KLM’s first Airbus A350-900 entered passenger service on 30 October, operating flight KL0691 from Amsterdam Schiphol to Toronto. The aircraft, named De Nachtwacht, carried passengers for the first time on the transatlantic route and also transported eight tonnes of cargo. Its introduction brings the A350 into KLM’s fleet-renewal programme, which the airline says is aimed at reducing fuel consumption, emissions and noise; it has not quantified the expected reductions.
KLM plans to deploy the aircraft on services to Montreal, Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam, Nairobi and Zanzibar, although it has not provided a schedule for those routes. The Toronto flight was the type’s first in KLM passenger operations.
The A350’s debut drew passengers who had booked specifically for the inaugural service, including a father and son who travelled from New York to Amsterdam for the flight. De Nachtwacht takes its name from Rembrandt’s painting The Night Watch.