The 1928 Dutch Flights

In September and October 1928 five experimental flights were operated between Amsterdam and Batavia (present day Jakarta) by Koninklijke Nederlandsch-Indische Luchtvaart Maatschappij (Royal Dutch Indies Airways). This was the airline of the former Dutch East Indies. KNILM though headquartered in Amsterdam was not a subsidiary of KLM though having similar names. 

The flight was operated in brand new Fokkker FVIIb -3m. (Fokker went bankrupt in 1996). The planes carried mails only on the first four flights. The route across India was via Karachi, Allahabad and Calcutta.

The first flight H-NAFA was piloted by Captain G.A.Koppen with navigator Captain D.Kengen and mechanic van Herk. It also had a passenger by the name of Zimmermann. The flight left Amsterdam on 13thSeptember and left Calcutta on the 20th September. It flew from Rangoon on 22nd September carrying 35 letters to Bangkok but the city was flooded and so the flight continued to Singora (present day Songkhala).