KLM West-Indisch Bedrijf (WIB 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.
History
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.
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.
On 1 August 1964, the West-Indisch Bedrijf was transformed into ALM Antillean Airlines, in which the Netherlands Antilles became a shareholder.
Fleet KLM West-Indisch Bedrijf operated the following aircraft:
+ KLM West-Indisch Bedrijf fleetAircraftTotalIntroducedRetiredNotesConvair CV-340919531964Douglas C-47 Skytrain1019461960Douglas C-54 Skymaster819461954Douglas DC-5219501951Douglas DC-6719571963fokker F.VIII219371939Fokker F.XVIII219351938Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior119441945Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra419381948Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar219431948
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.
See also List of defunct airlines of the Netherlands Antilles
References
External links curassow.com