My Fellow Airmen,

The New Year is here and with it comes a new hope for the continuation of our glorious VA journey together! 2019 was an amazing year overall, and through the ups and downs I believe that we came out on top. Most importantly, we had fun doing it together.

​Your leadership team, myself included, remains committed to taking us to new and better heights this year. In doing so, we are implementing a series of Staff changes and operational shifts that we believe will continue improving the experience that we deliver to you, our valued pilots! I’m excited to share with you several updates and announcements as part of our AFKLM 2020 Master Plan.

New Staff Appointments & Changes: 

I’d like to welcome a few additions to our Staff Team, including:

• HR Manager: @Cheeseburger [HR Manager] will be bringing his talents to the Staff team to take on this very important role. He will be reporting to @Philip. Ben has matured tremendously over the past year and is the epitome of dedication to AFKLM Virtual. We couldn’t think of anyone better to take on this extremely vital and forward-facing role to act as an ambassador of our VA to all pilots. 
• Digital Marketing Manager: AFKLM Veteran @Babacar l'A320[Digital Marketing Manager] has been back in action for several weeks now and bringing our Instagram account back to glory. We’re excited to have him back on the team. He’ll be reporting to me while I handle acting Interim CMO duties
• Events Manager: The ever-present @Alex V [Events Manager] will be applying his innovative thinking and dedication to our Events Department to take over for our good friend Matt. Alexandre is bringing his passion and commitment to the all important Events operation and is already well underway in planning our 3YR anniversary party for the end of this month. Details to follow. 
• ATC Manager: @Jamal [ATC Operation Manager] has been promoted from Deputy ATC Manager to head honcho of the ATC Department. He’s done a tremendous job with the revamp and we’re looking forward to seeing more great work from him in the near future. 
• TBA: Another AFKLM Veteran and Staff All-Star @Tristan [HR MANAGER - VACATION] is expected back this January. Once he returns we will get him up to speed and allocate him into a leadership position accordingly based on needs. 

I’d also like to extend a special thank you to @Emil [Deputy President] @Teddybrooo [ATC Operations Manager] @carrots4luke1 and Matt [Director of Events] for their months and years of service to the Staff team. Their time and committment to previous advancements for the VA have helped us get to where we are today.

Flight Operations Updates:

Below is a brief summary of imminent changes and updates taking effect to our primary flight modes by February 1, 2020:

• CF Training: Upon passing CF1, Trainee pilots will have the opportunity to fly certain approved Regional routes and log them for hours. This will keep new pilots motivated while they go through the CF process. 
• AFKLM Classic: We are doing away with the Hub  requirement!! This will free up flexibility and variety for pilots within AFKLM Classic. No longer will you be bound by EHAM or LFPG or other as you explore the world as an AFKLM Classic. Route type requirements (e.g. Regional, Short-Haul, Medium-Haul, etc) will remain, and we will be increasing the required flight hours to progress through the ranks.
  
• AFKLM Career Mode: It’s back, come February 1, 2020! The New Career Mode will feature a refined rank progression system, new automation process for type rating exams, assigned flight routes and the addition of a new Career Mode Manager Staff Position. More details on this to follow. 
  
• New Entrance Exam Requirements: In order to keep our maturity level and professionalism at the highest possible standard, we will be increasing our minimum age to 16 effective February 1, 2020. In addition to this, a stricter minimum requirement of violations; flight hours, and more will be introduced.    

Coming Soon:

Here are some other fun news items and updates to keep an eye out for!

