A KLM 747-206B is taxiing over the A4/E10 expressway on her way to runway 01L/19R (now 18C/36C) sometime during the summer of 1972. The aircraft, registered PH-BUE and named "Rio de la Plata", joined the fleet on September 30, 1971. It was the fifth aircraft to be delivered out of a total of seven initially ordered by KLM.
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Published: March 25, 2020
The end of an era
Due to the coronavirus and the resulting dramatic collapse of passenger demand, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has decided to speed up the retirement of the of the last passenger and combi versions of the Boeing 747. Yours truly feels very sad to see the 747 leave the KLM fleet, as many of my happiest aviation memories are tied to it!
Therefore, we here at AirportHistory.org want to pay tribute to this legendary aircraft--Queen of the Skies--operating for this iconic carrier. As this site is all about airports, we will show some great images of KLM 747s at their home base of Amsterdam Schiphol, whose success and growth was inextricably intertwined with the aircraft over several decades.
In the modern era, an army of amateur photographers has documented virtually every movement of every KLM 747 at Schiphol. Thus, for this photo special, we will focus on the first 20 years (1971-1991), a period from which images are quite rare.
Therefore, we here at AirportHistory.org want to pay tribute to this legendary aircraft--Queen of the Skies--operating for this iconic carrier. As this site is all about airports, we will show some great images of KLM 747s at their home base of Amsterdam Schiphol, whose success and growth was inextricably intertwined with the aircraft over several decades.
In the modern era, an army of amateur photographers has documented virtually every movement of every KLM 747 at Schiphol. Thus, for this photo special, we will focus on the first 20 years (1971-1991), a period from which images are quite rare.
KLM's first Boeing 747-206B (PH-BUA "Mississippi") is parked at Gate B30 (now D Pier). KLM first introduced the 747 in February 1971 on the Amsterdam-New York route. Although the expanded Schiphol (1967) was a state-of-the-art facility, it was designed before Boeing announced the 747. The holding lounges and luggage belts were not designed to accommodate several hundred passengers simultaneously. Luckily, the plan provided for plenty of room for expansion.
In April 1971, a 125-meter extension of the C Pier opened, which could handle several wide-body aircraft at once. The extension provided five holding lounges, each able to accommodate 400 passengers. The extension introduced the world's first over-the-wing boarding bridge, produced by Dutch company Aviobridge, as you'll see above. The extension also introduced the concept of nose-in parking at Schiphol Airport.
The 1960s meets the 1970s in this classic early Jet Age image, taken in 1971.
KLM built a special maintenance hangar, Hangar 11, for the maintenance of Boeing 747s and DC-10s. The hangar, called "Jan Delleart", Schiphol's first Director and the visionary behind the modern Schiphol, can handle three 747s simultaneously.
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Video of the arrival of the first KLM 747 named "Mississippi" at Schiphol in 1971. It is in Dutch but the images explain it all.
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PH-BUA "Mississipi" takes off from runway 06/24 in 1971. There are plenty of color images around from that time but I just love the classic look of black and white images.
A fantastic 1973 image of PH-BUC named "The Amazon" being serviced at the gate, while a Douglas DC-10 taxies by. DC-10s started joining the fleet in December 1972 and were delivered in the characteristic blue livery that most people associate with KLM. The KLM 747s were repainted in the period between 1974 and 1977.
Your's truly (left) about to board a KLM 747 to Atlanta in August, 1981.
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Schiphol ca. 1982. In 1975, a major expansion project was opened doubling the terminal in size and adding a concourse dedicated to wide-body aircraft.
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A classic 1980s Schiphol Airport press image. The featured aircraft is a Boeing 747-206B, with the registration PH-BUE and named "Rio de la Plata".
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PH-BUG "The Orinoco" is parked at gate D55 (Now F9). The D Pier featured eight gates equipped with over-the-wing bridges. Although Aviobridge sold a number of these boarding bridges to other airports such as JFK, they were uniquely associated with Schiphol.
Classic tails on the ramp. This will always always be my favorite KLM livery.
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Five KLM 747s are parked next to each other on the buffer platform in this 1984 aerial. The middle aircraft is a brand new Boeing 747-306(M). Registered as N4548M (Later PH-BUU) and named "Sir Frank Whittle", the aircraft joined the fleet in September 1983.
The PH-BUM "Sir Charles E. Kingsford Smith" takes off with grace from runway 06/24 ca. 1980.
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An aerial image of the F Pier ca. 1991, at the absolute height of the 747 era. A mix of 747 classics and 400s is parked at the F Pier. Construction of what was then called "Terminal West" and the associated Pier G is still in progress above.
The end!
We hope you liked our little tribute to the KLM 747. The 747 is not gone quite yet. KLM 747 freighters will continue to fly the skies for years to come. Most importantly, we will always have our memories of the aircraft...and of course, great images!
We recently wrote an article on Schiphol's infamous runway in the middle of nowhere, the "Polderbaan". You can read that here. Stay tuned as we will be launching a full history of Schiphol Airport soon.
Check out our articles about other airports here.
Did you fly in KLM's 747 in the early years? Leave a comment below and share your memories!
We recently wrote an article on Schiphol's infamous runway in the middle of nowhere, the "Polderbaan". You can read that here. Stay tuned as we will be launching a full history of Schiphol Airport soon.
Check out our articles about other airports here.
Did you fly in KLM's 747 in the early years? Leave a comment below and share your memories!
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Acknowledgements
A special thanks to Ronald Dijkstra, retired KLM 747 captain and fellow aviation historian, for his help in dating some of the images. Ronald was involved in a great book about KLM's 747 classics and is currently working on a book on the KLM 747-400. For more information on both books, follow this link.