14 Dec

Last Flight of Captain Thijs Jongsma @ KLM

After a career of 31 years and 10 months Captain Thijs Jongsma got his last flight due to retirement at KLM. JFK was his first and his last destination !!! How wonderful. Flight KL641 , stand F7, got a RWY24 departure and was operated with the B787-10 Dreamliner reg PHBKC. First Officer Vincent Aupers was his ‘Wingman’ and big friend Captain Dimitri van der Vieren in behind and joining this flight as well. Captain Thijs was his first instructor and good friend. Backflight KL642 with an quite early arrival with Thijs’ final touchdown at 6:08LT on RWY18R and taxying to […]

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17 Aug

Last Flight of Captain Bas Lindenkamp @ KLM

After 31 years and 8 months Captain Bas Lindenkamp got his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Unfortunately he could’nt operate a last takeoff at homebase Amsterdam. KLM did send him to Boston as passenger with a Triple Seven. But…………. his final flight ended with a beautiful landing at RWY 06 ,assited by First Officer Jes Nissen as his ‘Wingman’. Flight KL618 got operated with a A330-300 reg PHAKF and final stand Echo 2. Filming this last flight of Captain Bas was orchestrated by First Officer Sebastiaan Kesseler (KLC) Career at KLM KLM 31 jaar 8 maanden -Captain A330-200/300 […]

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21 Jul

Last Flight of Captain Klaas van Veen @ KLM

Captain Klaas van Veen got his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Final destination was Hong Kong and back Amsterdam. Heading for Hong Kong and assisted by First Officer Arjen Schwartz as his ‘Wingman’. Flight KL887 , stand Echo 6 , and a runway 18L departure operated with the B777-200 Reg PHBQB. Backflight KL888 with the lovely callsign ‘Triple Eight’ got runway 27 to land and after vacating the follow-me cars were waiting. An awesome final part guided to final stand Fox 9. KL888 was operated with the B777-200 Reg PHBQD Filming the last flight of Captain Klaas was […]

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10 Jul

Last Flight of Captain Roef Dieters @ KLM

After 30 years and 8 months Captain Roef Dieters got his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Captain Roef, heading for Kuala Lumpur- Manilla and back Amsterdam, got assisted by 5 ‘Wingmen’. First Officers Onno Veltkamp (KL805-KL806), Camiel Baneman (KL805) and Alex Buitenhuis (KL806) Second Officers Bas Groenveld (KL805) and Paul Reijnen (KL806) Flight KL805 , AMS-KUL , stand Echo 17 and runway 24 Siera 7 for departure. Backflight KL806, KUL-AMS, just arrived before ‘Storm Poly’ fully exploded. First the flight got planned for runway 22 , but when entering the Dutch border Roef got runway 18R for his […]

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30 Jun

Last Flight of Captain Richard de Waard @ KLM

Captain Richard de Waard made his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Richard got assisted by First Officers Nick Verplak and Brian Vreugdenhil as his ‘Wingmen’. Also surprised by the pushback operated and filmed by Bokito. Flight KL765 , AUA-BON // Aruba-Bonaire, stand Delta 49 and operated with the A330-200 reg PHAOA. The pushback got operated with the largest pushbacktruck AM500 reg KK // Kilo-Kilo. This is a real V8 16L truck. Backflight KL767 BON-AMS, with callsign KLM-DeWaard-767, got a RWY18R arrival and operated with a A330-300 reg PH-AKE. Vacating runway 18R and taxying to final stand Echo 17. […]

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18 Jun

Last Flight of Captain Marc Litjens @ KLM

Captain Marc Litjens made his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Happily I was able to operate and film his departure to Tokyo Narita on the last moment, with thanks to our department , KLM AIrcraft Towing Department. KL863 , operated with B789 Dreamliner reg PHBHG, stand F5, with a alternative pushback on taxiway Alpha abeam G8. After the pushback we could reach bufferposition P10 and film also Marc’s takeoff at runway 36C. Backflight KL864 got a RWY06 arrival and after a slight wingroll a smooth landing. The most wonderful experience was after his retirementlanding. At the Crewcentre Marc […]

