KLM West-Indisch Bedrijf
Historic airlines of the Netherlands
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
KLM West-Indisch Bedrijf (WIB[1] or KLM West Indies Company) was a subsidiary of KLM, which operated flights within the Dutch West-Indies (Netherlands Antilles and Suriname) and their neighbouring countries.
| |||||||
| Founded | 1934 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | 22 December 1934 | ||||||
| Ceased operations | 1 August 1964 | ||||||
| Hubs | Curaçao, Paramaribo | ||||||
| Focus cities | Dutch West Indies, Venezuela | ||||||
| Parent company | KLM | ||||||
| Headquarters | Amstelveen, Netherlands | ||||||
| Founder | Albert Plesman | ||||||
History
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Its foundation was made possible partly by the insurance of the Dutch PTT, who offered a lucrative contract for delivering mail to the Dutch Colonies. The first mail flight arriving from the Netherlands to Curaçao by the Fokker F.XVIII PH-AIS "Snip" on 22 December 1934, marked the beginning of the company.[2][3]
Initially, the West-Indisch Bedrijf mainly flew from Willemstad, Curaçao to Aruba (with the first flight occurring on 19 January 1935), Venezuela and Jamaica in cooperation with Koninklijke Nederlandse Stoomboot-Maatschappij (KNSM). Only after World War II regular flights Amsterdam-Curaçao occurred. World War II itself was of major importance to WIB. Because of the oil refineries in Aruba, WIB became a major transporter and one of the best-run airlines of its day.[original research?]
On 1 August 1964, the West-Indisch Bedrijf was transformed into ALM Antillean Airlines, in which the Netherlands Antilles became a shareholder.[4]
Fleet
KLM West-Indisch Bedrijf operated the following aircraft:[5]
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Convair CV-340 | 9 | 1953 | 1964 | |
| Douglas C-47 Skytrain | 10 | 1946 | 1960 | |
| Douglas C-54 Skymaster | 8 | 1946 | 1954 | |
| Douglas DC-5 | 2 | 1950 | 1951 | |
| Douglas DC-6 | 7 | 1957 | 1963 | |
| fokker F.VIII | 2 | 1937 | 1939 | |
| Fokker F.XVIII | 2 | 1935 | 1938 | |
| Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior | 1 | 1944 | 1945 | |
| Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra | 4 | 1938 | 1948 | |
| Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar | 2 | 1943 | 1948 | |
Accidents and incidents
- On 22 August 1942, Lockheed 14-WF62 Super Electra PJ-AIP Parkiet lost control just after takeoff and crashed near Piarco Airport for reasons unknown, killing all 13 on board. The cause of the crash was not determined, but poor weather conditions (storms and turbulence) were blamed.[6]