KLM looks at more 787-10s or the A350-1000 or 777-9 |

Air France-KLM is considering purchasing more Boeing 787-10s but is also looking at the Airbus A350-1000 and Boeing 777-9 for KLM’s future long-haul fleet requirements. An order could be placed this year, Dutch aviation website Luchtvaartnieuws reports. It quotes Group CEO Ben Smith, who discussed fleet plans during an internal KLM webcast on Tuesday. KLM looks at more 787-10s or the A350-1000 or 777-9. Smith’s remarks are interesting, as it is the first time he has shared insights on the fleet renewal plans for KLM. The airline currently operates a mixed long-haul fleet of Boeing 777-200s and -300Rs, Airbus A330-200s and -300s, and Boeing 787-9s and -10s. The A330s were supposed to be phased out during the Covid-crisis in 2020 but were eventually retained. They will now leave the fleet “as fast as possible”, said Smith, as they are noisy and less efficient. Some 777s are also getting of age and need replacement. More 787-10s would be the easiest option. The preferred option seems to be buying more Dreamliners, said Smith in the webcast: “The 777 and 787 have a lot of synergies, like the dual cockpit qualification. There isn’t another airline in Europe that is positioned to have a fleet of aircraft that have that much commonality. More 787s would position us to have the most efficient widebody fleet in Europe. It saves on maintenance; it saves on training; it is a massive simplification.” The 787-10 would fit perfectly, but they are expensive and are in high demand, so KLM might not be able to get them anytime soon. Boeing will ramp up 787 production capacity to five aircraft per month by the end of this year and to ten in 2025 but has recently received new orders from Riyadh Air, Saudia, China Airlines, and others that fill many slots. Smith said that he also wants to increase the seating capacity of the next widebody aircraft to lower the seat unit costs to make them more efficient, but finding the right trade-off between revenues and additional costs is a difficult calculation. A350-1000 and 777-9 That’s where the A350-1000 and 777-9 come into the picture. Both types, which we compared some years ago, would be new to the group and have been purchased by Air France-KLM’s main European competitors Lufthansa and British Airways. BA already flies the A350-1000. Ben Smith: “The A350-1000 is a very efficient aircraft which has got many improvements. However, it is a new aircraft type that has different engines. The 777-9 has yet to be certified and is already four years late. But it is very similar to the 777 that we already have, so there is a commonality there, but it is much bigger.” KLM had plans to operate seven A350-900s, but these aircraft were swapped for 787s from Air France. (Airbus) Or the A350-900... Buying the A350-900 for KLM would be another option, as it has more range and payload than the 787-10, but that is not needed for the KLM network. KLM originally had an order for seven A350-900s as part of an order for 28 aircraft. But it was decided in 2019 that Air France would take all A350s while KLM would get all the Boeing 787s originally planned for its French partner. An outside contender is the Airbus A330neo, Smith said, as it doesn’t have the range for the KLM network and is smaller than the 787-10 and A350-900. KLM would consider the type only if the pricing is good and lucrative, but that is a remote option. “Today, our teams act free, looking at what are the options and negotiating with Boeing and Airbus to see what kind of pricing would be there, negotiating with the engine manufacturers to see what kind of contracts we can get and what kind of work we could do in-house. They then will come up with a recommendation to the Board,” said Smith. The timing and pricing of the order will be important. “I would like to place an order this year. If we could have deliveries in eighteen to 24 months, that would be fantastic. Whether we can do that, I am not sure.”

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