Welcome Flight to Get to Know KLM’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner

It’s Sunday morning, November 22, as I hop on my bike in a dark and sleepy Amsterdam. I’m off to Schiphol Airport because I’m one of those lucky people who gets to fly above Holland in the newest member of the KLM family: the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

I’m what I would call ‘an aircraft newby’: I don’t know a lot about all different types of planes and all their features so I’m curious if I notice any difference between the Dreamliner and other planes.

Sunflowers in front of departure screen

This is a man’s world

It’s 6 a.m. as I arrive at departure area 1, but I’m immediately wide-awake when I see a huge line full of excited people waiting in front of two massive bouquets of sunflowers, referring to the name of this first Dreamliner (The Sunflower). Air traffic controller Frank is standing next to me. Why did you buy a ticket for this special flight, I ask him. ‘Well, I ain’t going if it ain’t a Boeing’, he says.

sunrise KLM Boeing 787

As I walk to gate C1 I notice that I’m mainly surrounded by guys. Maybe this is the type of world James Brown got inspired by when he wrote his big hit ‘This Is A Man’s World’ ;).

Eline
I was lucky enough to see the sun rise next to me.

A beautiful sunrise

At 8.30 a.m. the first person is ready to board for flight KL1 and ironically enough that person is a woman. ‘As soon as I gave the ground staff my ticket all eyes where on me’, Brenda explains. ‘At least ten cameras took pictures of my husband and me. He won the tickets online’, she tells me as we walk to the aircraft while the sun rises. Half an hour later this KLM baby is ready for take off.

On board boeing 787 KLM

Taking ‘home’ a Dreamliner
I’m on seat 38A which, a window seat. The windows are larger than I’m used to so I have a pretty good view. Bouke Rypma is one of the pilots who picked up this aircraft form the factory in Seattle. Today he is our quizmaster and will be asking all the passengers different questions about this aircraft. After question 8 there’s only one guy left in the game, which makes him a true Dreamliner king. The price is a replica of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Inflight Entertainment Boeing 787

On board entertainment

It’s a very comfortable and laid-back flight. The little girl sitting next to me is highly entertained by the touchscreen in front of her. She (and all the other passengers) has the option to watch over 200 movies. ‘You know what’s also a cool thing to do?’, Mandy says will eating a small cupcake. ‘If you press this button, you see a map of Holland showing you where we are right now. And if you ‘press’ on a city, it shows you all the highlights of it!’ Her dad bought two tickets for them, since he has always been a big aviation fan and he hopes one day his daughter will be a fan as well. Martin, a guy behind me, is also a plane fanatic. ‘I was on the last MD11 flight and because it was a farewell flight it was more emotional. People really got attached to that aircraft. The Dreamliner is still very new and needs to write its own history.’

Stewardess handing out cupcakes on board Boeing 787

After an hour the cabin crew prepares for landing. There will be two more round flights today with take-off and landing in Amsterdam. The lights in the aircraft change from purple to orange and then back to blue and we’re about to touchdown in Amsterdam. People start clapping and whistling. It was a very pleasant flight. It almost felt luxurious (and I wasn’t even seated in World Business Class). I could definitely see myself booking a flight with this new Dreamliner to a sunny destination far, far away.

Wingtip above Holland

Photos: Feike Westenbroek & Kelyn Yeutukhovich

Click here for more information about our Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Posted by:   Eline van der Haar  | 
Join the conversation Show comments

sally garcia

Awesome! Well done KLM!!!

Eline van der Haar

Thanks Sally. It was a wonderful experience for this aircraft newby ;) Kind regards, Eline

Phil Pelch

Will Dreamliner be used for animal transport? I am a groom and hope it does✈️

john McCan

that’s is not a very nice thing to say abut your bride.

JMB

He’s talking about the lice he have over his head.

Robert

I’m afraid it won’t be, since this is an all passenger aircraft…

Geir

Try to get rid of your crabs with a special shampoo ;)

Eline van der Haar

Hi Phil,

I’m not sure if our Dreamliner will transport animals, but for now our baby will start by bringing people to Abu Dhabi. Have a nice day! Kind regards, Eline

Arturo Rodriguez

Que bonita historia algun dia se nos haga realidad!!!

