KLM is undergoing one of the biggest fleet transformations of its history. The airline is making a shift from being a Boeing-centric airline to operating more Airbus planes. Some fan favorite aircraft are leaving, making space for new generation highly efficient aircraft. Additionally cabin configurations are also evolving rapidly. Here's what's going on at KLM with its fleet.
Index: KLM Fleet Analysis 2026
- The Fleet Structure
- Widebody: 777 Retrofits & The 787
- Did You Know? The “KLM Asia” Livery
- Narrow Body: The A321neo Takeover
- Cityhopper: Embraer & Engine Issues
- Cargo: The Last 747 Queens
The KLM Fleet Structure
Despite the Netherlands being a relatively small country, they are home to one of the most influential airlines in Europe and worldwide.
KLM, part of the Air France-KLM Group, operates a massive operation out Amsterdam's Schiphol International airport.
The airline's fleet is structured in such a way to enable such a large scale operation. It is divided into 3 sub-fleets:
- Mainline
- Cityhopper
- Cargo
KLM used to be famous for being one of Boeing's most loyal customers in Europe. That is rapidly changing as I'll explain in this post.
Widebody Fleet: 777 Retrofits & The 787
Let's dive right into the KLM widebody fleet in 2026. The dust has finally settled on the massive cabin retrofit program, but a new fleet renewal phase is just kicking off.
| Aircraft Type | In Service | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Boeing 787-10 | 10 | Flagship |
| Boeing 787-9 | 13 | Flagship |
| Boeing 777-300ER | 16 | New Cabins (Doors) |
| Boeing 777-200ER | 15 | New Cabins (Doors) |
| Airbus A330-300 | 5 | To be retired |
| Airbus A330-200 | 6 | To be retired |
The passenger experience has standardized significantly now that the airline has completed the reconfiguration of its Boeing 777 fleet. The ancient 2-2-2 layout in business class is history.
The entire 777 fleet (-200ER and -300ER) now features the 1-2-1 World Business Class and a dedicated Premium Comfort cabin. The privacy doors and direct aisle access have finally brought KLM's hard product in line with sister airline Air France and other top-tier carriers.
However, this retrofit has created a strange hierarchy in the fleet: the older 777s now offer a superior passenger experience to the newer 787 Dreamliners.
Because the 777 fuselage is wider, the new business class seats feel significantly more spacious than the reverse herringbone seats found on the 787s. If you have the choice, the “old” 777 is actually the better ride.
Looking at retirements, the Airbus A330s (-200 and -300) are dead men walking. They are the “Lame Ducks” of the operation, flying with the outdated 2-2-2 business class and no Premium Economy until they are parked for good.
But they aren't alone. You missed that the Boeing 777-200ER fleet is also on the chopping block. These frames are over 20 years old and are being phased out alongside the A330s.
The replacement for both the A330 and the 777-200ER is the Airbus A350-900. Deliveries are ramping up later in 2026, marking the end of an era for KLM's older Boeing widebodies.
Did You Know…
Some KLM wide body aircraft have a different livery, logo and branding on them?
You might come across some KLM wide body planes which are branded as KLM Asia and don't feature the royal crown in the logo and also include Chinese characters.
KLM Asia was born decades ago to continue serving Taiwan without offending the People's Republic of China that threatened to impose sanctions upon any airline operating flights.
In order to avoid such instances many airlines created subsidiaries such as KLM Asia dedicated to operating these flights.
Despite that being their primary use, they are not restricted to only Asian flights. You'll often see them in Los Angeles, Toronto or Cape Town, they are effectively part of the general fleet pool.
The KLM Asia fleet is made of a number of Boeing 777-200ER and 777-300ER. It used to also include the Boeing 747 Combi, however that aircraft is no longer part of KLM operations.
In 2026 this is little more than a fleet quirk, with the need of this type of subsidiary largely disappeared.
Narrow Body: The A321neo Takeover
| Aircraft Type | In Service | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-800 | 31 | Being replaced by A321neo |
| Boeing 737-900 | 5 | High capacity routes |
| Boeing 737-700 | 6 | Nearing retirement |
| Airbus A321neo | 12 | Delivered since late 2024 |
Where things really get interesting is in the narrow body division. This is the area where the biggest transformation is taking place.
Boeing used to be the sole supplier of single aisle aircraft for KLM's fleet. However, KLM is transitioning away from that situation by replacing its historical narrow body 737 fleet with an Airbus A321neo fleet.
The transition is still in its early stages with 12 active Airbus A321neo active as of February 2026.
Compared to the Boeing 737s the A321neo offers a higher passenger experience. The Airspace Cabin ensures larger overhead bin, the cabin is much quieter and each seat comes with USB-C ports and a phone holder.
I traveled on one of these A321neo last year from Amsterdam to Rome and it was a very pleasant experience despite the full cabin.
As for the Boeing 737s which account for the majority of the narrow body fleet, approximately 40 are still operating, they are progressively being phased out of KLM's fleet. Retirement of the smaller 737-700 is almost complete while the larger 737-800s will be completed in the next years.
Cityhopper: Embraer & Engine Headaches
| Aircraft Type | In Service | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Embraer E195-E2 | 25 | The backbone (despite engine issues) |
| Embraer E190 | 26 | To be replaced by E2 |
| Embraer E175 | 17 | Smallest jet |
Cityhopper is KLM's regional division. It operates some of the airline's shortest flights or operates routes to secondary or very small airfields.
KLM has one exclusive aircraft supplier for its regional Cityhopper fleet and that is Embraer.
This portion of the fleet has been also transitioning to new generation fuel efficient aircraft, but not without some major headaches.
KLM Cityhopper's fleet is primarily still made up of older generation E175, E190 and E195 aircraft. Deliveries of new generation E195-E2 planes have unlocked higher operational margins, as long as they are in service that is.
The Embraer E2 jets have in fact also unlocked some major headaches. The aircraft is powered by the notorious Pratt & Whitney GTF engines.
They have suffered massive maintenance issues in the past years which have been exacerbated by supply chain bottlenecks which have grounded E2 aircraft for long maintenance periods.
This has forced the airline to keep its older E jets operational for much longer than hoped. Furthermore KLM has had to also bring in expensive wet leased planes to keep the operation running smoothly during busy months.
Cargo: The Last Queens
For an aviation geek seeing the Boeing 747 disappear from passenger service is very sad.
However, with some luck, we can still admire the Queen of the Skies mostly at Amsterdam airport in its cargo livery.
KLM currently still operates 3 Boeing 747-400F for its cargo operations. Retaining that iconic KLM Blue on very few Boeing 747s for a little longer.
Read Next: More Fleet Analysis
- Lufthansa Fleet 2026: The Centenary & New Cabins
- American Airlines Fleet 2026: 1,000+ Planes & A321XLR
- KLM's A321neo Livery Presented
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