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09 Jun

Last Flight of Captain Kurt Geilert @ KLM

Captain Kurt Geilert made his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Together with First Officer Anil de Nie and Second Officer Ramon Dormans as his ‘Wingmen’, heading for Panama City and back Amsterdam. Flight KL757 with a RWY36L departure and operated with the B777-300ER reg PHBVR. Backflight KL758 got a RWY 06 arrival and was operated with the PHBVK. Vacating runway 06 and taxying to final stand Foxtrot 7. Since October 1989 with KLM SF340A/B // FO and Captain // Route instructor B767-300 // First Officer B747-400 […]

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19 May

Last Flight of Captain Arnold Crone @ KLM Final

Captain Arnold Crone made his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Together with First Officer Rogier vd Vijver as his ‘Wingman’ heading for Toronto and back Amsterdam. Flight KL695 on stand G4 and operated with the B787-10 Dreamliner reg PHBKI. I (Bokito) was operating his final push&pull at homebase Amsterdam Airport) Push & Pull abeam G6 and enginestart approved. Backflight KL696, callsign KLM122-Heavy, got a RWY06 arrival ,operated wth the B777-200 reg PHBQI. Final stand for docking and shut down the engines for the last time in career was G6. Videostills and pictures…………

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17 May

Last Flight of Captain Ruud Schoenmakers @ KLM

Captain Ruud , the last Pilot of his RLS class , got his retirementflight to Curacao, and also assisted his wife Manon Babtist as Senior Purser. On this flight First Officer Yvonne Erben (former 747 pilot) as his ‘Wingwoman’. Final flight , KL736, got an RWY06 landing and operated with the B777-300ER reg PHBVO Videostills…….

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14 May

Last Flight of Captain Marcel van Maurik @ KLM

Captain Marcel van Maurik got his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Together with First Officer Frits Haije and Second Officer Gerard Brandenburg as his ‘Wingmen’ heading for Bangkok and back Amsterdam. Flight KL875, stand Echo 2, RWY18L for departure and operated with a B777-200 reg PH-BQK. Backflight KL876, operated with a B777-200 reg PHBQI, got a nice turn right to intercept localizer RWY36R. After vacating the runway Marcel got surprised by follow-me cars by Airport Schiphol. Following them all the way for final stand F4. Videostills……..

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05 Apr

Last Flight of Captain A330 Dirk van der Neut @ KLM

Captain Dirk van der Neut got his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Together with First Officer Vincent Hoekveld as ‘Wingman’ heading for Boston and back Amsterdam. Flight KL617 started with a 2 1/2 hour delay. After pushback Echo19 there was a technical issue and was solved by technicians on stand. Finally Dirk gave ful throttle on RWY36L with the A330-300 reg PHAKF. Backflight KL618 with his final landing on RWY06 and operated with the PHAKD. The career of Dirk started at the Royal Airforce from Jan ’87 till Jan ’96 and therafter he became commercial pilot at KLM […]

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04 Apr

Last Flight of Captain Rob de Boer @ KLM

Captain Rob de Boer made his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Together with First Officer Dimitri and Second Officer Justin as ‘Wingmen’ and heading for lovely destination San Francisco. Rob was suprised when I , ‘Bokito’ , entered the stand with pushbacktruck ‘Kilo-Quebec” and should also operate his final pushback at homebase Amsterdam Airport. This was orchestrated by his good friend Captain Hein Kuipers. Hein got his own retirementflight to PBM last February. Flight KL605 , stand Delta 2 , pushback into Alpha 5 abeam C11. This flight got operated with the B787-10 reg PHBKA Backflight KL606 , […]

