New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve

As the founders of Dutch aviation, idealist Albert Plesman and opportunist Anthony Fokker, are inextricably bound together. They cannot live with each other or without. Nevertheless, during the Interwar Period when the world is heading towards a new war, they join forces to set up civil aviation in the Netherlands.

October 1933 – January 1934

Plesman is now firmly in the saddle at the KLM but is confronted with a new setback. The reason the KLM can keep its head above water during this crisis period, is due to the large fees paid by the PO for mail bags to go to the Dutch East Indies in passenger planes. It’s the mainstay of their economy, and Plesman feels compelled to emulate the announced mail flight of a competitor with the just-delivered ‘F.XX’.

On the day of departure, the ‘F.XX’ regrettably fails and Plesman must get the obsolete Fokker ‘The Pelican’ ready for take-off. With this slower plane, he is doubtful that the crew will succeed in reaching Batavia before the competitor does. He is enormously relieved when he gets the message that the competitor’s mail flight has been forced to make an emergency stop in Italy and can’t continue flying. Plesman immediately assigns ‘The Pelican’ to pick up the mail en route. Plesman’s plan succeeds, the plane lands safely and in record time in Batavia. When the Pelican makes its nocturnal return flight, 20,000 people are waiting at Amsterdam Schiphol to welcome the Dutch heroes.

To Plesman’s frustration, the Board decides to act upon the public’s enthusiasm, by placing an order with Fokker for even larger airplanes. Fokker isn’t happy about it neither. He’s invested a lot in the ‘F.XX’ and has no desire or financial means to design an entirely new, larger plane. 

Meanwhile Plesman hears great news about a new plane from the manufacture Douglas. The ‘DC-2’, which is completely made of metal, is reliable and inexpensive. Plesman wants to have the plane and devises a plan: he asks Fokker to import a trial model for the KLM. He hopes that the ‘DC-2’ will be so impressive that he can convince the Board to drop the unreliable Fokker for good. Fokker agrees but has seen through Plesman’s ruse. He realises that he can’t keep dwelling on the past but must take action. He leaves for America by boat that same evening, where he obtains exclusive European sales rights for the ‘DC-2’ from Douglas.