Albert Plesman Memorial Lecture
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Ladies and gentlemen,
First of all, I would like to say that I am extremely happy that flights from and to Dutch airports have resumed as of Monday evening.
I would also like to pay the Dutch aviation sector a huge compliment.
Firstly, because the Netherlands took the lead in finding a solution.
The test flights of KLM, as well as the innovative thinking of Air Traffic Control the Netherlands and the National Aerospace Laboratory, have made an essential contribution to the success achieved on Monday.
I am proud to say that, once again, we have proved to be pioneers in Europe.
Secondly, you deserve to be complimented on the way in which you have worked to handle the consequences brought on by the closure of European airspace.
The people at Schiphol Airport and the employees of the airlines have done their very best to help out stranded travellers.
I have spoken with a number of travellers at Schiphol and I can assure you that you have reinforced the reputation of the Netherlands as an open and hospitable country!
It will take some time yet before everything returns to normal in the air. We will remain alert.
But the Blue Swans are flying again. And it is a wonderful sight to see!
Ladies and gentlemen,
I feel honoured to be offered the opportunity to speak to you in the context of the 14th Albert Plesman Memorial Lecture.
The presence of Dr. Plesman’s son, Albert, and his wife, makes it all the more special to address you today.
Mr. Plesman, the significance of your father for aviation and for the Netherlands is almost impossible to convey in words.
In my eyes, Albert Plesman ranks among the greatest. His name stands on the same level as Philips, Stork and Lely.
He was one of the giants of history on whose shoulders we now stand.
His enormous drive made him one of the people that enabled the Netherlands to take a giant leap forward in the twentieth century.
Because of him, our country was able to develop into an economic superpower (being the 16th economy and fifth largest exporter in the world).
Albert Plesman gave the Netherlands wings. And that is why he deserves a place in the gallery of the Netherlands’ great men and women.
Nearly a century before an American presidential candidate would make the headlines with the words ‘Yes We Can’, Plesman’s motto was: ‘Everything you do with love will succeed’.
Failure was simply not an option! He fought incredibly hard to transform every crisis into an opportunity.
He was a man of initiative and relentless persistence.
A man who was averse to long reports and endless meetings.
A man who reshaped the famous line from Shakespeare’s Hamlet as: ‘To do or not to be’.
With his own hands, he screwed down KLM advertising signs to doors in public places. Even at swimming pools!
The demands he placed on himself, he also placed on his employees.
He looked for people who were not afraid to stand in the wind, as it were.
In the National Archives, you can find the minutes of a meeting held during a visit Albert Plesman made in 1921 to my ministry.
The subject of discussion was KLM’s need for pilots. The civil servant who took the minutes commented dryly:
“Mr Plesman wants people who are not easily discouraged. Go-getters.”
Courage and drive.
Plesman wanted to lead the way at all costs.
And his passion lit a fire not only in his own employees, but also in the entire nation.
This afternoon I would like to outline how the innovative capacity of air transport has been an indispensable driver for growth and sustainability in the Netherlands.
To this end, I will point out a number of crucial moments in this drive forward.
Moments at which a ‘small step’ was taken that would later (sometimes much later) prove to be a ‘giant leap’.
It is important that we identify the factors that contributed to success. These factors can serve as our compass for the future.
In my view, we have arrived at just such a crucial moment again and we should join hands to take a new leap forward together.
I would like to conclude my story with a discussion of this point.
1919
Ladies and gentlemen, the first crucial moment was, of course, the founding of KLM on 7 October 1919.
It was the beginning of one of the most successful enterprises in Dutch history.
The company’s beginning was very modest.
Seven months passed before the very first KLM flight (between London and Amsterdam) took place.
The flight was made with a hired British aircraft and a British pilot.
However, just try to imagine the power and clarity of the dream that was behind the initiative.
The Netherlands had remained neutral during the First World War.
In other countries, aviation had developed rapidly between 1914 and 1918.
The Netherlands was lagging way behind in aviation. Plesman was afraid that our country would not be able to keep up with other countries.
