KLM’s Dreamliner fleet got a little larger on Thursday as the carrier added another Boeing 787-10 to its fleet. While brand new to the airline, the airframe itself was put together nearly three years ago and appears to have been part of the backlog that Boeing accumulated, due to its extended pause in deliveries. As such, the aircraft currently appears to be configured without any premium economy cabin, unlike all other active KLM 787-10s.
Delivery flight details
As per FlightRadar24.com data, the Boeing 787-10 registered PK-BKI took off from Everett at 14:16 local time on May 4th. The jet then landed at KLM’s home at Amsterdam Schiphol at 08:00 local, having a flight duration of eight hours and 44 minutes.
Aviation Flights reports that this airframe was first spotted in July 2020 and had its very first test flight on August 26th of the same year. In total, this aircraft conducted 14 test flights prior to delivery, with a total flight time of 27 hours and 14 minutes. The jet’s manufacturer serial number (MSN) is 42496, with Line Number 1016.
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The quirks of this backlogged delivery
As has also been the case for a few other airlines this year, KLM is receiving a ‘new’ aircraft that is now close to three years old. This delayed delivery is due to Boeing’s 15-month delivery pause for 787s – an ordeal prompted by increased regulator oversight and concerns about the planemaker’s inspection methods. This extended stoppage ended in August 2022 with American Airlines being the first to resume 787 deliveries.
15 months is a long time to not deliver 787s – especially as Boeing had been continuing to assemble aircraft and put the new jets through test flights. The end result was dozens of Dreamliners being put in storage and a backlog that needed to be cleared. Thus, KLM is receiving a new 787 that is already a few years old. Qantas and Vistara are just two of many other airlines that share the same situation.
For KLM, cabin configurations and offerings have changed over those two-and-a-half years. Indeed, the airline announced the addition of a premium economy cabin in May 2022, about a year after PK-BKI was sent to storage in San Antonio.
According to Planespotters.net, the aircraft is configured with 344 seats across two classes – a notable difference from the eight other 787-10s presently in service with KLM. These other jets sport a three class configuration with a total of 318 seats. The notable difference for KLM’s in-service aircraft is that they have a premium economy cabin, while PK-BKI does not. This shouldn’t be a huge deal for KLM. The carrier will have some extra economy class seats in its inventory, and, in the absence of any supply chain issues, will install those 28 premium economy seats to align the ‘new’ aircraft with its ‘fleetmates.’
KLM currently deploys the 787-10 to cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Delhi, among others.
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Sources: Aviation Flights, Planespotters.net, FlightRadar24.com
