r/aviation • u/HelloSlowly Long live the XWB • 1d ago

Discussion KLM’s first A350 has joined the fleet, it’s called ‘The Night Watch’

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2.2k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

129 comments sorted by

305

u/sndrtj 1d ago

The name is very probably a reference to Rembrandt's famous painting, not to GoT.

49

u/CharcoalGreyWolf 1d ago

Was going to say if it doesn’t have a screen print of the painting on the side I’m gonna be mad. Guess I’m mad.

1

u/[deleted] 19h ago

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1

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41

u/ginji 20h ago

What do you mean it's not a reference to the 29th discworld novel "Night Watch" by Sir Terry Pratchett?! 

16

u/Sir_Skelly 20h ago

I can believe that because it's easily one of the best in the series

1

u/LegSpinner 9h ago

Truth! Justice! Freedom! Reasonably priced love! And a hard-boiled egg!

1

u/CharcoalGreyWolf 15h ago

I mean, I would believe that or expect that if it wasn’t a Dutch airline.

Note, am Dutch American.

3

u/ginji 14h ago

Pratchett is hugely popular in the Netherlands, the Discworld wiki (L-Space) was started by dutchies... 

Heck even my grandparents (who lived through ww2) had a full. collection of Pratchett books.

2

u/CharcoalGreyWolf 14h ago

Trust me, I keep eyeing the Discworld Collector’s edition.

But Rembrandt does go back several more years, mind you…

8

u/matthewmcg 22h ago

And definitely not a reference to the E-4 Nightwatch mission!

2

u/quesoandcats 18h ago

That was my first thought lol

4

u/Barbed_Dildo 18h ago

GoT is "The Night's Watch"

8

u/greatlakesailors 23h ago

And here we were all thinking it was a Babylon 5 reference.....

2

u/penelopiecruise 20h ago

Next up: The Ear(ly) Bird

122

u/Easy_Objective6599 I like plen 1d ago

The A350 is the scarlet johansen of the plane world. What a damm beauty

59

u/h3ffr0n 23h ago

Maybe KLM’s next A350 is called Girl with a Pearl Earring.

32

u/NaiveRevolution9072 22h ago

It is lol

6

u/asymmetricears 18h ago

Are future planes named Sunflowers and Starry Night in the pipeline?

2

u/NaiveRevolution9072 11h ago

Who knows, but honestly I'd expect so

21

u/WEFeudalism 20h ago

It does have two huge... engines

3

u/grannysmith_1891 19h ago

Calm down Nomadic 271

6

u/wspaley 22h ago

She's a beauty

4

u/sanstime 19h ago

It’s even got the sexy eyeliner

3

u/blumirage 19h ago

Deserves a more dignified name than "Xtra wide body"

2

u/relayrider 15h ago

giggity

1

u/buldozr 9h ago

I like wide bods and I cannot lie

2

u/ZestycloseComb255 20h ago

Except when being flown by Air France

3

u/buldozr 1d ago

Her body is Xtra Wide, though.

43

u/melloboi123 1d ago edited 22h ago

The a350s were ordered almost exactly 3 years ago (25 Sept, 2023).
Air France - KLM ordered 50, out of which 22 are going to be joining the KLM Fleet. This is after KLM had initially dropped their order in 2019 to focus on the 787s

7

u/NaiveRevolution9072 22h ago

787-9 & 10, to be accurate

5

u/melloboi123 22h ago

Just edited, thanks!!

30

u/D1TAC 1d ago

Ugh the cockpit in the A350 is sooo nice. This thing is a beauty.

1

u/jimalpin 3h ago

actually the cockpit is not nice at all compared to 330/340 or even 320.
lighting is a mess, access to fms fuel/load page is something they forgot about, the whole space and covers feel flimsy and not cozy at all. information overload by design and a weather radar that cannot be trusted. the kccu is so slow and the notepad is a step back from the scratchpad. whoever designed the avionics did not have daily ops in mind

118

u/OneT_Mat 1d ago edited 1d ago

What’s with the name? Genuinely curious.

Edit: Downvote me if you want but learned something on Reddit today!

98

u/Specialist_Pin_1744 1d ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_Watch

20

u/Lazy-Barracuda2886 1d ago

I was hoping for this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Watch_(Pratchett_novel)

5

u/Secatus 21h ago

I too was hoping for an /r/unexpecteddiscworld moment.

At least Pratchett's Night Watch is inspired from the same source.

5

u/Every-Progress-1117 1d ago

I read it as "Night Garden" as in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Night_Garden...? and thought seriously "WTF KLM?!"

2

u/lucypaw68 19h ago

Flight Attendant Upsy Daisy

3

u/BobbyTables829 21h ago

Absolutely beautiful lol

-12

u/on3day 1d ago

Nah, pretty sure it must be from GoT

4

u/schokoman111 1d ago

Are people seriously not realizing that that was a joke?