He feared that we would become dependent on the expertise of others.
This was something he just could not let happen.
The Netherlands simply had to build up the necessary knowledge, technology and organisation on its own.
KLM was therefore more than a company. It was the expression of an ambition. An ambition of progress.
During the First Aviation Exhibition of Amsterdam (ELTA; also primarily the initiative of Plesman!) it became very clear how much this ideal appealed to people’s imagination.
In the summer of 1919, hundreds of thousands of Dutch citizens visited this aviation festival.
They looked on in awe at the stunts of pilots such as Anthony Fokker in his D-9 and the duo of Duke and Draper in their spectacular aerial ‘dog fight’.
The impact of the ELTA was so big that Queen Wilhelmina commented on it in the Speech from the Throne in 1919:
“My attention has been drawn to the promotion of commercial aviation.”
Only a single sentence... but the address from the throne was very short in those days…
It was something that Albert Plesman had already achieved…
ELTA was the cradle of KLM.
In the early years of KLM, each flight was an adventure. Everything had to be built from scratch – the organisation, the fleet, personnel, the customer list and a network.
In the difficult years of the 1920s, the KLM was one of the companies that performed the best in economic terms and that was least dependent on support from the government, which is an extraordinary achievement.
The Flying Dutchman successfully began its catch-up race from a position in the back of the field.
And what were the factors for its success?
Ambition, courage, a pioneering spirit and entrepreneurship.
All characteristics that are still essential in 2010, as we have seen last week.
1944
Ladies and gentlemen, 1919 was a crucial year in Dutch aviation. A second year that I would like to highlight is 1944.
In December 1944, 52 countries signed the Chicago Convention on International Aviation, laying the foundation for the International Civil Aviation Organization, which today has 190 members.
The United States – with the support of the Netherlands – was the driving force behind the Convention.
Looking back, we can conclude that this document was truly visionary.
For the very first time, international principles were laid down for ensuring safety in the skies, developing global air transport rules and a fair use of airspace.
Albert Plesman has always been an advocate of establishing an international framework that would make fair competition possible in commercial aviation.
Freedom in the air, in his eyes, was not so much a threat, but rather an opportunity.
“The sky has no limits”, he would say.
“The best one will win. And that means me.” (end of quote)
Plesman was ahead of his time.
He foresaw the problems of a fragmented airspace.
One example. In the 1930’s, on the route from Amsterdam to Batavia in the Dutch East Indies, an air passenger needed 17 stamps and certificates!
One for each border that had to be crossed in the air.
The Chicago Convention gave an important boost to harmonising international aviation.
It laid the foundation for a regulatory framework that stipulated governments’ responsibilities.
The Convention built a bridge between national sovereignty and the free use of airspace.
Ever since, we have been working on improving standards to make international aviation safer and more efficient.
These international agreements contributed to the spectacular growth of commercial aviation experienced after the war.
Over a span of 15 years, the number of passengers increased worldwide from 5 million to 110 million.
1958 was the first year in which more people crossed the Atlantic Ocean by air than by ship.
KLM knew how to profit from these rapid changes.
Especially when, in the late 1940s, it chose to follow a new concept: connecting international transport routes at its own home.
This concept was one of the most important innovations in post-war commercial aviation.
Fortunately Albert Plesman (who died on New Year’s Eve in 1953) lived long enough to see the success of that concept.
Later, the concept was developed further in the US and at Schiphol airport to become the ‘hub and spokes’ model.
Ladies and gentlemen, I would be presenting an incorrect view of history if I were to suggest that KLM survived during the years of reconstruction after the war purely ‘supported by its own wings’.
The ties between national governments and national airline companies were close during those years.
Indeed, in many countries they were very close (and in some cases they still are).
The Netherlands went by the principle: ‘we’re liberals, but we’re not fools’.
Still, in comparison with other countries, the relationships between the Dutch government and the country’s airlines were quite liberal.
This focus on fair competition based on good international agreements was, I think, an important factor for the success of Dutch commercial aviation.
