Day 9 of the trip started with a tour of the VU university campus, on the outskirts of Amsterdam. The campus had an interesting mixture of modern and traditional architecture, but it seemed generally like a good place to go to school. The tour lasted about half an hour, and then we were given 2 hours of free time to get lunch in the area. After lunch we took public transit to the airport, for our site visit at KLM.
The visit started in the offices, where we were introduced to our guide, Donald. The first stop of our tour was in an actual airplane hangar. This was a mind blowing experience. The size of the plan up close was incredible. We got to look inside as well, which was crazy because the plane was being renovated. Donald explained plenty of engineering concepts to us, and I had definitely underestimated the amount of work that goes into a large commercial aircraft. From a business perspective, the supply chain necessary to create this product is unbelievably complicated. Just to build the plane they need tons of different materials, parts, and technologies. And then to operate it for the consumers they need fuel, as well as all of their in flight comforts. As a common citizen, I had no idea what went on behind the scenes of these aircrafts. Donald said that the entire plane cost around 300 million dollars. This really puts into perspective the size of the aviation industry. Something unique about KLM specifically is that they don’t outsource their engines. All of the engine work and reparations are done within the company, which is different from most other major airlines. After the hangar we visited the engine testing room. Whilst there weren’t any engines in there, the control room was cool to see. The employees explained the sheer power of the engines which hit home. After a lengthy and intriguing visit at the airport, we traveled to dinner at a local community center.
The meal was free, as afterwards we were guests for a live podcast. The podcast was dedicated to building a more sustainable world, but the hosts only managed to give broad hypothetical ideas, rather than actual plans. As Frank said the other day, “Hope is not a plan”, and these people clearly did not have a plan. One host stated that wars are purely started for capitalist purposes. He even blames Ukraine for already contracting reconstruction projects. This made no sense, and seemed like a very unaware point of view. Overall the podcast did not have a message and the conversation was all over the place. Ultimately, this has been a long day, and it was full of a wide variety of experiences.