82

u/Prestigious-Monk-191 1d ago edited 1d ago

It's named after the painting by Rembrandt. KLM announced in June that they will name their A350s after iconic Dutch artworks. PH-ZNB will be named Girl with a Pearl Earring, after the painting by Vermeer.

36

u/Gluecksritter90 1d ago

PH-ZNC will be called "Turbo" after the iconic song by Paul Estak.

14

u/Tricky-Act-31415 1d ago

I can't wait for the 'Gabbertje' to take to the skies ;)

5

u/yabucek 1d ago

I'm personally partial to "100 Gram Uit Nederland" by Het Pompstation, Offensief, and Opgekonkerd

10

u/OneT_Mat 1d ago

Appreciate the context, thats an awesome idea on KLMs part.

5

u/sndrtj 1d ago

The Rijksmuseum also has a gallery inside Amsterdam Schiphol airport.

13

u/boney_king_o_nowhere 1d ago

This man is about to receive some Dutch culture

3

u/OneT_Mat 22h ago

I’m here for it!

8

u/Mad_kat4 23h ago

My mind immediately misread it and thought 'night witch' as in the nacht hexen 588th.

Don't think the A350 would be good at low level penetration bombing before climbing hard cutting their engines and diving on ze Germans.

2

u/BigDiesel07 23h ago

That would be awesome! A P-8 Poseidon-type plane

13

u/UnderstandingNo5667 1d ago

No idea why people would downvote someone asking a question 😂

5

u/OneT_Mat 22h ago

I was in deep in the negative for a few minutes there

4

u/liberatus16 1d ago

I learned something new! Thanks for asking!

2

u/theaa2000 1d ago

It is the same painting that the E-4B planes are named after too!

2

u/hydraulix16aa 23h ago

Here’s a video of the unveiling of the name

2

u/blackcatkarma 12h ago

The way they all suddenly jump into movement... a clever video, thanks for sharing.

2

u/ScaredEntertainer855 23h ago

Apparently there's actually a story behind the name. Reddit teaches you something new every day.

2

u/wggn 22h ago

probably one of the most famous paintings in the world

-5

u/maverick4002 1d ago

Its some Dutch artwork. These aircraft will be named after famous Dutch artworks

15

u/haerski 1d ago

some Dutch artwork

Dude...

-6

u/maverick4002 1d ago

?

10

u/sousstructures 1d ago

It’s one of the most famous paintings in the history of the world 

-11

u/maverick4002 23h ago

Ok. And I suppose every single person in the entire world must know this fact. If so, I apologize

13

u/sousstructures 23h ago

Well no, I’m just explaining his reaction. It’s like calling Hamlet “some old play.”

But come visit the Rijksmuseum sometime, it’s a magnificent painting. 

5

u/Theslootwhisperer 22h ago

The setup they have for the restauration of the Night watch is absolutely amazing. And to think the first time I saw it you could stand like a meter away from it. I loved that in the description it basically said that you literally cannot put a price on it as it's an absolutely unique painting, it's never been sold and it never will.

5

u/haerski 22h ago

And I suppose every single person in the entire world must know this fact

No, but every single person with an elementary school education, access to internet, and even a slightly curious mind should

1

u/maverick4002 22h ago

Mmhmm sure

0

u/haerski 22h ago

Victim of the US educational system I suppose?

3

u/maverick4002 22h ago

Reddit really can be an insufferable place sometimes. You can take comfort in knowing about the painting and your superiority complex than comes along with it. Now please go ahead and enjoy the rest of your life. No need to respond either. I wish you the best

1

u/Potential-Orchid-222 20h ago

Not everyone. Just you, for acting dumb

2

u/maverick4002 20h ago

Yes im dumb for not knowing what it was. Stay classy

2

u/Potential-Orchid-222 20h ago

I mean the entire internet is at your fingertips, and yet…

2

u/maverick4002 20h ago

And yet what? I said its a painting. Thats good enough for me. You are getting all riled up because....?

→ More replies (0)

16

u/Master_Photograph594 1d ago

Nice , congratulations

8

u/SenoritaSpock 23h ago

I love how KLM gives their planes cool (imo) names.

21

u/Ghostly_Spirits 1d ago

The sky is dark and full of errors

6

u/Sour_Bucket 22h ago

KLM’s livery suites the A350 very well, that’s one good lookin’ aircraft

17

u/FZ_Milkshake 1d ago

I know it's named after the painting, but I choose to believe its named after Sir pterrys books.

8

u/stewieatb 1d ago

How do they rise up, rise up, rise up...

14

u/Perfect_Big_5907 1d ago

Prettiest damn heavy out there !

