Dutch flag-carrier airline KLM operates a fleet of 107 aircraft. The narrow-body fleet is composed of Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft which will be replaced by the Airbus A320neo family aircraft in the mid 2024. Airbus A330, Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner widebody aircraft are used primarily on long-haul flights. In September 2023, Air France-KLM announced an order for 50 Airbus A350s. These will replace the groups’ remaining Airbus A330s and Boeing 777-200ERs, and will be split between Air France and KLM.[1][2]

Current fleet

As of September 2023, KLM operates the following aircraft:[2][3]

KLM fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers[3] Notes
J W Y+ Y Total
Airbus A320neo — 100 TBA 180 Deliveries from July 2024 to replace Boeing 737-700, Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 737-900.[4]
Order to be shared between KLM and subsidiaries Transavia and Transavia France.
Order with 60 options.[5]
Airbus A321neo — TBA 227
Airbus A330-200[6] 6 — 18 — 36 210 264 To be retired and replaced by Airbus A350.
Airbus A330-300 5 — 30 — 40 222 292
Airbus A350-900 — 50[7] 34 26 33 238 331[8] Order with 40 options.[7]
These will be shared between Air France and KLM, and will be delivered from 2026 to 2030.[7][9]
To replace all remaining Airbus A330s and Boeing 777-200ERs.[7]
Airbus A350-1000 — 34 28 32 297 391[8]
Boeing 737-700 6 — 20 — 6 106 132 To be retired and replaced by Airbus A320neo family.[5]
Boeing 737-800 31 — 20 — 6 150 176
Boeing 737-900[10] 5 — 20 — 30 132 182
Boeing 777-200ER[11] 15 — 34 — 40 246 320 Being refurbished into a 288-seat configuration by July 2024.[12]
To be retired in the future and replaced by Airbus A350.
35 24 54 175 288
Boeing 777-300ER 16 — 34 — 40 334 408 Being refurbished into a 381-seat configuration by July 2024.[12]
35 24 56 266 381
Boeing 787-9 13 — 30 21 48 176 275
Boeing 787-10 10 5 38 28 39 213 318 Deliveries until 2024.[13]
KLM Cargo fleet
Airbus A350F — 4 Cargo To replace Boeing 747-400BCF and Boeing 747-400ERF.[14]
To be operated by Martinair.
Boeing 747-400BCF 1 — Cargo To be replaced by Airbus A350F.[14]
Operated by Martinair.
Boeing 747-400ERF 3 — Cargo
Total 111 159

Historical fleet

Over the years, KLM has operated the following aircraft types (list incomplete):

KLM historical fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Airbus A310-200 11 1983 1997 Most were sold to FedEx as freighters.
BAC 1-11-301AG 1 1968 1968 Leased from British Eagle.
Operated from Rotterdam to London service in full KLM colours.
Boeing 737-200 3 1988 1995
Boeing 737-300 19 1986 2011
Boeing 737-400 19 1989 2011
Boeing 747-200B 4 1971 1991
1 1977 Crashed as flight KL4805
Boeing 747-200M 7 1975 1986
Boeing 747-200B/SUD 3 1985 2003
Boeing 747-200/SUD/SF 2 1998 2003 Converted from two Boeing 747-200M/SUD aircraft.
Boeing 747-200M/SUD 7 1985 2003
Boeing 747-300M 3 1983 2003
Boeing 747-400 5 1989 2020 European launch customer.[15]
Retired early due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Boeing 747-400M 20 1989 2021 3 aircraft put back into service for cargo retired in October 2020.
Boeing 767-300ER 12 1995 2007
Carley Werkspoor Jumbo 1 1930 1940 Only 1 aircraft was ever built, PH-AFI.
Convair 240 12 1948 1959
Convair 340 13 1953 1964
De Havilland DH.9 4 1921 1926
De Havilland DH.16 4 1920 1924 Leased from Aircraft Transport and Travel.
Douglas C-54 Skymaster 2 1945 1959
Douglas C-54A Skymaster 16
Douglas C-54B Skymaster 3
Douglas DC-2 19 1934 1946
Douglas DC-3 58 1936 1964
Douglas DC-4 6 1946 1958
Douglas DC-5 4 1940 1941
Douglas DC-6 8 1948 1963
1 1952 Crashed as flight KL592
Douglas DC-6A 2 1953 1961
Douglas DC-6B 6 1952 1963
1 1954 Crashed as flight KL608
Douglas DC-7C 15 1953 1966
Douglas DC-8 22 1960 1983
1 1968 Crashed as Viasa flight VA897.
Douglas DC-8-63 11 1967 1985
Douglas DC-9-10 6 1966 1989
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 12 1967 1989
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30C 6
Fokker F.II 2 1920 1927
Fokker F.III 14 1921 1930
Fokker F.VII 5 1924 1936
Fokker F.VIIa 15 1925 1940
Fokker F.VIIb/3m 10 1928 1936
Fokker F.VIII 7 1927 1940
Fokker F.IX 2 1930 1936
Fokker F.XII 8 1931 1936
Fokker F.XVIII 5 1932 1946
Fokker F.XX 1 1933 1936
Fokker F.XXII 3 1935 1939
Fokker F.XXXVI 1 1935 1939
Ilyushin Il-62 7 1971 1972 Joint operation with Aeroflot.
Used for the Tokyo ~ Moscow ~ Amsterdam service.[16]
Koolhoven FK-33 1 1925 1927
Koolhoven FK-40 1 1929 1936 Only 1 aircraft was ever built: PH-AES.
Koolhoven FK-43 9 1932 1940
Koolhoven FK-48 1 1934 1940 Used as a trainer aircraft.
Lockheed L-049 Constellation 6 1946 1950
Lockheed L-749 Constellation 13 1953
Lockheed L-749A Constellation 7 1960
Lockheed L-1049C Super Constellation 11 1953 1966
1 1954 Crashed as flight KL633
1 1957 Crashed as flight KL844
Lockheed L-1049G Constellation 6 1966
Lockheed L-1049H Constellation 2 1966
1 1958 Crashed as flight KL607-E
Lockheed L-188C Electra 12 1959 1969
1961 Crashed as flight KL823
Lockheed Super Electra-14 5 1938 1948
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 12 1972 1995
McDonnell Douglas MD-11 10 1993 2014 Last passenger commercial operator.
Three aircraft are currently stored.
Stearman Hammond Y-1S 1 1937 1939 Used as a trainer aircraft.
Vickers V.803 Viscount 9 1957 1966

