger cities.
“Thanks to the support of community leaders, citizens and businesses, Memphis remains one of the only U.S. metropolitan areas with fewer than 11/2 million residents to enjoy year-round, unsubsidized nonstop service to Europe,” said Charlie Pappas, managing director of alliances for Delta Air Lines.
“Whatever happened in the world, the Memphis-Amsterdam flight stood and is still standing and profitable,” added Henk H.J.M.
de Graauw, director of KLM Alliances, which operates the flight in conjunction with Delta.
Capping years of pushing by airport officials and community leaders, KLM and the former Northwest Airlines began offering the flight four days a week in 1995 and upgraded to daily a year later.
Recalling the first flight’s arrival, Jim McGehee, Airport Authority chairman emeritus, led a couple hundred guests at Thursday’s ceremony in a fruit-punch toast: “In celebration of that monumental day 15 years ago, when Memphis truly became an international city, let us raise our glasses.”
Sharon Younger, whose Younger Associates consulting firm did economic impact analysis building a case for community support, reflected later on how the flight has exceeded all expectations.
“It was just amazing today to sit there and say, ‘It’s been 15 years.’” The firm hasn’t done a followup study, but she said, “We have kept an eye on it to make sure our original predictions came true.”
They called for a $120 million-a-year impact on the Memphis economy, but that was based on four round-trips a week, with more empty seats.
Younger said the impact probably is 25-30 percent above the estimate, or totaling $150 million and $156 million a year.
Delta spokesman Kent Landers said the planes are typically near capacity, because the airline tailors the aircraft to seasonal demand. During the peak summer travel season, Delta is flying a Boeing 767-300 with 216 seats. In fall and winter, a smaller capacity Airbus A330-200 is slotted.
Greater Memphis Chamber president John Moore said efforts to recruit and retain businesses receive a major boost from the European connections afforded by the service. Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau president Kevin Kane said it’s a franchise like a Fortune 500 company.
Smith & Nephew, which employs 2,000 at its Memphis Orthopaedics Division, has employees on almost every flight, said Mark Stephens, a senior vice president.
Amsterdam Schipol Airport offers easy connections to corporate headquarters in London and the European headquarters of its orthopedic division in Zurich.
“It’s not only more convenient, it’s essential for us,” said Stephens. “If we don’t have a connection to Europe it would significantly hamper our ability to be competitive in our global markets.”
In a meeting with the editorial board of The Commercial Appeal, Delta’s Pappas commented on Memphis’s perennial wish for more international nonstop service.
“Delta’s always interested in growing where it can be successful,” he said.
The current focus is on rebounding from a devastating economic downturn.
Given its presence in the global SkyTeam alliance and that alliance’s growing list of partners, Pappas added, “It’s not inconceivable there could be more service out of Memphis longer term.”
–Wayne Risher: 529-2874
Memphis-Amsterdam
Delta Flight 156/KLM Flight 6016 departs Memphis, 7:20 p.m., arrives Amsterdam: 11:30 a.m. (next day)
Delta Flight 157/KLM Flight 6017 departs Amsterdam 2:10 p.m., arrives Memphis 5:05 p.m.
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