With a relatively small home market, we rely on freedom of transport in the air and on a level playing field!
This was true back then and is just as true today in 2010.
1971
Ladies and gentlemen, the next moment in history that I would like to spotlight is 16 January 1971.
The day on which the first KLM Boeing 747 touched down at Schiphol airport.
It was one year after PanAm had made the first commercial flight with this enormous aircraft.
The Jumbo Jet heralded a new era.
The jump to mass transport was taken.
Four hundred and ninety passengers in one aircraft!
It was two and a half times more than could be carried by the biggest jets up to then.
In the early 1970s, passenger figures rocketed worldwide by some thirty per cent.
Airports had to be completely redesigned to be able to receive these new aircraft.
The Netherlands anticipated this revolution by expanding and modernising Schiphol Airport in the 1960s.
These efforts were rewarded in the years to follow: Schiphol grew to become the fourth busiest airport in Europe.
The Boeing 747 also prompted a leap forward in the area of sustainability.
The jet engines were much more efficient and quieter in relation to their power.
The need for further improvement in efficiency became very acute in the late 1970s when the oil crisis exploded onto the scene.
Since the late 1950s, commercial aviation has improved efficiency by some 60%.
Investments in capacity, infrastructure and state-of-the-art technology ensured that the Netherlands continued to be an important player in the international network, even at a time of rapid changes.
And this lesson is still relevant today.
1992
New thinking was applied not only in the area of aviation technology and infrastructure.
In aviation politics as well the Netherlands led the way. 1992 became an exceptionally interesting year because of the Open Skies treaty between the Netherlands and the United States.
It was the first treaty of its kind.
It gave airline companies in both countries full freedom to maintain air services to and via each other’s territory. Which meant no more fixed destinations. And no more approval of ticket prices by the government.
A world first!
Freedom in the air, the old dream of Albert Plesman, came an important step closer.
The Open Skies treaty gave KLM the opportunity to further expand its ties with Northwest Airlines.
I still think it shows courage and vision on the part of KLM that it dared to take the lead in entering into this strategic alliance.
It began with an exchange of knowledge, joint services, code sharing and a joint venture in the area of cargo transport.
But the Open Skies treaty allowed much more.
Both companies could now fully merge their networks. Due to this groundbreaking collaboration, KLM obtained a strong position on the North Atlantic market.
The Open Skies treaty led to a 51% increase in trans-Atlantic passenger travel between the Netherlands and the United States.
In the period from 1992 to 2000, no other European hub realised larger growth numbers than Schiphol Airport.
It is estimated that the Open Skies treaty has created 2,500 new jobs since 2000.
The successful alliance between KLM and Northwest Airlines became an example for others.
In the years to follow, the number of Open Sky treaties and the number of alliances increased dramatically.
It once again underlines the fact that it pays to lead the way and set the trend.
2004
Ladies and gentlemen, the fifth moment I would like to highlight is the merger between KLM and Air France in 2004.
It was a novelty in international commercial aviation, an industry in which national feelings still often have the upper hand.
For the first time, two ‘national’ companies joined their forces.
Once again, KLM consciously chose to be a trendsetter instead of a trend follower. Leo van Wijk deserves to be complimented for his vision and his courage!
The decision seems to have been the right one. Together, KLM and Air France are now the leading air carrier in Europe.
The total direct connectivity of the Sky Team on routes to and from Schiphol grew by 14% between 2004 and 2008.
The hub connectivity at Schiphol during the same period rose by 26%.
Of course, the worldwide economic crisis that exploded onto the scene in the autumn of 2008 hit Air France/KLM hard.
It takes steady and expert management skills, as well as sacrifices, to withstand the consequences of the crisis. Yet even in difficult circumstances, the combination of the two airlines has remained on track.
In the merger, the respective governments and airline companies reached good agreements on the conditions under which KLM Air France could operate successfully.
The dual hub of Paris and Schiphol is an essential part of the deal.