Fleet development

Fleet strategy

KLM's first of 8 Boeing 787-10 aircraft was delivered on 28 June 2019; it featured 100th anniversary markings.[17]

On 19 June 2013, KLM had ordered 7 Airbus A350-900s. In June 2019, Air France–KLM announced that KLM will not take up any of the group's ordered A350s, because of fleet rationalization purposes.

CEO Ben Smith has announced at Air France's Investor Day (5 November 2019) in Paris that "in the near future" KLM will only use the 777 and 787 as their long-haul fleet, retiring their 13 A330s.[18] This move would have made KLM an all-Boeing carrier, however KLM announced in December 2021 that an order was placed for 100 A320neo and A321neo aircraft, which is to be shared between it and Transavia. This order will replace KLM's short-haul Boeing 737 fleet, alongside Transavia's.

There is considerable speculation on the replacement of KLM’s aging 777-and A330-fleet, of which the oldest 777-200s date back to 2003. On the 23rd of August 2023, it was reported that in contrast to prior speculation that KLM was considering Airbus A350 and Boeing 777X aircraft types, it will likely opt to further increase the numbers of Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft to the existing fleet. [19]

Special liveries

KLM has several aircraft painted in special liveries; they include:

  • PH-BVA, a Boeing 777-300ER, features an orange forward fuselage that fades into the standard blue to commemorate the Netherlands national team's participation in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.[20]
  • PH-KZU, a Fokker F70, has been applied with a special livery featuring Anthony Fokker, the founder of Fokker, commemorating the airline's long-standing history with Fokker aircraft and the phase-out of the Fokker 70 aircraft in October 2017.[21]
  • Several aircraft bear the silver SkyTeam alliance livery, including PH-BVD (a 777-300ER), PH-BXO (a 737-900), and PH-EZX (a KLM Cityhopper ERJ-190).
  • PH-BKA, a Boeing 787-10, features the standard KLM livery with a 100 wrapped around its lettering on the plane, this is because of the 100 years of being an established airline.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Our aircraft". KLM.
  2. 1 2 "KLM Royal Dutch Airlines". Airfleets.net. Archived from the original on 18 December 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Seating plans". KLM. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  4. ↑ "Air France-KLM Orders 100 A320neo And Four A350F". Simple Flying. 16 December 2021.
  5. 1 2 "KLM Group chooses Airbus A320neo family for KLM and Transavia's European fleet" (Press release). KLM Group. 16 December 2021.
  6. ↑ https://www.klm.nl/en/information/travel-class-extra-options/aircraft-types/airbus-a330-200
  7. 1 2 3 4 "The Air France-KLM Group will place an order for 50 Airbus A350 family aircraft - with purchase rights for 40 additional aircraft - to accelerate the renewal of its long-haul fleet". Air France-KLM Group (Press release). Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  8. 1 2 "KLM MAAKT INDELING AIRBUS A350'S BEKEND: MEER STOELEN DAN A330 EN 777". 12 December 2023.
  9. ↑ "KLM to invest in cleaner, quieter and more fuel-efficient long-haul aircraft with an order of new Airbus A350s". KLM to invest in cleaner, quieter and more fuel-efficient long-haul aircraft with an order of new Airbus A350s. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  10. ↑ https://www.klm.nl/en/information/travel-class-extra-options/aircraft-types/boeing-737-900
  11. ↑ https://www.klm.nl/en/information/travel-class-extra-options/aircraft-types/boeing-777-200er
  12. 1 2 "KLM introduces new World Business Class seats aboard B777 fleet" (Press release). KLM Group. 29 June 2023.
  13. ↑ "The Air France - KLM group takes a next step in optimization of the long haul fleet". Newsroom KLM. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  14. 1 2 "Air France-KLM orders new Airbus freighter, passenger aircraft". Reuters. 27 January 2023.
  15. ↑ "KLM's First (Oldest) 744 to Leave Fleet". Infinite Flight. 22 October 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  16. ↑ "Ilyushin 62 - Aeroflot Archives".
  17. ↑ Hales-Dutton, Bruce. "KLM. A Dutch of Class". Airliner World. October 2019: 94.
  18. ↑ "KLM NEEMT DEFINITIEF AFSCHEID VAN AIRBUS A330-VLOOT". 5 November 2019.
  19. ↑ "KLM VERVANGT 777 EN A330 DOOR BOEING 787 DREAMLINER". 23 August 2023.
  20. ↑ "#Orangepride: KLM's unique orange aircraft to promote the Netherlands".
  21. ↑ "A Fond Farewell to Fokker - KLM Blog". 7 June 2017.
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