RELATED: Explore this gallery of aerial photography
Special passengers
Oblivious to the merchandise is a very special type of passenger - animals. KLM even maintain an ‘animal hotel’. This footage from 1952 shows how a young elephant was escorted by a ‘KLM-trained’ chicken, who was tasked with stopping the elephant feeling lonely during the flight.
De geschiedenis van de olifant en de kip, by Polygoon-Profilti (producent) / Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid (beheerder), is licensed under Creative Commons – Attribution-Share Alike.
Working for KLM
This nostalgic footage from 1964 shows what happens after landing. The crew and airport staff performed the same operations as they do nowadays, but the design of the rolling stock and the technical tools has changed.
The varied fleet, by Polygoon-Profilti (producer) / Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision (curator), is licensed under Creative Commons – Attribution-Share Alike.
That operation looks to have gone smoothly, but it hasn’t always been plain sailing for KLM staff. In 1952, 600 KLM pilots went on strike for four days because of a row with KLM management.
Strike of KLM pilots, by Polygoon-Profilti (producer) / Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision (curator), is licensed under Creative Commons – Attribution-Share Alike.
KLM were one of the first airlines in the world, but like all aviation companies today, they face great challenges in terms of the climate crisis and sustainability. With 100 years of innovation behind them, here's wishing KLM a happy birthday and successful future.
By Peter Soemers, Europeana Communicators Community
Share your story - Europe at Work
Have you or your family worked for KLM or in the aviation industry? Share your story and help us tell the story of Europe through our working lives in the past and the present.

Feature image: Airplane Model, Tekniska Museet, CC BY