Philippe Maarek

I admire KLM since 1984 the year i flew KL 601 to Lax on a
B747 -300 …now You Fly the 787-9 lucky You who were on board this beauty this morning around blue Holland..
Love u always KLM

Eline van der Haar

Hi Philippe,

Thanks for your wonderful comment. I felt very lucky to be among the first passengers in this aircraft. It was a cool experience. Hope to welcome you on board again soon!

Kind regards, Eline

Steve Fanthorpe

I am a frequent flyer with KLM long haul from Amsterdam to Malaysia, will the new Dreamliner be used on that route as the added comfort would be most welcome for such a long journey?

Eline van der Haar

Hi Steve,

Good to hear you’re one of our frequent flyers. For now the Dreamliner will start flying to Abu Dhabi and Bahrein, but who knows what the future will bring?

Kind regards, Eline

Martin

Hi Elie, I fly regularly to abu dhabi on a Wednesday from Amsterdam on the morning flight. Will this be the dreamlike?

Jim

Flying to Amsterdam On May 4 early in the morning. It would be a great surprise to have the 3 of us transferred to the New 787 from Toronto to Amsterdam arriving on May 5th for Liberation day. Just saying surprises have been known to happen.

Eline van der Haar

Hi Jim,

Who knows what kind of surprise you’ll get? I’ll keep it a secret for now ;-)…

Kind regards, Eline

Hendrik Westra

How come i did not know about the flight today??

Eline van der Haar

Hi Hendrik,

I’m sorry you didn’t hear anything about this flight, but this baby is up in the air now and will be transporting people between Amsterdam and Abu Dhabi or Bahrein. Hope we can welcome you on board soon…?

Kind regards, Eline

Herby Hulsebos

Great flight today with the brand new Dreamliner.
I was on the 12 o’clock flight and had a very good time.

Eline van der Haar

Hi Herby,

Great to hear you also enjoyed your flight, just like I did. Planning to take the Dreamliner again soon?

Kinds regards, Eline

Herby Hulsebos

Maybe next year I’ll be flying with KLM to Dubai.

Frank van der Voet

This is typical KLM – engagement of the flying public with the introduction of a new product (787-9) or retirement of another (MD-11). Maybe I missed this in Canada, but I doubt Air Canada did this when it picked up its first 787-8 or more recently, the 787-9. It would have been excellent PR for the airline.

Eline van der Haar

Hi Frank,

Thanks for the big compliment. Maybe you should contact Air Canada and share your thoughts?

Kind regards, Eline

Nellie

Air canada had abig party for one of their new Dreamliners, October 2014 in Vancouver. I was there, have a poster as keepsake. KLM probably has a bigger PR budget.

Eline van der Haar

Hi Nellie,

I bet it was a great party! Did the Dreamliner take you to any nice places ever since?

Kind regards, Eline

Eliseo Diaz Herrera

favor de colocar sus anuncios en español

Yozu Bruinsma

The plane flew at 16.40hrs over Houten. I was happy to see it.

Eline van der Haar

Hi Yozu,

Lucky you! What are your first thoughts about our Dreamliner? Do you like our new baby as much as we do?

Kind regards, Eline

Yozu Bruinsma

Ben al KLM-fan sinds 1962. Toen schreef ik met hulp van mij vader een brief aan “De BAAS van de KLM” op Schiphol. Kreeg toen een mooie kaart terug met daarop de Viscount op Schiphol Oost. Vlieg nu regelmatig op Narita met 777 of Jumbo-combi. Leukste momenten de aansluitingen per Fokker op Dusseldorf en Keulen. Nederlands vliegtuig bij Nederlandse maatschappij. En eenmaal met de “Albert Plesman” van AMS naar NRT. Dus nu hopelijk een keer 787 naar Japan.