Several agreements are now expiring. In my opinion an update of some of them would be well worth the effort.
I am confident that together we can create the conditions to provide Air France KLM with a beneficial tailwind in the years to come.
It is vitally important for the Netherlands that our mainport Schiphol remains a strong hub in the international network of flight connections.
Some 230 destinations can be reached from Schiphol Amsterdam Airport at least once a week.
That is more destinations than can be reached from Heathrow!
KLM and its partners alone offer flights to some 150 destinations from Amsterdam.
The transfer traveller supports a large part of the network.
The negative image of transfer travellers that some people put forward (that they are actually unnecessary) is completely unjustified.
On the contrary: we need them very much. We catch a ride on their wings, as it were.
Because of them and our mainport Schiphol, the world is within our reach.
That is why Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport and Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport should continue to operate as a dual hub in the future.
Our shared ambition in 2004 was: to create a European champion.
We achieved it.
KLM Air France is one of the largest and one of the best airlines in the world.
A company that excels in operations, innovation and sustainability.
Last year the company was named ‘sector leader’ on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the fifth time in a row.
KLM Air France is the number one sustainable airline group in the world.
And that is something to be proud of.
Economic ambitions and green ambitions can be combined very successfully, as demonstrated by the performance of KLM Air France over the last few years.
Once again it was a combination of a pioneering spirit, an international orientation and the urge to excel that showed good results.
A lot has changed in the last ninety years.
But the underlying characteristics that determine success have remained the same. In 1919. In 1944. In 1971. In 1992. In 2004…
…and in 2010.
2010 and beyond
Ladies and gentlemen, a competitive and sustainable aviation sector, in combination with an excellent network quality, is essential for the Netherlands.
In a sense, it is our ‘life line’. The lesson of this last week was: our society comes to a standstill without aviation!
To answer the question of how we can reinforce this life line in the 21st century, we must let ourselves be inspired by a lesson from the past: those who move first have the upper hand.
No one can predict the future accurately.
But the following major developments are beyond question and should give direction to our actions.
1. The competition on the air transport market is intensifying sharply.
Customers are paying increasing attention to price and quality.
New international hubs in the Gulf States and in Asia are becoming serious players in the market.
Airline companies are repositioning themselves and joining forces with strategic partners.
Anyone caught resting on his laurels will be swept away by the competition.
2. At the same time, the energy issue is becoming increasingly pressing.
The supply of traditional fossil fuels will run out in the foreseeable future.
Not tomorrow. Not the day after tomorrow. But my generation will live to see it.
3. And we face the task of reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases.
In 2006, the leading British economist and former Vice Chairman of the World Bank, Sir Nicolas Stern, pointed out the large-scale economic damage that climate change would bring about.
If we do nothing to turn things around, he estimates that we will be forced to spend at least 5 per cent of our GDP in the future taking measures to combat the consequence of climate change.
Preventing these consequences would be smarter and much cheaper than curing them.
There is certainly justified criticism to be made concerning the Stern report (which is true of any scientific report).
But no one disputes that action is required.
So it is with good reason that the Netherlands has committed itself internationally to ambitious climate objectives.
Sustainable competitive power on a level playing field
We have to make commercial aviation in the Netherlands more competitive.
A competitive cost level is vitally important.
Last year, we decided to abolish the air passenger tax on air tickets.
On making this decision, the cabinet attached the condition that Schiphol Airport would also have to cut its costs.
Schiphol decided not to increase the airport charges this year.
It is also working hard on improving the efficiency of operations, something that can reduce costs in the end.
Air Traffic Control the Netherlands will also take cost-reduction measures and freeze its rates for five years.
The Transport and Water Management Inspectorate will not increase its aviation rates for this year either.
These are all concrete actions to make the Netherlands more attractive.
If we wish to retain our vitality (and we do!), then the pace of preservation will have to increase as well.
I am firmly convinced that there are opportunities for the Netherlands here.
Opportunities to take the lead and to excel so that we will continue to be an international aviation hotspot in the 21st century.
