Mr. Boet Kreiken, Managing Director, KLM Cityhopper (L), and members of the airline’s inspection team and flight crew posed in front of the new E190 that sports the carrier’s modified livery.
The 28th E-Jet for KLM Cityhopper was delivered to the airline at a ceremony at the company’s factory in São José dos Campos on April 28. The aircraft is leased from Bank of China Aviation. This latest delivery makes KLM Cityhopper the operator of the largest fleet of E-Jets in Europe. The carrier received its first E-Jet in 2009 and has been acquiring 100-seat E190s as part of its ongoing fleet modernization program.
Mr. Paulo Cesar Silva (R) presents a gift of first metal cuts from PH-EXD to Mr. Elbers.
Aircraft PH-EXD is the first KLM aircraft with the airline’s modifed livery. Affectionately named “the smiling dolphin,” the dark blue horizontal line below the iconic blue upper fuselage dips below the forward door. The resulting curve on the rounded nose of the E190 gives the impression that the E190 is the smiling marine mammal.
Boet Kreiken e Pieter Elbers.
Mr. Pieter Elbers, KLM’s Chief Operating Officer, was among the guests at the event. With Mr. Peter Goodman from Bank of China Aviation also in attendance, Mr. Paulo Cesar Silva, Embraer’s President of Commercial Aviation, formally handed over the E190 to Mr. Elbers.
As PH-EXD taxied for the long ferry flight to Amsterdam, the crew displayed the Brazilian flag to employees who traditionally wave goodbye to every new aircraft leaving the factory.
