Cardiff: KLM News & Hub Discussions

[Jerry]

Not just that, they also changed the time of the next flight to BSL from AMS resulting in him having almost a 6hr layover.

Some people would look at a different airport with a layover that long for a european flight. It wouldn't be so bad if the mid morning flight departed a bit earlier. Other airports like BRS, SOU and ABZ have departures at 09.20, LCY one at 08.40. But there's also the late arrival that gives people the ability to return from Europe on the evening departures.

 

[Jerry]

"whilst the number of higher paying international students has fallen"
I do wonder if this has affected Cardiff Airports KLM route leading to the cut in frequency?

Universities in Wales facing 'massive' financial challenges

But the head of the body which funds them says none are at risk of going bust in the next 12 months.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Jerry]

So flew back from Dublin today via Amsterdam with KLM. Was in business class for the whole trip for the first time and it was a really good experience that I enjoyed especially the Crown lounge. The Dublin leg was on a mainline 737 800 and the Cardiff leg on a Cityhopper E190. Only real difference is that with Cityhopper you don't get a separation from your seat neighbour though I lucked out on the Cardiff leg and had a spare seat next to me. The food service is essentially the same except that the Dublin flight was breakfast and not a dinner type meal both were served cold. The Cardiff flight was full, it needed 3 busses to bring the passengers and there were 6 people in business class. Was an excellent flight with great views of London, the 2nd Severn Bridge and Cardiff Airport itself on the way. We were the only flight on the ground on arrival and as I was hand luggage I was literally in my car 20 minutes after they'd opened the doors to the aircraft. Really enjoyed using Cardiff Airport these last 2 days.
I'll post some photos tomorrow from the trip today.

 

[Jerry]

Looking at KLM for winter 2025/26 and it remains 14 weekly with 4 departures scheduled to be operated on the E190 and the rest on E175 during November and December. For January the evening flight will be operated by the E190 with 8 of the 14 weekly departures operated by the E190 going up to 9 February. That goes back to 4 E190s at the end of February until the start of the summer.
That means CWL will see a minimum of 2560 seats a week, 2656 a week and a maximum 2680 seats a week.
So this should mean over the winter KLM will have over 59,000 seats onsale. Although i can't remember the exact seat figure for 2024/25 I'm confident there's an increase in seats. Its a shame that the schedule isn't all E190 or that the overnight hasn't returned.

 

[Jack Ruckley]

Looking at KLM for winter 2025/26 and it remains 14 weekly with 4 departures scheduled to be operated on the E190 and the rest on E175 during November and December. For January the evening flight will be operated by the E190 with 8 of the 14 weekly departures operated by the E190 going up to 9 February. That goes back to 4 E190s at the end of February until the start of the summer.
That means CWL will see a minimum of 2560 seats a week, 2656 a week and a maximum 2680 seats a week.
So this should mean over the winter KLM will have over 59,000 seats onsale. Although i can't remember the exact seat figure for 2024/25 I'm confident there's an increase in seats. Its a shame that the schedule isn't all E190 or that the overnight hasn't returned.

What’s more annoying is that I saw on X that Cork has had a third daily flight back for Winter 25/26 so slots excuse is clearly just a stalling tactic if more airports are getting more

 

[Jerry]

What’s more annoying is that I saw on X that Cork has had a third daily flight back for Winter 25/26 so slots excuse is clearly just a stalling tactic if more airports are getting more

Slots will be a challenge as Amsterdam is a busy airport but if i remember correctly Cork has also got an increase from Air France so it could be part of a group deal. Plus Cork is an airport nearly 3 times the size of Cardiff. It is frustrating though that the 3rd daily hasn't returned. When or if it will return is anybody's guess.

 

[Jerry]

Its a pity that KLM seems to be able to add to other airports but not resume the overnight at Cardiff or at least add 3rd daytime for Cardiff.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1945508765622587700

 

[Jerry]

Its a pity Cardiff doesn't get to see KLMs E195 more often as part of it's regular schedule rather than a stand in.
View attachment 32656

 

[fly4gigs]

Connecting in AMS no issue? Looking to maybe fly via AMS and avoid going to LHR or BRS.

