I probably care more about this than the average person, given that this is my home airport, but I still think this is an interesting topic to discuss…
In this post:
KLM’s Miami flight will operate year-round as of 2026
Historically, KLM has operated its route between Amsterdam (AMS) and Miami (MIA) as a winter seasonal service. Miami is one of those rare transatlantic markets where there’s more capacity from some airlines in winter than in summer. As you’d expect, in summer, demand is stronger ex-Miami, while in winter, demand is stronger ex-Europe, given Florida’s nice weather.
So there’s a positive update on that front. KLM has updated its schedule to reflect that the Miami service will be operating year-round going forward, so KLM will operate this route in the summer of 2026. Specifically, the flight will operate with the following schedule:
KL627 Amsterdam to Miami departing 11:15AM arriving 2:55PM
KL628 Miami to Amsterdam departing 4:55PM arriving 7:50AM (+1 day)
The 4,633-mile flight is blocked at 9hr40min westbound and 8hr55min eastbound. The route will operate 4x weekly, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. As before, KLM will continue to use an Airbus A330-300 for the route, featuring 292 seats, including 30 business class seats (in a 2-2-2 configuration) and 262 economy seats (in a 2-4-2 configuration).
I’ve always found this to be a funny route quirk
The people working in network planning at airlines are really smart. They go off data to decide which routes to operate. As someone living in Miami, I’ve always found it curious that KLM doesn’t fly to Miami year-round, and that even when it does fly to Miami, it uses its A330s. I’m sure there’s good reason for that, though on the surface, it’s a bit surprising.
Keep in mind that Air France and KLM are part of the same company, and Miami is a destination where Air France has up to two daily flights, and it’s also a destination to which Air France offers its La Premiere first class product. For Air France, Miami is obviously an important and lucrative destination.
What explains the disconnect in demand between Paris and Amsterdam? The way I view it:
- Admittedly Paris is a much bigger destination airport for US-originating travelers, especially those coming from Miami (people here like to go shopping in Paris!)
- Amsterdam is heavily slot constrained, and the government has been trying to reduce the number of flights there, as part of an overall push for environmentalism
I suppose the logic has been that if you take the origin and destination travelers between Miami and Amsterdam out of the equation, Air France can cover connecting traffic just as well (if not better) for virtually all other city pairs.
However, even when the service has been operated, it has been with the A330, which offers KLM’s least impressive long haul business class hard product, since there’s not direct aisle access from every seat. There aren’t many destinations in the US to which KLM flies its A330s, so I find that to be quite noteworthy.
So yeah, I’m sure there’s a great reason for it, but I just find it a bit surprising that Miami has been prioritized so low for KLM, while it has been prioritized so high for Air France. As an Air France-KLM Flying Blue Platinum member, I’m happy to see more flight options on the airline group out of Miami, since more options are always a good thing.
Bottom line
KLM’s flight between Amsterdam and Miami will be operating year-round, which I’m happy to see. This has historically been a winter seasonal service, so we’ll now we’ll get another option across the Atlantic in the summer season. Just keep in mind the route is operated by the A330s, which don’t have direct aisle access in business class, and also don’t have premium economy.
What do you make of KLM expanding Miami flights to year-round?
I know we research airlines and planes (inflight experience, direct aisle access etc.) before booking a flight, but how many people are doing this actually? I know my relatives just go to travel agencies and book whatever without any idea what to expect.
Well, as you said, AF and KL are one company. Network decisions are made with the entire network in mind. It's not a matter of AF prioritising one route, and KL not caring. It's a matter of AFKL deciding what is the best way to serve a particular destination.
Unless there's a strong demand to AMS specifically, both AF and KL can do the same job regarding other destinations. There aren't that many people who...
Well, as you said, AF and KL are one company. Network decisions are made with the entire network in mind. It's not a matter of AF prioritising one route, and KL not caring. It's a matter of AFKL deciding what is the best way to serve a particular destination.
Unless there's a strong demand to AMS specifically, both AF and KL can do the same job regarding other destinations. There aren't that many people who are keen to fly on KLM ;) Most people either don't care, or prefer AF.