KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is to expand its long-haul service to South America next year with a new scheduled service to Colombia’s capital, Bogota, and Cali, the country’s third-largest city.

From March 31st 2015, KLM will fly three times a week operating a Boeing 777-200 on flight KL745.

The circle flights will start in Amsterdam, stopping in Bogota and Cali, and returning directly to Amsterdam.

The service will be part of KLM’s new summer schedule and will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Pieter Elbers, KLM chief operating officer and deputy chief executive, said: “South America certainly has caught our interest as we look to grow.

“After increasing frequencies to Ecuador and adding Santiago de Chile as a destination to KLM’s portfolio, expanding our services to Colombia fits our strategy.

“Bogota is not a new destination for KLM.

“It served Bogota from October 1992 until March 1995. Now resuming its service, it is including Cali.

“The service to Bogota and Cali will expand the number of KLM’s Latin American destinations to eleven.”

In addition to the new flights, customers can fly to and from Bogotá and Cali seven times a week with KLM’s partner Air France via the hub Charles de Gaulle in Paris, or with Copa Airlines via Panama City on KLM’s daily service between Amsterdam and Panama.

The Air France-KLM group offers 15 destinations in Central and South America on departure from Amsterdam-Schiphol and Paris-Charles de Gaulle: Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Panama City, Lima, Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile and Bogota (by both KLM and Air France), Quito, Guayaquil, Paramaribo and Cali (by KLM) and Brasilia, Caracas, Cayenne and Montevideo (by Air France).

To suit passengers’ needs, KLM’s 777-200 offers three classes on board, 35 seats in World Business Class; 249 seats in Economy Class and 34 seats in the Economy Comfort Zone offering ten cm of extra leg-room, twice the amount of room to lean back, and priority disembarking.