KLM CEO: “Travel by train on short trips”

On short distances, travellers should consider going by train instead of by plane, says KLM’s CEO, Marjan Rintel. She believes the airline sector should stop viewing rail travel as a competitor to flying.

“If you are serious about achieving your sustainability goals, the train is not a competitor. We have to work together,” said Rintel in an interview with the Financial Times. According to a report by TravelTomorrow, the CEO added that, when traveling between Air France-KLM offices in Amsterdam (KLM) and Paris (Air France), she only travels by train.

With her advice to book a train ticket for short distances, Rintel is thinking along the same lines as the French government, which has banned short flight –  less than 2.5 hours – in France if there is an alternative by train.