Episode Details

On Episode 68 of The Indian AvGeek, host Vishal Mehra sits down with Wilco Sweijen, Airline Partnerships Director at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, for a behind-the-curtain conversation on how AMS picks its airline partners, courts new routes, and quietly shapes the future of European long-haul aviation. ✈️ India-Amsterdam corridor: 42 flights/week & 8,48,000 pax in 2025, with 26% point-to-point passengers ✈️ IndiGo at AMS: how that conversation actually began ✈️ Slot archaeology: art of finding underutilised slots & the delicate diplomacy of "use it or lose it" conversations ✈️ "The best incentive we offer is that you actually got the slots" Wilco on why Schiphol's value proposition is fundamentally different from Gulf and Turkish hubs ✈️ KLM question: can Schiphol genuinely be neutral when its anchor carrier already flies DEL, BOM, HYD & BLR? ✈️ Why Barcelona–El Prat is Schiphol's busiest route at 95 weekly flights, & what that tells you about hub geometry ✈️ Coaching airlines: the service Schiphol provides to help carriers actually win the slots they need ✈️ Has anyone seriously pitched Chennai or Ahmedabad to Amsterdam? ✈️Wish list: why Qantas remains the one carrier Schiphol would love to land ✈️ Sustainability vs. competitiveness: Is Schiphol's green stance a gift to Frankfurt, Istanbul, and Brussels? ✈️ What happens when partnerships fail, the digital twin advantage, & a 10-year vision for what Schiphol's airline portfolio should look like The Indian AvGeek streams on all podcast apps.

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