KLM's First Airbus A350 Completes 90-Minute 1st Flight

Published Sep 4, 2026, 12:22 PM EDT Paul has had a career of 25+ years focused on the international technology sector, which has taken him to over 100 countries. Along the way, he developed a deep love for aviation, with a travel bucket list measured by aircraft types flown rather than destinations reached. Now he brings that avgeek passion, along with the journalism experience he accumulated early in his career, to write insightful pieces for Simple Flying. KLM's first-ever Airbus A350-900 has taken to the skies, marking one of the final major milestones before the Dutch flag carrier takes delivery of its newest long-haul aircraft. The jet departed Toulouse-Blagnac Airport (TLS) shortly after 12:30 PM local time on Friday for a test flight lasting just more than 90 minutes over southwestern France and the Bay of Biscay before returning to the Airbus facility. The aircraft currently carries Airbus test registration F-WZNM but will become PH-ZNA after delivery to KLM. Named The Night Watch after Rembrandt's famous painting, it is the first of 22 A350-900s earmarked for KLM, and the centerpiece of a multibillion-euro fleet renewal that will eventually see the carrier retire its Airbus A330s and older Boeing 777s. KLM's First Airbus A350 Has Taken To The Skies Credit: Simple Flying Friday's flight was the culmination of months of work at Airbus' Toulouse facility. The aircraft entered final assembly earlier this year, subsequently received KLM's distinctive blue-and-white livery, and completed a rejected takeoff test on Thursday before being cleared for its first flight. PH-ZNA departed at 12:32 PM local time, and flew for more than an hour and a half (see the Simple Flying Flight Tracker replay below) before returning to Toulouse, where further testing and customer acceptance work will precede delivery. Credit: Simple Flying KLM has also used the aircraft to introduce a new naming convention. Its future A350s will be named after iconic Dutch artworks, beginning with Rembrandt's The Night Watch, which is displayed at Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum. KLM had initially expected to receive its first A350-900 at the end of August before delays pushed the handover later into the summer. Nevertheless, KLM CEO Marjan Rintel is eagerly anticipating its arrival: "I look forward to a big upcoming highlight, the arrival of our first Airbus A350, which will be a significant step in our fleet renewal program and welcomed by our customers." Passengers will have to wait a little longer to fly on it. KLM originally planned to introduce the A350 to Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) in September, subsequently moved the launch to October 9, and has now rescheduled the first planned Amsterdam-Toronto service to October 23. AeroRoutes shows KL691/692 operating five times weekly with the A350 initially, while the remaining Toronto frequencies continue using other widebodies. KLM Has 22 Airbus A350-900s Coming Credit: Simple Flying PH-ZNA is only the beginning. Air France-KLM placed a group order for 50 A350-family aircraft back in 2023, accompanied by purchase rights for another 40, with deliveries scheduled from 2026 through 2030. Of those 50 aircraft, 22 A350-900s are currently allocated to KLM and 28 to Air France. KLM had been expecting three A350-900s during 2026 and another three in 2027, although as Reuters reported in May, there have been timeline slippages affecting the A350 production line due to problems ​in securing critical fuselage parts from the former Spirit ​AeroSystems plant in Kinston, North Carolina. The A350s form part of KLM's approximately €7 billion fleet-renewal program, alongside Airbus A321neos on European services, Embraer E195-E2s at KLM Cityhopper, and additional Boeing 787 Dreamliners. The A350s are primarily replacement aircraft rather than straightforward growth: KLM plans to phase out its remaining Airbus A330-200s and Airbus A330-300s before turning increasingly toward its older Boeing 777-200ERs. Aircraft Current Fleet Role In KLM Fleet Retirement / Replacement Plan Airbus A330-200 5 First to be replaced Summer 2027 schedule shows no A330-200 services. Airbus A330-300 5 Progressively replaced by A350 The remaining -300s will be phased out by 2029. Boeing 777-200ER 15 Major A350 replacement target No firm date for the final -200ER retirement. Boeing 777-300ER 16 Remains alongside the A350 No retirement planned. Boeing 787-9 13 Remains alongside the A350 No retirement planned. Boeing 787-10 15 Remains alongside the A350 No retirement planned. Airbus A350-900 22 planned New-generation long-haul backbone 22 A350-900s to be delivered through 2030. Passengers will find 331 seats onboard the new A350-900s: 34 World Business Class seats in a 1-2-1 layout, 26 Premium Comfort seats in 2-4-2, and 271 Economy seats in 3-3-3, including Economy Comfort. However, one of the aircraft's most important cabins will initially be unavailable. KLM says a revised interpretation of regulatory requirements has delayed certification of its new World Business Class seats, meaning the first two A350s are expected to enter service without those 34 seats available for passengers. First A350 Routes Planned Start Initial Operation Amsterdam — Toronto October 23, 2026 5 weekly Amsterdam — Montreal November 30, 2026 3 weekly Amsterdam — Kilimanjaro-Dar es Salaam — Amsterdam December 1, 2026 2 of 5 weekly Amsterdam — Zanzibar-Dar es Salaam — Amsterdam December 6, 2026 1 of 2 weekly Amsterdam — Nairobi January 5, 2027 2 of 7 weekly KLM is initially concentrating its A350 flying on Canada and Africa rather than immediately sending the aircraft to traditional flagship destinations such as New York or Los Angeles. Current schedules have Toronto first, followed by Montréal–Trudeau International Airport (YUL), and then services involving Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Nairobi. Meanwhile, KLM's cargo operation is also preparing for the A350 generation through the forthcoming Airbus A350F, whose development program is moving toward its own first flight. Credit: Thomas Roell | Shutterstock The A350's importance to KLM goes considerably further than fuel savings or passenger comfort, and becomes something of a regulatory survival tool due to the airline's Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) hub operating under increasingly strict noise constraints. The Dutch government's Balanced Approach established a limit of 478,000 annual aircraft movements from November 2025, including no more than 27,000 nighttime movements. That makes newer widebodies particularly valuable. Schiphol reported in July that 38% of aircraft using the airport during the first half of 2026 were in its two quietest charging categories, up from 29% a year earlier. Its measurements also show newer A330neos, A350s and 787s generating around 3–5 dB less noise on departure than older A330s and 777s, while Schiphol's charging regime makes quieter aircraft relatively cheaper and older, noisier aircraft more expensive — particularly at night. KLM acknowledged this, recently saying: "Compared to the Boeing 777-200ER, the A350 consumes 25% less fuel, but just as importantly, it has a 40% smaller noise footprint." That means that there could even be a longer-term growth dividend. The Dutch government says that once the agreed 20% noise-reduction objective has been achieved, additional "noise space" created by measures such as introducing quieter aircraft will be divided 50/50 between the aviation sector and surrounding communities. For KLM, therefore, replacing older widebodies with A350s will ultimately contribute to creating room for controlled growth in the future.