KLM had ten MD-11s, with the first arriving three decades ago in 1993. KLM retired the aircraft type in 2014. While that was historic in itself, it was even more significant: it marked the end of all passenger MD-11 services worldwide.

There's no denying it, for passenger airlines, the MD-11 was not popular. This was due to its range (despite modifications and updates), relative fuel inefficiency and economic problems, poor timing, the rise of more suitable twin engine alternatives, and the decline of McDonnell Douglas. However, it had a much more important role as a freighter, just not for KLM.

The last passenger MD-11 flight

KLM's last MD-11 scheduled passenger service – and thus the end of the type in passenger role – came on October 26th, 2014, following KL672 landing in Amsterdam Schiphol Airport from Montreal. PH-KCE operated KLM's final MD-11 flight. According to ch-aviation.com, PH-KCE was delivered to the Netherlands' flag carrier in November 1994.

All ten aircraft had a 282-seat layout: 251 in economy and 31 in business. That's a capacity space now occupied by both the A330-300 and 787-9, each of which has 292 seats, including 30 in business.

Like eight other MD-11s, PH-KCE was used exclusively by KLM. The sole exception was PH-KCI, which was deployed by Brazil's long-defunct VASP between 1995 and 1998 as PP-SPM.

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36 KLM MD-11 destinations

Analyzing schedules reveals that KLM flew the MD-11 to 36 destinations from Amsterdam between 2004 and 2014, according to OAG. They involved seven continents and regions, with North America responsible for about 3 in 10 flights. That was mainly because Canada, one of 21 countries that saw the KLM's MD-11s that decade, had more flights than any other.

Broken down by airport and flights, the 36 destinations were: Bonaire, Montreal, Guayaquil, Delhi, Vancouver, San Francisco, Aruba, Panama City, Tehran, Accra, Lima, Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam, Curaçao, Paramaribo, Lagos, Hyderabad, Toronto, Dubai, Cairo, St Maarten, Miami, Havana, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Nairobi, Newark, New York JFK, Quito, Los Angeles, Calgary, Punta Cana, Washington Dulles, Chicago O'Hare, Kuwait, and Kolkata.

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What about Kolkata?

Note the last of those airports: Kolkata. Operating to India on Tuesdays, the long-distance route was served by KLM until January 2004, according to OAG. After that, Europe-Kolkata non-stops or one-stops were in the hands of Air India (until 2008, then briefly during coronavirus), British Airways (until 2009), and Lufthansa (until 2012).

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KLM routed Amsterdam-Delhi-Kolkata. Using the MD-11, KL875 departed Amsterdam at 11:00 and arrived in Delhi at 23:30 local. After being turned around, it departed to Kolkata, arriving at 02:35. Returning on Wednesdays, KL876 left Kolkata at 03:55, arriving home, again via Delhi, at 11:35, completing a 24h 35m roundtrip.

I only flew KLM's MD-11 twice: Amsterdam-Cairo roundtrip. Did you fly them? If so, share your experiences in the comments.

  • KLM Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner PH-BHP (2)
    KLM
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    KL/KLM
    Airline Type:
    Full Service Carrier
    Hub(s):
    Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
    Year Founded:
    1919
    Alliance:
    SkyTeam
    Airline Group:
    Air France-KLM
    CEO:
    Marjan Rintel
    Country:
    Netherlands