KLM’s Rembrandt-Named Jet Is About to Cross the Atlantic

KLM has taken delivery of its first Airbus A350-900 at Amsterdam Schiphol, and the airline gave the jet a name from the Dutch Golden Age: The Night Watch, after Rembrandt’s famous painting. It is the first A350 to reach KLM from a 50-aircraft order that parent Air France-KLM placed in 2023.

The aircraft carries 331 seats in three classes: 34 Business Class suites, 26 Premium Comfort seats and 271 in Economy. KLM says the new cabin offers more luggage capacity, ambient lighting and high-speed satellite internet. The first scheduled route is Toronto, with entry into service expected in a few weeks, followed later by Montreal, Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam, Nairobi and Zanzibar.

The jet is part of a bigger reset. The A350 will gradually replace the A330 and Boeing 777 on KLM’s intercontinental network, and the airline is putting about EUR 7 billion into fleet renewal built around the A350, the A350F freighter, the Embraer E2 and the Boeing 787. The 50 aircraft will be shared between KLM and Air France according to operational needs, and neither carrier has said how many each will get.

For travelers, the takeaway is a quieter, newer long-haul cabin on routes that currently rely on older widebodies. Anyone booked between Amsterdam and Toronto this winter may find the new jet on their itinerary, though airlines can swap aircraft, so it is worth checking the equipment listed before you fly.

Sources: AirlineGeeks, Airdata News