Steffen Roolvink

Ha gaaf, je zat op de rij schuin links achter me. Leuk vluchtje helaas weinig van de omgeving gezien in the middle aisle seat. Leuke blog! En ik sta ook nog op de foto in de achtergrond met het model :)

Eline van der Haar

Hi Steffen,

Wat leuk dat je ook op deze vlucht zat. Net zo genoten als ik? Van plan om binnenkort een vlucht naar Abu Dhabi of Bahrein te boeken? Dan kun je misschien iets meer genieten van de omgeving.

Groetjes, Eline

Steffen Roolvink

Hallo Eline,

Nee, ik heb niks in de zandbak te zoeken. Dan pak ik wel een vlucht mee met de 787-8 van TUI ;). Maar het was opzich wel een geinige vlucht. IFE(in flight enterainment) mbt de maps kan beter. En gemis dat de LCD’s in de stoelen niet meebewegen, toen de persoon voor mij de stoel achterover leunde was het voor mij als lange man niet meer te zien wat er op het scherm te zien was. Ook mijn traytable bleef schuinstaan, plus de plastic feel van de cupholder die als iemand er tegen aanloopt terwijl deze naar beneden is, er zeer breekbaar uitziet. Dus er is nog wel wat werk aan de winkel voor de KLM om het product toch iets hoogwaardiger te maken. Maar bovenal was het een topvlucht om eens mee te maken.

Groeten,
Steffen

Steffen Roolvink

Ik loop de boel te trollen ;)

Ik ga anytime, anyday, elk moment mee! Nu alleen nog de financien om dat te kunnen doen! En jullie moeten vaker dit soort vluchten organiseren! Heb van veel kennissen te horen gekregen dat ze ook graag mee hadden gewild en er best een bedrag voor over hebben gehad. Ik zeg maak er een jaarlijks festival van! Line up met allemaal verschillende toestelen waar de KLM mee heeft gevlogen. Dat zou onwijs tof zijn!

Groeten,

Steffen

Eline van der Haar

Je liet me bijna schrikken inderdaad Steffen ;-). Maar fijn om te horen dat je toch positief bent, net zoals ik. Of we er een jaarlijks event van kunnen maken, durf ik niet te beloven… maar tot die tijd vliegt Miss Sunflower naar genoeg nieuwe bestemmingen zodat we toch van al haar gemakken kunnen genieten.

Tot snel! Groetjes,
Eline

Joke Baas

Het was een erg leuke ervaring in een fantastisch toedtel!

Eline van der Haar

Hi Joke,

Wat mooi om te horen. Bedankt voor het compliment en ik ben het helemaal met je eens: wat een fantastisch toestel.

Groetjes, Eline

Daniel Camargo M.

Hermoso avion el Dreamliner 787-9! Un merito mas para Boeing, hubiera sido un privilegio y un honor trabajar en su planta de Everett.

lyd

Same here, why did I not know about this, until after the fact………

lyd

when will it start service from NY to AMS???

Eline van der Haar

Hi Lyd,

I hope the Dreamliner will start its service soon to other places, but for now it will bring people from Amsterdam to Abu Dhabi and Bahrein. Hope we can welcome you on board soon?

Kind regards, Eline

Jose N

I want one of those airplane models too !

Erna

Op Schouwen Duiveland zijn we wel geschrokken, hoor. Het vliegtuig vloog laag over dus wij dachten dat het noodlanding moest maken. Helaas geen foto kunnen maken.
Maar het zal een mooie vlucht geweest zijn voor degenen die mme mochten.

Eline van der Haar

Hi Erna,

Het was natuurlijk nooit de bedoeling van onze nieuwste aanwinst om jullie zo te laten schrikken, maar zo heb je het toestel wel goed kunnen zien, toch? Vlieg je snel een keer mee met de Dreamliner? Het is de moeite waard ;-).

Groetjes, Eline

Nico

was een top-event. jullie hebben er een mooi feestje van gemaakt. fijn vleigtuig overigens, vooral het lage geluid, erg prettig!

Eline van der Haar

Hi Nico,

Wat mooi en fijn om te horen! Ik ben het helemaal met je eens. Deze nieuwe aanwinst is een fijn toestel. Vlieg je snel weer een keertje met ons mee?