In this regard, we are standing at the threshold of a new era: Sustainability 2.0.
Ambitions are high. Schiphol and KLM have resolved to create the world’s first climate-neutral airport, both on the ground and in the air.
Prior to this, KLM concluded an agreement with the World Wide Fund for Nature. In this agreement, KLM agreed to make any growth it undergoes CO2-neutral.
This contract is the first of its kind in the commercial aviation industry.
It mandates that over a span of ten years, the emissions of CO2 per passenger-kilometre must be reduced by 17 per cent relative to the emission levels in 2007.
Dutch companies and institutions of knowledge are spearheading efforts to create new breakthroughs.
Our knowledge of materials, for example, is world famous.
The use of lighter material can make flight operations cleaner and more energy efficient.
Every kilogramme of weight reduced is half a kilogramme less CO2 emission.
Though this sounds like a small reduction, it adds up in the long run.
I am firmly committed to the ambitions of the Dutch aviation industry.
And I am aware that to achieve these ambitions the government’s help is needed.
The government should reach good international agreements, both in Europe and at the global level. Agreements that make aviation more energy efficient and that secure a level playing field, so that players operating in a sustainable manner are not swept away by competitors operating in a less sustainable manner.
There is plenty of room for progress.
At present, as a result of the way in which airspace in Europe is subdivided, airlines fly 7 to 11 per cent more kilometres than is necessary.
Institutional barriers are a particular problem in this area.
These barriers need to be removed.
The creation of the Single European Sky is one example of a modernisation initiative that is urgently needed.
Flight routes are shortened and more efficient as a result. It will enable us to achieve a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of up to 10 per cent per flight.
And we can also reduce the noise on the ground through Continuous Descent Approaches.
We cannot afford to miss the potential benefits these initiatives can produce. We cannot be content with a fragmented European airspace. If the experience from this last week made one thing absolutely clear, it is that EU member states must push forward with the creation of a Single European Sky.
That is why the Netherlands is leading the way in this area and why I am working hard for SES in a European context.
At the start of 2012, the European Union Emission Trading System (ETS) will take effect.
It will pertain to all flights to and from Europe.
The emission reduction standard is 5 per cent, starting in 2013, in comparison with emission levels in 2005.
It is important that Europe is taking the lead in putting a price on CO2 emissions.
At the same time, we should not close our eyes to the possible adverse effects.
KLM has calculated that if we unilaterally introduce ETS in Europe, we could lose 20 per cent of transfer passengers to other hubs.
How will it help the environment if transfer passengers are simply shifted to less sustainable hubs outside the EU, such as Dubai, Cairo and Istanbul?
Carbon leakage undermines the position of those players on the market that take the climate problem seriously. Good conduct should be rewarded instead of punished.
That is why we should continue to work hard towards achieving a worldwide trading system that maintains a level playing field.
In my view, this is a key task for ICAO.
We have to look beyond our national borders.
We must also look beyond the borders of transport modalities.
A strong, borderless commercial aviation policy should ensure that travellers can make conscious choices.
For distances of around 600 kilometres, the train can be an excellent and environmentally friendly alternative to the aeroplane (and the car).
That is why the government and the business community are investing in ‘flying by rail’.
Since the end of last year, it has finally been made possible to travel from Amsterdam CS to the heart of Paris in three hours and 18 minutes on the High-Speed Rail line or HSR.
The fact that Schiphol and KLM together are presenting themselves as a multimodal mainport is a fine example of innovative thinking.
Biofuels as an Opportunity
Ladies and gentlemen, we will also have to pull out all the stops to make flying even cleaner, more fuel-efficient and climate-friendly.
Yes, we have made great strides forward in recent decades.
The noise that the average commercial aircraft produces has been reduced by three-quarters since 1960.
On average, fuel consumption per passenger has even been reduced by more than 80 per cent.
Due to a wide range of measures (such as low-weight paint), aeroplanes have become increasingly more fuel-efficient.
The average reduction in fuel consumption per aircraft is 1% per year.
