KLM has taken delivery of its first Airbus A321neo, which it aims to put into service on its European network in mid-September.
The twinjet, powered by CFM International Leap-1A engines, was handed over at Airbus’s Hamburg Finkenwerder plant and flown to Amsterdam Schiphol.
“Arrival of the first A321neo marks the start of replacing our Boeing 737 fleet,” says KLM chief executive Marjan Rintel.
KLM says it will deploy the aircraft initially on routes to Copenhagen, Berlin and Stockholm, followed by Paris, Prague and Vienna.
The carrier will take up to three more of the variant this year, all of them given the names of butterfly species.
Airbus states that the aircraft is configured in a two-class layout with 227 seats.
KLM adds that the aircraft is part of a €7 billion ($7.8 billion) fleet-renewal programme which includes introduction of Embraer E2s to the Cityhopper fleet, Airbus A350s – both passenger and freighter models – and Boeing 787-10s.
