“KLM’s Newest Dreamliner, PH-BKI ‘Violet’, Takes Flight to Amsterdam: Updates on Boeing 787 Production”

KLM expanded its 787 fleet last week. Although it is the most recent Dreamliner, it did not roll out of the factory recently.

The 787, which is known as PH-BKI and bears the name ‘Violet’, left the Boeing factory in Everett for Schiphol on Thursday at 2:15 pm local time. The KL9874 landed after eight hours and forty-five minutes on the Oostbaan, the shortest runway at the airport. From data from Flightradar24 it turns out that the 787 then drove to the KLM hangar. Until now, the machine is still there. It is not yet known when the aircraft will perform its first commercial flight.

787 not the youngest

KLM currently has 22 Dreamliners in service with the PH-BKI. The aircraft that appeared on Dutch soil on Thursday is the ninth 787-10; the others are 787-9s. Although the machine was the last to join the 787 fleet, it’s not just a few months old. The PH-BKI is now in its third year of life. The aircraft made its first test flight in July 2020 and the last on August 26 that year. Subsequently, the Dreamliner performed a number of flights within the United States last year.

Production of Dreamliner

The delay was due to strict oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Various problems in production came to light in recent years, as a result of which the delivery of the Dreamliners was halted. In 2021, the American aircraft manufacturer reported that some parts had been produced defectively in recent years. Some titanium parts would be weaker than desired. In 2022, Boeing resumed deliveries of the 787s, but water leaks were found that same year. In March this year, the FAA approved the resolution of this issue, allowing deliveries to resume. As a result of all this, KLM received its ninth 787-10 considerably later than planned. This plane is according to Simple Flying equipped with a cabin layout than the other machines of this type that KLM flies. The premium economy cabin is missing from the PH-BKI. It is possible that it will be added at a later stage.