 

[Jerry]

Connecting in AMS no issue? Looking to maybe fly via AMS and avoid going to LHR or BRS.

No it's not. If going into the Schengen you'll go through passport control but not security.

 

[fly4gigs]

No it's not. If going into the Schengen you'll go through passport control but not security.

Ignore lol

 

[Jerry]

Ignore lol

Why?

 

[Qing4theloo]

I am watching this with interest as I am moving to the Vale of Glamorgan, hopefully within the next couple of months. I currently live in the (English) Midlands and my kids have all grown up and left, though one only got as far as Cardiff lol. The other two live in the Netherlands and New Zealand.
The first time we went to NZ, we went via LHR. Never again. By the time you've forked out for an overnight stay in London (who wants to risk a trip to LHR on the day of your flight with our wonderful British public transport system), and the costs of getting there, it's no cheaper. Transport to London is designed for those who want to go there and no further. Plus, we had booked a train back from Euston, and having to push your way through the crowded concourse, with 25kg of hold baggage is a never-to-be-repeated experience. That is, I'm never going to repeat it.
So, for our second NZ trip, we went from our local (BHX/Brum) to Frankfurt, and on from there.
Much better.
So I'm a passionate believer in regional airports. Brum is a great example, especially as, for me, it is so handy. I can get on a train in Coventry and be in the terminal in 20 minutes. The other great thing is that it connects to 5 or 6 European hubs, so I can pick which one to go through according to which is best value.
Cardiff only has a connection with Amsterdam, which is far better than "no connection at all" to a European hub. I suppose I also ought to mention the connection to Dublin, which could be useful for onward flights to North America, but it doesn't sound like it goes often enough or at good enough times to be useful for this purpose.
Passenger numbers from Cardiff haven't recovered from the pandemic. Nowhere near in fact - they're barely half what they were in 2019. The only other comparable UK airport is Southend, as far as I can see. OK, so Flybe (?) went bust, but if the market's there, you would have thought that some airline would have nipped in and grabbed it.
Kudos to TUI who are giving it a go, but there must be a limit to the number of welsh people who want to just go to Spain for a fortnight. No, Cardiff needs more hub connections. It needs to be the airport of choice for South Wales, which it clearly isn't, judging by the number of people who are willing to endure the trip to the other side of Bristol.
And bless you, too, if you've waded through this waffle in the hope that I've got answers. I haven't. I think transport links to CWL could be better, especially from the West, but after all is said and done, a lot more gets said than done ...

 

[Jerry]

I am watching this with interest as I am moving to the Vale of Glamorgan, hopefully within the next couple of months. I currently live in the (English) Midlands and my kids have all grown up and left, though one only got as far as Cardiff lol. The other two live in the Netherlands and New Zealand.
The first time we went to NZ, we went via LHR. Never again. By the time you've forked out for an overnight stay in London (who wants to risk a trip to LHR on the day of your flight with our wonderful British public transport system), and the costs of getting there, it's no cheaper. Transport to London is designed for those who want to go there and no further. Plus, we had booked a train back from Euston, and having to push your way through the crowded concourse, with 25kg of hold baggage is a never-to-be-repeated experience. That is, I'm never going to repeat it.
So, for our second NZ trip, we went from our local (BHX/Brum) to Frankfurt, and on from there.
Much better.
So I'm a passionate believer in regional airports. Brum is a great example, especially as, for me, it is so handy. I can get on a train in Coventry and be in the terminal in 20 minutes. The other great thing is that it connects to 5 or 6 European hubs, so I can pick which one to go through according to which is best value.
Cardiff only has a connection with Amsterdam, which is far better than "no connection at all" to a European hub. I suppose I also ought to mention the connection to Dublin, which could be useful for onward flights to North America, but it doesn't sound like it goes often enough or at good enough times to be useful for this purpose.
Passenger numbers from Cardiff haven't recovered from the pandemic. Nowhere near in fact - they're barely half what they were in 2019. The only other comparable UK airport is Southend, as far as I can see. OK, so Flybe (?) went bust, but if the market's there, you would have thought that some airline would have nipped in and grabbed it.
TUI, bless them, are giving it a go, but there must be a limit to the number of welsh people who want to just go to Spain for a fortnight. No, Cardiff needs more hub connections. It needs to be the airport of choice for South Wales, which it clearly isn't, judging by the number of people who are willing to endure the trip to the other side of Bristol.
And bless you, too, if you've waded through this waffle in the hope that I've got answers. I haven't. I think transport links to CWL could be better, especially from the West, but after all is said and done, a lot more gets said than done ...