Groetjes, Eline

nico

ik hoop het !

Kevin Reeve

It was a brilliant day, thanks to KLM and the crews making it special. Sadly being an English only speaker I couldn’t enter the 787 quiz. It was fun watching though.

Eline van der Haar

Hi Kevin,

I totally agree: it was a brilliant day. Where are you from? Such an honor for our Dutch aircraft to welcome an international passenger on its welcome flight.

Kind regards, Eline

Thomas Nebel

It was a great experience. DANK JE WEL KLM! I woke up at 2 o’clock in the morning, because I had to go 500 Km by car from Hamburg to Amsterdam. I was on the 12:00 Flight and enjoyed every second. But the whole day I was a little bit sad because the day reminds me to the MD-11 Farewell-Flight. I was on the last Farewell Flight – the last MD-11 Pax Flight in Aviation History :-( You organized the welcome flights as good as the farewell flights, including the gift-package for the pax. Thank you for a great day and experience. In a couple of days I upload a Documentary Video of the Flight on my Youtube Channel. Cheers from Hamburg.

Hafezh

Hi there Eline! I was just about to ask if the “Newbie” would be going to the Asia-Pacific region

Regards, Hafezh

Eline van der Haar

Hi Hafezh,

Good question. For now our Sunflower will bring people to and from Abu Dhabi and to/from Bahrein, but in 2016 she’ll be flying to more destinations. Hope we can welcome you on board of the Dreamliner soon.

Kind regards, Eline

Hafezh

Hi there Eline! I was just about to ask if the “Newbie” would be going to Jakarta or Singapore maybe?

Regards, Hafezh

Jagath Rupasiri

Very interesting blog.

Eline van der Haar

Thanks Jagath, good to hear!!

Kind regards, Eline

Glo Garo

I hope soon can I Fly in this amazing Boeing.

Eline van der Haar

Hi Glo Garo,

We hope to welcome you on board of our Sunflower soon. It’s a great experience.

Kind regards, Eline

joseph

hey been waiting for this great plane to be part of the KLM family, wonder when it will be flying to Chengdu china ?

Eline van der Haar

Hi Joseph,

Great to have this plane in our family, right? For now Miss Sunflower will be flying from Amsterdam to Abu Dhabi and Bahrein, but in 2016 she’ll be going to more destinations. So a little more patience… ;-)

Kind regards, Eline

Andreduval

I hope when I go to Malaysia in January I will have a chance to try it .klm is very good I come from Canada

Eline van der Haar

Let’s keep our hopes up, Andreduval! Kind regards, Eline

Lolita M. Balboa

AMAZING! WITH ALL MY LOVE KLM. i HOPE IN THE FUTURE – I WILL HAVE A CHANCE TO TRY YOUR DREAM LINER (SUNFLOWER – VERY BEAUTIFUL NAME) CONGRATULATIONS, KLM!

Stephen Shaw

Hi, Just like to say what a great day I had on Sunday, lucky to get a seat on the third Welcome flight and a very enjoyable experience it was, congratulations KLM.

Eline van der Haar

Hi Stephen,

That’s wonderful to hear. I have to agree: it was a great day. Hope we can welcome you on board again soon.

Kind regards, Eline

Alec

Prize NOT price. Price means what it costs, not what you win :-)

adnan

hello

Gurcan

Congrats. I hope this aircraft will carry many passengers safely to their loved ones.

I have a question out of subject; Could you please explain to me why I haven’t receive any feedback or acknowledgement for my claim related to a damaged baggage. I cant contact with anybody, I have done all required in website but no confirmation e-mail, no feedback nothing at all. Its very nice to have good airplanes but you need also people to travel in them. With this kind of customer support I have my doubts.

KLM

Thank you for your message, Gurcan. We are sorry to learn you didn’t receive any feedback regarding your complaint. We have checked our system but unfortunately can’t find any file with your details. If we can help you with filing an official complaint on your behalf, please contact us via Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

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