• 3YR Anniversary Party: This will be held at the end of the month and more information will be shared by @Alex V [Events Manager] in the new future.
• Suggestion Box: Will finally be live by the 15th of January to make sure that we always have our ears to the ground on ways to continue improving our beloved VA.
• New AFKLM 2020 Promotional Trailer Video: Will be making its premiere at the end of the month along with the debut of our AFKLM YouTube Channel. Start getting your best video clips and footage ready to contribute!
• AFKLM Website + Crew Centre 2.0 Update: Lot’s of cool stuff coming to a website near you!
• More Dynamic Charts: For all of our AFKLM and Codeshare destinations. These will be added to each destination in the Hub tabs of the Route Table so that you can get all the resources at your finger tips as you plan your next flight!
• New Air Commodores and Leading Commanders: Stay tuned for the next batch of ACs to replace the vacancies created by the promotion of @Cheeseburger [HR Manager] and @Alex V [Events Manager] to Staff. We’ll also be welcoming a new set of Leading Commanders later this Quarter to round out our Elite Airmen club. These gents (and ladies) and the future of the VA!

Hope you all are excited for an amazing 2020 together. This third year will be our biggest and brightest yet! 

Best,
Omar [President]

Dear AFKLM Airmen – ladies and gents,

Last Summer 2018 I took the helm as President/CEO of this great VA. We set out together to raise the bar. And boy, did we raise it. Over the last 12 months here is a snapshot of some of the major accomplishments:

AFKLM 2018-2019 Snapshot:
•    SkyTeam Launch
•    New Route Table, Codeshare Connection Routes, Fifth Freedom Routes & Hub System
•    New PIREP System & Crew Centre
•    AFKLM Events Committee Launch  + ATC Operations Reboot
•    New Website Launch
•    New IFC Thread Launch
•    AFKLM Academy Launch
•    Pilot Entrance Exam Automation

We’re not stopping there though. Your staff leadership team is committed to keep the VA aiming towards the future as we begin our 4th year in operations and we have an exciting plan in place to make that happen.

AFKLM 2020 Strategic Plan:

Our mission is clear: to propel the love of flight for those who fly with us, alongside us, or control the Infinite Skies.

And we will accomplish this by focusing on {a] maximizing REALISM,  [b] fostering LEARNING, [c] forging HUMAN CONNECTION [d] and sustainable GROWTH in 2020.

Many, many exciting projects are in the works to support the plan. Here is a preview of some of major changes, upgrades, and new additions that you can look forward to in Q4 2019 and  2020:

• AFKLM Classic Revamp -- focused on realism and taking advantage of the extended AFKLM feeder hub network)
  
• New Career Mode -- we’re reviewing three unique concepts and proposals to re-imagine Career Mode)
  
• New Pilot Challenges -- Rewards Program – coming in 2020
  
• Route Table Upgrades-- including updates to  AFKLM and codeshare connection routes. As well as dynamic charts for all hubs and destinations.
  
• Custom AFKLM Callsigns – coming soon, AFKLM100 to AFKLM9999, you’re choice!
  
• Regional Pilot Lounges – for all major regions, i.e. France, Holland, Europe, Americas, Asia, Africa, and Oceania
  
• Air Commodore – for each region, an elite pilot rank addition above Leading Commander.
  
• New Rank Badges – for all pilots and staff.
  
• New Member On-Boarding Optimization - including automated emails for welcome, orientation and satisfaction survey.
  
• Website | Crew Center Upgrades – including Live Destination Map, videos, and NOTAM archive for major VA announcements
  
• AFKLM YouTube – channel launch and AFKLM Cocktail Tales series
  
• Events + ATC Platform Re-Fresh – coming January 2020
  
• New SkyTeam Thread – coming Q1 2020
  
• Innovation Suggestion Box (Slack Channel) – for pilots to submit new ideas and requests
  
• Quarterly Virtual Townhall Video Conference Meetings - for AFKLM Staff and Air Commodore/Leading Commanders. Updates on major projects and feedback on VA direction.
  
• AFKLM Organizational Chart + New Department Mechanics – for sustained growth and expansion of staff roles. Attached you’ll find more information on this and staff openings, including  Digital Marketing Coordinator, PR Manager, HR Manager. To learn more about any of these, contact Philip COO.

As you can see, your dedicated Staff team has a lot in the pipeline. We hope you are excited because we definitely are! This is your VA, and we’re going to do everything possible to make it the best it possibly can be.

Onward to 2020! 

Best,
Omar [President]