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22 Mar

Last Flight of Chief Pilot 747 & Cpt TRI TRE Paul van de Ven @ KLM

After an enormous career Chief Pilot 747 & Captain B747 TRI – TRE Paul van de Ven got his last flight due to retirement at KLM. The ‘Majestic B747’ was his beloved aircraft. Together with former 747 pilots Cpt Jan-Joost van Hemel and FO Willem Luijten as his ‘Wingmen’, and KLM Pilot in being daughter Lisa heading for final destination Capetown and back Amsterdam. I operated Paul’s final pushback at homebas Amsterdam Airport on special request. Stand Echo 19 , standard pusback with tail to the tower and giving a ‘Wing Wave’ as all-clear signal as respect to my special […]

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29 Jan

Last Flight of Captain Eric Broekhuizen @ KLM

Captain Eric Broekhuizen made his last flight after 38 years and 4 month, due to retirement at KLM. And especially joined by his daughter Stefanie ( First Officer B737 since September 2008 ) On this retirementflight Eric got assisted First Officer’s Vincent Aupers and Donny Schüller as his ‘Wingmen’ His final destination was Captown and back Amsterdam. Flight KL595 ,stand F6 , RWY 09 , AMS-CPT , PHBQP -B777-200 Flight KL598 – Callsign KLM-Eric , CPT-AMS , PHBVN , B777-300ER and final stand E20 Eric has an enormous state of duty at KLM. A career of 34 years and 4 […]

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28 Jan

Last Flight of Captain Robert-Jan Tromp @ KLM

Captain Robert-Jan Tromp made his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Together with First Officer Michiel Schrier as his ‘Wingman’ heading to final destination Bogota-Cartagena and back Amsterdam. Flight KL745 heading for Bogota-Cartagena with a RWY36L departure and operated with a B777-200 reg PGBQO. Backflight KL741 and callsign KLM-Tromp got a RWY06 arrival and Echo18 as final stand. Videostills………

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10 Oct

Last Flight of Captain Bart Hummel @ KLM

After almost 37 years of flying Captain B777-787 Bart Hummel made his last flight due to retirement at KLM. (Jan 1986 – October 2022) First Officer Boaz Reisel was his ‘Wingman’ for this flight to JFK New York and back Amsterdam. Sister Maud Hummel did accompany her brother at the backflight as Senior Purser. KL641 AMS-JFK 7-10-2022, stand D4 , RWY S5 24 and operated with the B787-10 Dreamliner with reg PHBKD. KL646 JFK-AMS 9-10-2022 , RWY 18R , final stand D2 , operated with a B777-200 reg PHBQG Former typerates; B747, MD11, B767, FK27, MUII) / FAA: ATPL LR-Jet […]

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27 Mar

Last Flight of Captain Friso Oosterbaan @ KLM

Captain Friso got his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Curacao as final destination and back homebase Amsterdam. The retourflight was operated with FO Mark Mulder and SO Brandon Out as his ‘Wingmen’. Flight KL735, with callsign KLM125-Heavy, got a wet and windy takeoff. The departure was the morning after ‘Storm Franklin’. KLM125 got a Siera-6 RWY24 departure and operated with a B777-300ER reg PH-BVV. Backflight KL736 ( and I got duty,so was’nt able to film the landing……but filmed the arrival and docking at VOP Echo 22) got a RWY18R landing and taxied and docked at final VOP Echo […]

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21 Nov

Last Flight of Captain Charley Valette @ KLM

Captain Charley Valette.the wellknown Cpt MD11, made his last flight on a T7 due to an early retirement scheme at KLM. Flight KL129 heading to CUR , RWY24 for departure, and operated with the B777-300ER reg PH-BVN. Backflight KL736 to Amsterdam,RWY18R for landing and operated with the B777-300ER reg PH-BVP His final arrival was at stand Echo19. The team of KLM Apron Services with shiftleader Rein Middelbeek took care of unloading this aircraft. And our friend Andre Ran was present to photograph the docking at the gate,inside the airplane and at the arrival hall. Extra edition with docking & […]

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21 Nov

Last flight of Purser Jenny @ Transavia

Purser Jenny Lassing-Boontjes made her last flight due to retirement at Transavia. She ended with a career of about 44 years. Her last flight ,with her son in law,Jan Joris Verheul, as Captain. Flight HV5423-HV5424 heading to PSA-Pisa ( Italy) and back Amsterdam. Videostills…………….

