H106 McDonnell Douglas DC-30-10 KLM

                  McDonnell Douglas DC-30-10 KLM

The KLM part of this order was for 6 aircraft and 6 options of which the first was delivered in a joint ceremony with Swissair's on November 21st 1972. The order included also the DC-10-30 prototype, which was delivered after some flight tests in 1974. On December 3rd 1972, this aircraft arrived in Amsterdam for crew and technical training. Only short after Swissair, on December 19th, made the first KLM DC-10 service on the route between Amsterdam and Jakarta. Like many other airlines, KLM used the DC-10 on long range routes where the 747 was far too large, but also on some high density routes like Amsterdam - New York. From the six options, all but one were taken up, although most of them were often leased out to airlines in which KLM had close affiliations, like VIASA and Philippine Airlines.
KLM built up a strong overseas network in the 1980s which resulted in a need for more capacity. More 747s were needed on the routes and for many of the new low-density routes, only the range of the 747 was adequate. New 747-300 aircraft were ordered and the -200s were upgraded with a stretched upper deck. Many DC-10s left the fleet and the fleet shrinked to four aircraft in 1990. The last three served well until 1994, when the first MD-11 arrived. This ended also the 60-year-old era of DC-aircraft which made KLM what it is now: One of the most respected airlines over the world.

 

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