KLM MD11 ship PH-KCI “Mother Theresa” by Pieter van Marion
Today is International Women’s Day so I felt it to be an appropriate time to talk about the ladies of KLM. If you came by this post expecting to find a gallery of Dutch flight attendants strutting their stuff in KLM blue you are going to be at least partially disappointed. Disappointed because this post is in fact about KLM’s fleet of ten MD11s – each of which carries the name of a famous woman. The (clickable) ladies are:
| Registration | Name | MSN | Delivery date |
|---|---|---|---|
| PH-KCA | Amy Johnson | 48555 (577) | 07/12/1993 |
| PH-KCB | Maria Montessori | 48556 (561) | 01/03/1994 |
| PH-KCC | Marie Curie | 48557 (569) | 24/06/1994 |
| PH-KCD | Florence Nightingale | 48558 (573) | 16/09/1994 |
| PH-KCE | Audrey Hepburn | 48559 (575) | 18/11/1994 |
| PH-KCF | Annie Romein | 48560 (578) | 17/12/1994 |
| PH-KCG | Maria Callas | 48561 (585) | 12/05/1995 |
| PH-KCH | Anna Pavlova | 48562 (591) | 31/08/1995 |
| PH-KCI | Mother Theresa | 48553 (593) | 21/08/1998 |
| PH-KCK | Ingrid Bergman | 48554 (612) | 25/04/1997 |
That’s a very diverse list of incredible women; scientists, humanitarians, educators, writers, actresses, a singer and – of course – an aviatrix. This naming convention was adopted when the MD11 entered the fleet; when they were a point of pride in the KLM organization. These days the MD11 is mainly relegated to flying low yielding tourist destinations. Chances are excellent that this assignment will not change for the remainder of their service as the ladies are very much in the twilight of their KLM careers. KLM CEO Peter Hartman recently stated that he expects the MD11 to be out of the picture by 2015. When that comes to pass I really hope KLM elects to name at least a few of their new frames after famous women. To the best of my knowledge no other carrier in the world has a fleet (or sub-fleet) named entirely for women and it would be a shame for KLM to not cover at least some of the void that the phase-out will have created.
The observant amongst you will have noticed that there is a gap in the sequence, there’s no PH-KCJ. There’s a good reason for this. KLM reserves the letter J for desktop models and images used in PR exercises. Talk about an airline that pays attention to detail! This no J rule applies across the entire KL fleet although there have been exceptions in the past.
The MD11 schedule for the S10 is as follows (Source: airlineroute.net/GDS). With Finnair’s MD11 fleet put out to pasture recently they (MD11s) are becoming a rarer and rarer sight. Catch these ladies while you can!
| Frequency | Assignment |
|---|---|
| 3 weekly | Amsterdam – Atlanta (06SEP10 – 01OCT10) |
| 5 weekly | Amsterdam – Bonaire – Guayaquil – Quito – Bonaire – Amsterdam |
| 1 daily | Amsterdam – Delhi |
| 5 weekly | Amsterdam – Dubai (06SEP10 – 28SEP10) |
| 1 daily | Amsterdam – Montreal |
| 5 weekly | Amsterdam – Panama City |
| 5 weekly | Amsterdam – Paramaribo (6 weekly 28JUN10 – 05SEP10) |
| 1 weekly | Amsterdam – St. Maarten – Bonaire – Amsterdam |
| 3 weekly | Amsterdam – Toronto (KL695/696) |
| 1 Daily | Amsterdam – Vancouver (6 weekly till 02MAY10) |
i love the KLM MD11's. had the privelidge of flying on them to aruba for 5 years until they left. now there back with the 747
They really are gorgeous jets. I think once they leave us we’ve seen the end of three-holers for good. Well except maybe in the private jet realm.
They really are gorgeous jets. I think once they leave us we've seen the end of three-holers for good. Well except maybe in the private jet realm. Shame.