Making a Connection: Icelandair and KLM’s Local Layover Approach
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APEX Insight: A mammoth journey combined with a lengthy layover can be enough to test even the most well seasoned of travelers. That passengers usually prefer nonstop over connecting flights is no surprise. But with many travelers having more options for travel than ever before, yet simultaneously constrained for time, Icelandair and KLM are using innovative ways to transform layovers.
Taking full advantage of its convenient geographic location in between Europe and North America, Icelandair has pursued a strategy of offering low-fare connecting flights flights via KeflavÃk International Airport since the 1960s. In the past decade, the airline’s layover package and Iceland’s volcanic landscapes have convinced millions of tourists to add a day or two in ReykjavÃk to their transatlantic itineraries. Currently almost one third of KeflavÃk’s 4.8 million annual passengers transit through the airport.
But now the Nordic carrier is running a scheme it reckons could convince solo travelers to spend at least a few hours, or perhaps even days on the island. After identifying a trend among vacationers in search of an increasingly localized experience, away from the crowds, Icelandair launched a scheme last month called Stopover Buddy.
The program sees passengers paired with an Icelandair employee for one-of-a-kind unique guided tours. Icelandair CEO, Birkir Holm Gudnason, says the reason behind the scheme is to “make for some truly unique and personalized experiences; give our passengers an authentic taste of Iceland.” Visitors can choose from one of six themes – food, health, culture, lifestyle, nature or adventure – and are then matched with a staff member who has interests in that field. This includes everything from a guided tour of downtown ReykjavÃk’s abundant cultural offerings to backcountry skiing with the CEO himself, near his childhood hometown.
KLM’s new Layover with a Local program is based on a similar premise. Instead of matching passengers with employees for prearranged activities, the airline pairs travelers who have a layover at Schiphol of six hours or more with a pre-vetted and like-minded Amsterdam local. Passengers are provided a return train ticket to central Amsterdam to meet a local at a designated bar; KLM even offers to buy both parties a round of drinks to boot.
“Travelers who catch a brief glimpse of Amsterdam this way may decide to come back in the future to get the full Amsterdam experience.” -Tjalling Smit, SVP of Digital at Air France-KLM
The program is set to launch within a few weeks and is initially targeting US, Canadian and Italian passengers; nationalities which make up the largest portion of the 70 percent of KLM passengers transiting through Schiphol airport.
But does the two airlines’ enthusiasm for creating opportunities to hang out with locals go beyond altruism? Probably. Tjalling Smit, SVP of Digital at Air France-KLM explains that, by creating the chance for social interactions between its customers and locals, it may not only foster the start of a lifelong friendship, but perhaps a loyal KLM customer too. “Travelers who catch a brief glimpse of Amsterdam this way may decide to come back in the future to get the full Amsterdam experience,” says Smit.