KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will launch a scheduled service between Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport in China on May 8, 2010, becoming the first airline to offer a direct service between Hangzhou and Europe.

The new service will be operated three times a week. Flight KL881 will depart from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, arriving in Hangzhou the following day. Return flight KL 882 will depart from Hangzhou on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, arriving in Amsterdam on the same day. Flights will be operated with a Boeing 777-200ER, which can carry 318 passengers — 35 in business class and 283 in economy class.

With this new destination, Air France and KLM will operate direct flights to five destinations in mainland China, and to more than 25 other Chinese cities through code-shares with China Southern, China Eastern, and Sichuan Airlines.

Source: China Hospitality