Transavia

This profile covers Transavia Airlines, the Dutch low-cost airline wholly owned by KLM and part of the Air France–KLM group. A separate company, Transavia France, flies from Paris-Orly under the same brand, website and business model; it is about 95.5% owned by Air France and has its own fleet, which is not counted here. The Dutch airline's main base is Amsterdam Schiphol, with further bases at Rotterdam The Hague, Eindhoven and Brussels.

Charter roots

The airline began as Transavia Holland, receiving its operating licence on 14 November 1966 and flying its first commercial service, Amsterdam–Naples–Amsterdam, two days later with Douglas DC-6s. It then grew as a holiday charter airline, flying Sud Aviation Caravelles from 1969 and Boeing 737s from 1976. In 1986 it was renamed Transavia Airlines, and on 26 October that year it began its first scheduled service, Amsterdam to London Gatwick, under the first UK–Netherlands open-skies agreement. KLM bought 80% from the shipping group Nedlloyd in 1991 and the remaining 20% in June 2003, which brought Transavia into Air France–KLM after the two parents merged.

The move to low-cost flying was gradual. In the early 2000s the charter airline ran a separate low-cost subsidiary, Basiq Air; the two were combined under the transavia.com name on 1 January 2005. A Danish unit operated from Copenhagen between 2008 and April 2011, and a base at Munich lasted about a year before closing in late 2017. Since a 2015 rebrand, Transavia has been positioned as Air France–KLM's low-cost brand for the Netherlands and France.

How it sells

Transavia flies a single-class cabin. Food and drink are sold on board, and fees for hold luggage were introduced in April 2011. The basic fare includes a small under-seat bag, while the Smart and Max fares add a cabin bag and priority boarding. Recent route announcements have added Mediterranean and Atlantic leisure destinations such as Murcia, Pula, Porto, Heraklion and Ponta Delgada, and the Brussels operation also serves North Africa.

Fleet renewal

For most of its history Transavia has flown Boeing 737s. In December 2021 Air France–KLM ordered 100 Airbus A320neo-family aircraft, with options on 60 more, to replace the 737s at Transavia, Transavia France and KLM. The first A321neo was delivered on 19 December 2023. On 19 October 2026 Transavia took its 20th A321neo, and it said its fleet now consists of 20 A321neos and 33 Boeing 737s. It expects to complete the switch in 2031.

Recent developments

The Brussels operation opened in 2022 with two aircraft and has grown to four. In August 2026 Transavia opened a local crew base there and announced a Brussels–Porto route from 14 December 2026. On 30 September 2026 it stationed an A321neo at Rotterdam The Hague for the first time. Rotterdam has been a home base since 2000 and now has seven aircraft, about two million passengers a year and 31 destinations. In August 2026 the head office moved from Schiphol to an office building next to Hoofddorp station.