KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL, Amsterdam Schiphol) will start phasing out its fleet of B747-400(M)s with PH-BFM (msn 26373) having been parked at Teruel late last month and to be completely withdrawn from the fleet in early January 2016 after the introduction of the first B787-9 expected by mid-November. A second B747-400(M) PH-BFO (msn 25413) will be phased out by March 2016. KLM has meanwhile decided to postpone the retirement of a third aircraft of the same type (PH-BFC, msn 23982) by at least one, if not two years.
In late 2013, Erik Varwijk, then the Executive Vice President of Air France-KLM-Martinair (Netherlands) Cargo, said KLM's fleet of B747-400(M)s would be phased out between 2016 and 2020.
The Dutch carrier currently operates five B747-400s averaging 25.1 years of age, three B747-400(F)s averaging 12.3 years of age, and sixteen B747-400(M)s averaging 21.8 years of age.
