1997 Hall of Fame Recipient

Late Albert Plesman - Founder and Chairman (1953)
KLM Cargo 

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines was founded on October 7, 1919 by Albert Plesman and has continued to operate under the same name to this day, making it the oldest scheduled airline in the world with a continuous history. Mr. Plesman set as KLM's goal a commitment to generating customer preference by offering a high-quality product at a reasonable price; a strengthening of market presence, and achieving internationally competitive costs coupled with a sound financial basis. The airline operated its first intercontinental flight to Indonesia, still the Dutch East Indies, in October 1924. Throughout the war years, KLM aircraft continued to fly from England and in May of 1946, KLM was the first continental European airline to open transatlantic services to the United States.