KLM has announced plans to resume flights to the Caribbean island of Barbados (BGI) after dropping the route in 2023 due to restructuring efforts.
The Dutch carrier will resume flights for the winter season, running from October 26, 2025, to March 26, 2026. Like many of its Caribbean routes, it will operate in a triangular manner, continuing onto Georgetown (GEO), Guyana, before returning to Amsterdam (AMS).
“Barbados is one of the largest underserved markets in the Caribbean from the Netherlands, providing travelers with a sunny destination during the winter months. Bridgetown is renowned for its stunning beaches, crystal-clear waters, and rich culture. With this flight combination, KLM is catering to the growing demand for both tourist and business destinations in the Caribbean. KLM previously operated flights to Bridgetown in the winter seasons of 2021 and 2022.”
Prior to the route being temporarily removed from their network, KLM operated the flight with an onward stop to Port of Spain (POS), Trinidad.
Boeing 787 Caribbean Upgrades
Besides Curacao, KLM mostly operates Airbus A330-200s to its Caribbean destinations, sometimes upgrading to their larger A330-300s (and Boeing 777-200s to the ABC islands) during peak travel periods.
In a November 2024 update, KLM announced service to Guyana via Sint Maarten (SXM), with plans to operate the route from June 4, 2025 on Wednesdays and Saturdays. In a later schedule update posted at the end of March 2025, KLM upgraded that route to Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner service as follows:
| Flight Number | Origin | Departure Time | Destination | Arrival Time | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KL789 | Amsterdam (AMS) | 9:45 a.m. | Sint Maarten (SXM) | 12:40 p.m. | Wednesday, Saturdays (Starts June 4, 2025) |
| KL789 | Sint Maarten (SXM) | 2:10 p.m. | Georgetown (GEO) | 4:25 p.m. | Wednesday, Saturdays (Starts June 4, 2025) |
| KL789 | Georgetown (GEO) | 5:40 p.m. | Amsterdam (AMS) | 8:40 a.m. (+1 day) | Wednesday, Saturdays (Starts June 4, 2025) |
KLM is tapping into the Guyanese market following their recent oil boom, mentioning their “strong business traffic flow”.
Barbados will also benefit from Boeing 787-9 service, with three times weekly seasonal service starting on October 26, 2025. As mentioned above, this flight will continue onto Georgetown, bringing Guyana’s service up to five times weekly for the winter period.
| Flight Number | Origin | Departure Time | Destination | Arrival Time | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KL783 | Amsterdam (AMS) | 9:35 a.m. | Barbados (BGI) | 1:35 p.m. | Tuesdays, Thursday, Sundays (Starts October 26, 2025) |
| KL783 | Barbados (BGI) | 3:05 p.m. | Georgetown (GEO) | 4:40 p.m. | Tuesdays, Thursday, Sundays (Starts October 26, 2025) |
| KL783 | Georgetown (GEO) | 6:00 p.m. | Amsterdam (AMS) | 8:00 a.m. (+1 day) | Tuesdays, Thursday, Sundays (Starts October 26, 2025) |
Unfortunately, the Trinidad market won’t see 787s just yet as the schedule (AMS-SXM-POS-AMS) still reflects A330-200 service on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
KLMs A330-200s and 787-9s have very similar seat counts, with the A330 seating up to 264 passengers, and its Boeing counterpart seating 275 passengers. The 787-9s do have a more modern interior featuring 30 Safran Cirrus reverse herringbone business class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, a big step up from the less private 2-2-2 B/E Aerospace Diamond business class seats on their A330-200s.
There is also a premium economy cabin (which the A330-200 does not have) featuring 21 Collins Aerospace MiQ recliner-style seats in a 2-3-2 layout. If they look familiar, that’s because they are used by a plethora of airlines for business class configurations on various narrow body aircraft.
The remaining 224 Recaro CL3710 economy seats (same as the A330-200) are spread in a 3-3-3 layout with 31 inches of seat pitch. 48 of those offer four inches of extra legroom and up to two inches of extra recline.