But the expected growth of commercial aviation is larger than this reduction can keep up with.
Research conducted at the Technical University of Delft shows that the challenges are very big.
Achieving the objectives that the sector has set for itself is not easy. Great efforts will have to be made.
Innovation is our most important ally in these efforts.
It will take at least another generation before revolutionary solutions, such as flying on hydrogen or using green electricity, come within reach.
In the meantime, we can reduce our dependence on fossil kerosene.
I welcome the Knowledge and Innovation Agenda that the commercial aviation sector presented last year in September. An important part of this Agenda is the creation of breakthroughs in the area of biofuels.
In the 2009 Alternative Fuels Report of the IATA, these breakthroughs became an important condition for achieving a successful future.
I quote from this report:
“Despite the financial difficulties being experienced by the air travel industry today, all agree that this industry must embrace alternative fuels and continue planning for their implementation in order to ensure the air transport industry continues to thrive in the years to come.”
KLM has once again chosen to take the lead.
On 23 November of last year, KLM was the first airline in the world to conduct a demonstration flight with passengers during which bio-kerosene was used.
The camelina-kerosene used at the time reduces the emission of greenhouse gases by 80 per cent in comparison with conventional kerosene.
This small step could grow into a giant leap.
Let’s not forget that the Netherlands has a strong position in the fields of (petro)chemicals, agriculture and plant improvement.
The Innovation Platform produced a report earlier this year underlining the large economic potential of biofuels for the Netherlands.
In this area, in particular, we have a strong starting position and there are good opportunities for us to present ourselves as an international leader in the field.
A new window of opportunity could open itself for us.
We now know that second generation (such as wood chips and straw) and third generation biofuels (such as algae) score much better than those of the first generation.
So there is still an entire world to conquer.
Flying on garden rubbish, potato peelings, deep-frying oil and maybe even sludge – that is our future.
We cannot afford to hesitate in this area.
The competition is on the move.
Earlier this year, British Airways announced it was going to start producing kerosene from household rubbish in collaboration with an American bio-energy company.
I welcome the efforts of KLM and its partners to continue to lead the way in sustainable innovation.
Last month, KLM announced that it was planning to fly the first commercial flight using bio-kerosene.
It would make KLM the first airline in the world to do so.
So the oldest airline company in the world is taking the lead in promoting the newest, most advanced green aviation technology.
A fantastic prospect to look forward to.
And I would like to make a contribution to their efforts in this area.
So I am able to announce to you today that I intend to respond to the proposal you have submitted in the context of the ‘testing grounds’ for sustainable mobility.
The KLM proposal involves the exploration of alternative fuels in commercial aviation and the development of the Netherlands as a central fuelling station for biofuels.
I would like to make a contribution to this in the amount of 1,25 million euros.
Conclusion
Ladies and gentlemen, this last week we have seen once more the innovative capacity of the Dutch aviation sector.
Together with her partners, KLM took the lead in the development of dynamic procedures and of a differentiating approach. This made the breakthrough of last Monday possible.
In doing so, KLM strengthened its reputation as a frontrunner. A frontrunner in the tradition of Albert Plesman, who was always ahead of his time.
He was always focused on the day after tomorrow.
Even during his imprisonment in Scheveningen during the dark period of 1941/1942, he made plans to give Dutch aviation a flying new start after the war.
In letters he sent home he wrote:
“I want to act and accomplish things. Sitting around and waiting for things to happen is not for me.”
And he asked the home front to send him reports on aircraft technology and petrol efficiency in order to study them in his prison cell.
The pioneering spirit of Albert Plesman inspires us still today.
The urge to take the lead and to excel is the continuous thread running through the history of KLM.
It laid the foundation for the company’s success.
And it is our guideline for the future.
As Dutch Minister of Aviation I am proud that this week we have once again showed Europe what a first class ‘aviation nation’ we are.
Together – KLM, Schiphol, Technical University of Delft, National Aerospace Laboratory and all other aviation partners – we can not be beaten.
The sky is our limit!
Thank you.