KLM West-Indisch Bedrijf
The KLM West-Indisch Bedrijf (WIB)[1] 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.
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| Commenced operations | 22 Dec 1934 | ||||||
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| Ceased operations | 1964 | ||||||
| Hubs | Curaçao, Paramaribo | ||||||
| Focus cities | Dutch West Indies, Venezuela | ||||||
| Parent company | KLM | ||||||
| Headquarters | Amstelveen, Netherlands | ||||||
| Key people | Albert Plesman, founder | ||||||
It's foundation was made possible in part by the ensurance by 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 Fokker PH-AIS "Snip" on 22 December 1934 marked the beginning of the company.[2][3]
Initially the West-Indisch Bedrijf mainly flew from Willemstad, Curaçao naar 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 the WIB, because of the oilrrfinaries on Aruba it became a major transporter and one of the best run airlines of its day.
In 1964 the West-Indisch Bedrijf was transformed in the Antilliaanse Luchtvaart Maatschappij (ALM), in which the Netherlands Antilles became shareholder.[4]