Editing KLM (section)

==== Post-World War II ====

{{Rail freight
|title=Revenue passenger-kilometers, scheduled flights only, in millions
|float=left
|1947|454
|1950|766
|1955|1,485
|1960|2,660
|1965|3,342
|1971|6,330
|1975|10,077
|1980|14,058
|1985|18,039
|1995|44,458
|source=ICAO Digest of Statistics for 1947–55, IATA World Air Transport Statistics 1960–1995
}}
After the end of the Second World War in August 1945, KLM immediately started to rebuild its network. Since the Dutch East Indies were in a [[Indonesian National Revolution|state of revolt]], Plesman prioritised re-establishing KLM's route to Batavia. This service was reinstated by the end of 1945.<ref name=KLMHistoryFU /> Domestic and European flights resumed in September 1945, initially with a fleet of Douglas [[Douglas DC-3|DC-3s]] and [[Douglas DC-4]]s.<ref name=KLMHistory /> On 21 May 1946, KLM was the first continental European airline to start scheduled transatlantic flights between Amsterdam and [[New York City]] using Douglas DC-4 aircraft.<ref name=KLMHistory /> By 1948, KLM had reconstructed its network and services to Africa, North and South America, and the [[Caribbean]] resumed.<ref name=KLMHistoryFU />
[[File:Lockheed L-749A PH-TDK KLM RWY 07.07.53 edited-2.jpg|thumb|[[Lockheed Constellation|Lockheed L-749A Constellation]] of KLM in 1953]]
Long-range, pressurized [[Lockheed Constellation]]s<ref>{{cite web |last=Ogier |first=Frido |date=2014-09-20 |title=A Gracious Lady – The Lockheed Constellation |url=https://blog.klm.com/a-gracious-lady-the-lockheed-constellation/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151224103927/https://blog.klm.com/a-gracious-lady-the-lockheed-constellation/ |archive-date=24 December 2015 |access-date=2023-11-24 |work=KLM Blog}}</ref> and [[Douglas DC-6]]s<ref>{{cite web |last=Platoni |first=Kara |date=2009-07-01 |title=The Six |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/the-six-136034182/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223190708/http://www.airspacemag.com/ist/?next=%2Fhistory-of-flight%2Fthe-six-136034182%2F |archive-date=23 December 2015 |access-date=2023-11-24 |publisher=Smithsonian (magazine)}}</ref> joined KLM's fleet in the late 1940s; the [[Convair 240]] short-range pressurized twin-engine airliner began European flights for the company in late 1948.<ref name="(Airline)1953">{{cite book|author=KLM (Airline)|title=Report|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C0klAAAAMAAJ|year=1953}}</ref>

During the immediate post-war period, the Dutch government expressed interest in gaining a majority stake in KLM, thus partially nationalizing it. Plesman wanted KLM to remain a private company under private control; he allowed the Dutch government to acquire a minority stake in the airline.<ref name=KLMHistoryFU /> In 1950, KLM carried 356,069 passengers. The expansion of the network continued in the 1950s with the addition of several destinations in western North America.<ref name=KLMHistoryFU /> KLM's fleet expanded with the addition of new versions of the Lockheed Constellation and [[Lockheed L-188 Electra|Lockheed Electra]], of which KLM was the first European airline to fly.<ref name=KLMHistoryFU />

[[File:Vickers Viscount 803 PH-VIF KLM RWY 08.64 edited-4.jpg|thumb|KLM [[Vickers Viscount]] 803]]
On 31 December 1953, the founder and president of KLM, Albert Plesman, died at the age of 64.<ref name="FI founder 1959">{{cite journal |title=The Flying Dutchman is Forty |journal=Flight International |date=2 October 1959 |volume=76 |issue=2638 |page=321 |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1959/1959%20-%202512.html |access-date=17 February 2013 |archive-date=7 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107045907/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1959/1959%20-%202512.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="FI founder 1971">{{cite journal|title=The Netherlands' Aviation Industry – KLM Royal Dutch Airlines|journal=Flight International|date=13 May 1971|volume=99|issue=3244|page=686|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%200777.html|access-date=17 February 2013|archive-date=7 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107045909/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%200777.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He was succeeded as president by [[Fons Aler]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Civil Aviation – To Succeed Dr. Plesman |journal=Flight International |date=19 March 1954 |volume=65 |issue=2356 |page=347 |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1954/1954%20-%200767.html |access-date=17 February 2013 |archive-date=22 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522040235/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1954/1954%20-%200767.html |url-status=live }}</ref> After Plesman's death, the company and other airlines entered a difficult economic period. The conversion to jet aircraft placed a further financial burden on KLM. The Netherlands government increased its ownership of the company to two-thirds, thus partly nationalizing it. The board of directors remained under the control of private shareholders.<ref name=KLMHistoryFU />

On 25 July 1957, the airline introduced its flight simulator for the [[Douglas DC-7]]C – the last KLM aircraft with piston engines – which opened the transpolar route from Amsterdam via [[Anchorage]] to [[Tokyo]] on 1 November 1958.<ref name=KLMHistory /> Each crew flying the transpolar route over the Arctic was equipped with a winter survival kit, including a 7.62&nbsp;mm selective-fire [[AR-10]] carbine for use against polar bears, in the event the plane was forced down onto the polar ice.<ref>Pikula, Sam (Major), ''The ArmaLite AR-10'', Regnum Publications (1998), p. 73</ref> The four-engine turboprop [[Vickers Viscount]] 800 was introduced on European routes in 1957.<ref name="Airline Timetable Images">{{cite web|url=http://www.timetableimages.com/|title=Airline Timetable Images|website=www.timetableimages.com|access-date=2 August 2018|archive-date=2 February 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010202024400/http://www.timetableimages.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> Beginning in September 1959, KLM introduced the four-engine turboprop [[Lockheed L-188 Electra]] onto some of its European and Middle Eastern routes.