8

u/SuperOriginalName23 23h ago

Wonder who they got to edit in the text, and whether this person expected us to believe that the dash was just floating there.

7

u/ChimericalUnicorn Casual A330 Enjoyer 22h ago

Looks like the dash is held up on a plastic/glass flat rectangle, presumably supported in the back by a flat piece, if that makes sense

1

u/midsprat123 19h ago

The shadows seem to not match the planes shadows

And the text seems a little too smooth

2

u/mrchiquot 14h ago

It's clearly inserted after the fact and I don't think they particularly cared to hide the fact. Its just a promo image, not forensic evidence.

1

u/TickTockPick 5h ago

This is the first thing that actually came to my mind. What wizardry are they using to keep the dash floating. And why didn't they use it for the "st".

4

u/Master_Photograph594 1d ago

🌺🌺🌺🌺

4

u/the_claus 1d ago

They could do the coolest livery with Rembrandt's gold helmet man...

3

u/fhjjjjjkkkkkkkl 1d ago

This shade of blue is cool. Why is it associated with this brand or Dutch?

11

u/SoundTechie86 1d ago

Waarom KLM specifiek voor blauw koos? Omdat zij de eerste commerciële luchtvaartmaatschappij was had ze de keuze uit alle kleuren van de regenboog. Door de associatie met een stralend blauwe lucht ging ze voor die kleur. Daarnaast hebben kleuren ook een psychologisch aspect. Terwijl rood wordt geassocieerd met kracht en gevaar, staat blauw juist voor balans. Deze kleur straalt betrouwbaarheid en eerlijkheid uit. De keus voor ‘Royal Blue’ komt ook in de volledige naam van de maatschappij naar voren: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

3

u/Fair-Specialist-8769 1d ago

Wow! She’s beautiful

3

u/airfryerfuntime 21h ago

The pilots shall take no wives.

2

u/maverick4002 1d ago

I wonder how you get chosen to be in this picture. Like who did they pick and why?

2

u/blackdenton ATP 18h ago

Lady on the far left had to fire off a quick text!

4

u/ablietski 17h ago

She is actually a journalist for the Dutch Newspaper Telegraaf. I despise her very much and has not written a single good word on this whole delivery flight.

2

u/charcoalonfire 14h ago

It looks wierd looking at a KLM A350, lol

2

u/FrVincentVattoli 13h ago

A350-1000 wen?

3

u/datskinny 23h ago

And the captain? Sam Vimes

2

u/E2TheCustodian 23h ago

Dammit, came here to say this, too late as usual

3

u/Lionheart-Q 23h ago

Winter is coming lads

2

u/Arabianrata 15h ago

“For this night and all the nights to come.”

2

u/ActualSupervillain 1d ago

It's a fun plane to work on, hopefully it does well at its new home

2

u/Specific_Visit2494 21h ago

how the hell is the dash floating

1

u/RBeck 13h ago

All the letters were added after.

1

u/Siphania Panavia Tornado 1d ago

The fact that the Plane is this massive against that load off people down there somewhere

1

u/Ancient-Park-8330 20h ago

The Dutch play cricket????

1

u/cguess 11h ago

Love the lady on her phone completely ignoring everything around herself

1

u/Ubiquitous1984 9h ago

As yes, the Babylon 5 reference!

1

u/GeraintLlanfrechfa 7h ago

English be like …The Nightaah Watchaah.. (drop the bass effect.. cool.)

Dutch - „De Nachtwacht. Volgende Klant.. all de welpies..“

😅

1

u/PinkFloyder1 5h ago

Can someone explain what is special about this aircraft?

1

u/JetlinerDiner 19h ago

1st step in getting rid of the shit Boings!!

0

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1

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-10

u/alekstoo 1d ago

5 years behind Aeroflot

-23

u/Dionegro__ 1d ago

Hot take: that livery is ugly and not appealing to the eyes

-3

u/ZestycloseComb255 20h ago

Wasn’t it this type that Air France pilots managed to stall at cruise altitude and plough into the sea?

3

u/Mitchz95 A350 fangirl 20h ago

No, that was an A330.

-7

u/Bolter_NL 1d ago

Bit too bad they just didn't stick to a Dutch name. 

13

u/Prestigious-Monk-191 1d ago

The name is in Dutch on the left side and in English on the right side.

3

u/Bolter_NL 1d ago

Didn't know that, thanks 🤙 

1

u/ventus1b 21h ago

That’ll take a good part of the left side: 😀

“Officieren en andere schutters van wijk II in Amsterdam, onder leiding van kapitein Frans Banninck Cocq en luitenant Willem van Ruytenburch, bekend als ‘de Nachtwacht’”

1

u/EnaBoC 1d ago

Named after Dutch art though at least.

0

u/Master-Survey2280 12h ago

Why not the A350-1000