Well hopefully we'll see KLM go back to 3 daily sooner rather than later giving more connection options. Dublin can be used for connections but it's self transfer and would often involve an overnight stay.
As for transport I'm led to believe that TFW want to increase the VofG line to 2 hourly trains each way when that'll happen idk. Hopefully as Cardiff regrows then so we'll see routes like Amsterdam grow and routes like Paris return.

 

[Jerry]

The airport is advertising Xmas breaks using KLM from Cardiff. Paris is included, hopefully we'll see it return as route in the future rather than be a 1 stop via Amsterdam preferably with Air France!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1967168469226385448

 

[Samdorob]

The airport is advertising Xmas breaks using KLM from Cardiff. Paris is included, hopefully we'll see it return as route in the future rather than be a 1 stop via Amsterdam preferably with Air France!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1967168469226385448

I saw in a tweet someone asking about Paris and the response from CWL was along the lines of “we’re talking to airlines” about it.

You can never read too much into that mind, but perhaps they’re confident or they wouldn’t bother to respond.

 

[Jerry]

I saw in a tweet someone asking about Paris and the response from CWL was along the lines of “we’re talking to airlines” about it.

You can never read too much into that mind, but perhaps they’re confident or they wouldn’t bother to respond.

It is a pretty standard answer. One you'd expect from Cardiffs social media. Whether anything comes of it? They've only really got 2 options Air France and Ryanair. I know Air France were part of Easterns Orly route but that was so they could keep slots. I suppose its a case of how much do they potentially value Cardiff as a destination to consider operating it themselves from CDG and not just keep the current arrangement of via Amsterdam.

 

[Qing4theloo]

What's happening with KL1088 this week? 13-45 minutes late taking off every day. Are they short of staff to get the plane ready, or is it a issue with slots?

 

[Samdorob]

What's happening with KL1088 this week? 13-45 minutes late taking off every day. Are they short of staff to get the plane ready, or is it an issue with slots?

I’m sure about the cause of delays, it could be a knock on from tomorrow’s strike. There’s a ground staff strike tomorrow at Schiphol (17/09/2025). It looks like a number of KLM flights in the morning are cancelled, including tonight’s CWL departure and tomorrow mornings.

Many other airports have long delays today and cancellations tomorrow.

KLM forced to cancel over 100 flights at Amsterdam as ground workers go on strike – AeroTime

 

[Jerry]

The stats for July 2025 for Amsterdam were 10,028 passengers up 13% on 2024.
Looking at other small airports to compare to
Belfast City 9442 it has 14 weekly departures
Exeter 4643 it has 7 weekly departures
Humberside 10795 it has 21 weekly departures
Inverness 10937 it has 14 weekly departures
LeedsBradford 15690 it has 21 weekly departures
Norwich 12031 it has 25 weekly departures
Southampton 11231 it has 14 weekly departures from KLM and 2 weekly from Easyjet
Teesside 8403 it has 14 weekly departures

Not counting for any cancellations but the average load per flight at Cardiff was 80 passengers. Really hope we'll see the overnight return in Summer 2026 or at the very least bigger aircraft like the E190 and E195.