KLM Royal Dutch Airlines took receipt of its fourth Boeing 777-300ER, call letters: PH-BVD. However, the aircraft is not painted in the well-known KLM blue, but in the silver with dark blue accents of the SkyTeam Alliance. This latest addition signals a double ‘first’, for this is the first aircraft to leave the Boeing plant using environmentally friendlier paint.
Amstelveen, The Netherlands — The ceremony welcoming the aircraft bore all the signs and symbols of SkyTeam, the airline alliance of which KLM is a member. All SkyTeam members have agreed to paint one percent of their aircraft in the alliance livery — this in anticipation of the group’s tenth anniversary in 2010. For KLM, this means that a second aircraft will bear the alliance colours. KLM’s Executive Vice President Operations, Ype de Haan, and Managing Director of SkyTeam, Marie-Joseph Malé, performed the aircraft’s naming ceremony. SkyTeam’s headquarters were located recently at Schiphol Airport.
Sustainable paint
KLM has been using sustainable, chromate-free paint since last year. This reduces environmental impact in the painting and stripping processes. „Developments such as these in the airline industry fit perfectly into KLM’s policy,“ says Ype de Haan. „We aim to be the innovative market leader in environmental and climate care.“ In response to developments at KLM, aircraft manufacturer Boeing is also using a new, more environmentally friendly paint now. The PH-BVD is the world’s first aircraft to leave the Boeing plant in Seattle using this paint.
KLM has ordered a total of seven aircraft of the Boeing 777-300ER type. The aircraft is the most fuel efficient in its class, and the most climate and environment-friendly, delivering a fuel savings of up to 25% compared to the previous generation. As part of its active cooperation with the World Wildlife Fund in the Netherlands, KLM will be naming all its new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft after famous national parks to further emphasise its interest in nature. The PH-BVD is named after the Amboseli National Park in the homeland of SkyTeam partner Kenya Airways. The aircraft will perform its first commercial flight on 28 August to Nairobi. There, the local KLM establishment and the Kenya Wildlife Service will hold a festive reception for this aircraft in SkyTeam livery.
