ALM Antillean Airlines (Lighter Style)

I was born in Willemstad, Curacao, a beautiful Dutch island in the Caribbean, very close to Venezuela. A lot of my family worked in the tourism sector. By the time I was 12 I was fluent in three languages, Papiamento (the native creole language of my country, which we spoke at home), Dutch, and English. Then I learned Spanish. When I graduated school, I very much wanted to see the world. My father suggested I work for the airlines.  Originally, I wanted to be a stewardess. However, I soon realized I would be spending so much time apart from my family, so I changed my mind. My language skills helped me get hired as a gate agent at ALM Antillean Airlines. In Dutch it’s called Antilliaanse Luchtvaart Maatschappij. Its routes crisscrossed the Caribbean. Arbua- Curacao- St. Marteen, and many others. From 1975 to 1984, I was based at Hate International Airport. When I started, ALM was upgrading their fleet with DC-9’S. It was a very exciting time, and the airline was growing. We eventually got a Boeing 727. Our routes had expanded along with our personnel. We were competing with big American carriers like Easter and American. This would all change in 1979. Oll prices dropped causing the Venezuelan currency, known as the Bolivar, to decrease in value greatly. In addition, our tourism numbers had slowed. We tried to tighten our belts but it didn’t help. We couldn’t compete with the big carriers, and eventually sold off a lot of our fleet, going back to the smaller DC9’s. Eventually the airline closed down. However, those of us who were lucky to be apart of the ALM family shared something very special. We worked hard, and make it work. We learned a lot. I know from this experience that if we set our minds to it, we can achieve success. I love my country and know that we will find another way that world can discover all that Curacao has to offer, 

Hopi Suerte!

Glendeline Morel 

August 20. 2001

(From private Collection)

(For Layover Goods)