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22 Aug

Last flight of Captain Wouter Kooman @ KLM

Captain Wouter Kooman made his last flight due to his retirment at KLM. Together with First Officer Wout Nijssen as his ‘Wingman’ they departed to Curacao. Flight KL735 , callsign KL129-Heavy, got a RWY24 departure and was operated with the B777-300ER with reg. PH-BVF. Awesome wingcondensation during climbout of SPL. His backflight KL736 was operated with the PH-BVO. A smooth crosswindlanding on RWY 18R and after 20.000 hours of duty ( flight hours ) Wouter turned off the engines for the very last time at stand Echo24 Videostills……….

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02 Apr

Last flight of Captain B747 Erik Lieberwirth @ KLM

Captain Erik made his last flight as Captain B747 at KLM , due to his retirement after an enormous career as airlinepilot. Erik started his career at KLM on November 1985,and having his reitrementflight on his beloved 747 on 3 March 2020. A career of about 34,5 years. He started as first officer/co-pilot on the Airbus A310. Since 2 January 1990 Erik started his 747 career ,initial as first officer and since November 2002 as Captain 747. Boss on the ‘Queen of the Skies’ , the ‘Mighty Winged 747’ for more than 17 years ,and flying 747 for almost 30 […]

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22 Feb

Last Flight of Captain B747 Hans Hollink @ KLM

Captain Hans Hollink made his last flight due to retirement at KLM with about 20.000 flight hours . Hans did have a special cockpitcrew for this remarkable flight. The ‘Hans Hollink Express’ operated with First Officer Allard Oskam,Second Officer Paul Reijnen and Chief Pilot 747 Paul van de Ven. Flight KL601 with a RWY 24 departure and operated with the B747-Combi reg PH-BFW. Backflight KL602 got operated with the PH-BFS ‘City of Seoul’. This has a special meaning for Paul and his wife Anneke. They met eachother in Seoul !!! In front of his final landing a Delta aircraft did […]

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20 Feb

Last Flight of Captain B747 Peter Bakker @ KLM

Captain Peter Bakker made his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Flight KL601 heading to LAX ,departure on RWY 24 and KL602 landed on RWY 18R. Both flights got operated with the B747Combi reg PH-BFS and togehter with FO Jenne Bauw and SO Wimco Bauw. Son Per Bakker was on the flight as well. YOUTUBE VIDEOLINK <<<>>> Last Flight of Captain B747 Peter Bakker @ KLM Videostills………..

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16 Feb

Last flight of Captain B747 Lulof Beumer @ KLM

Captain Lulof Beumer made his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Some colleages call him ‘The Tom Cruise of the KLM B747’ Togethether with his good friend and First Officer Peter Westerneng and Second Officer Ilana Iskander. Flight KL601 heading to LAX was operated by the B747Combi reg PH-BFW. RWY24 Sierra7 for departure with a marvellous wingroll salute after rotation. They also call it a ‘rock to the wings’. Backflight KL602 got operated with the B747Combi reg PH-BFS and a real smooth flaring before touching the runway really soft for the very last time. The callsign was ‘Banjo’. Vacating […]

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27 Dec

Last Flight of Captain Gideon Reisel @ KLM

Captain Gideon made his final flight due to retirement at KLM. He has chosen for Capetown as his last destination of his career. Together with Captain Roef Dieters ,operating as First Officer on this retirementflight. Flight KL597 , callsign KL103, departed on friday 20th of December with the B777-300ER reg. PH-BVG Last tuesday I was happily able to film Captain Gideon’s last landing with his son Boaz next to the runway. Flight KL598,callsign KL104, and operated with the B777-300ER reg PH-BVD. PH-BVD is the Skyteam delivery. The final landing was on runway 18R, a full wet runway, causing lots of […]

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