Vesna Pirovic, Deputy Station Manager Air France/KLM and Lila Shahid
Fabien Pelous, V.P. & GM, Canada for KLM/Air France and Karan Deswal, Air France/KLM Stations Director
Captain Jaap Korteweg and First Officer Sebastiaan Ploegmakers
KLM crew and execs
Night Flight to Rio revving up the crowd
Mom Patricia and daughter Julia checking out the festivities
Pearson Airport was the place to be this past weekend where GTAA hosted its 3rd annual street festival.
The event was in celebration of the neighbouring community and an invitation for the public to get a behind-the-scenes look at Canada’s busiest international airport. Folks could meet the people who keep Toronto Pearson running smoothly, see airport equipment up close, play in the kids zone and get some bites to eat.
KLM was a prominent exhibitor at the event. At their booth, people filled in raffle tickets for a chance to win a model A-380 and 2 tickets to anywhere in Europe.
Highlights included a performance from their very own Night Flight to RIO – a 14 member cover band made up of employees from various departments. Based in Amsterdam, they flew in specially for the event and belted out R&B, Motown, and Rock & Roll beats that had the crowd up and dancing on their feet.
“KLM is known for being friendly and the staff really love what they do,” said Lila Shahid, Crew Control for North America. Shahid has been with the airline for 15 years and noted that KLM is an active participant when opportunities for engagement like this come up. “KLM is really involved in the community.”
Another treat for aviation enthusiasts, and perhaps last opportunity, was to see KLM’s Boeing: MD-11 Amy Johnson up close. She took her inaugural flight in March 1993 and is now in her last season with Toronto before retirement.
Landing from Amsterdam only a short time before the start of the event, the crew was on hand to mingle with the crowd, pose for photos and answer questions. When asked if photo ops were part of his typical routine, Captain Jaap Korteweg replied, “No, but when I came off the plane I felt like a celebrity!”
By the end of the day 6000 people came through the gates to take part in the festivities, and next year promises to be bigger and better.
KLM Boeing:MD-11 aka Amy Johnson
