Traditionally, KLM presents a new KLM House on its birthday. The Dutch company hands out these beautiful Delft blue miniature houses to World Business Class passengers after each long-haul flight. This year, KLM turns 104 years old and that means that house #104 can be added to the list of KLM collector’s items. Actually, it is not a ‘house’ this year, it is a train station!
Latest KLM House is an historic train station
This month, KLM celebrates its 104th birthday. That’s a lot of candles! Of course, this also means the announcement of a new KLM house. And of course a lot of thought has gone into how it should look like. This time, the house does not only celebrate KLM’s birthday, but also the importance of the train for The Netherlands and aviation in general. KLM even states that it wants to make more use of train connections before and/or after its flights, as is already happening in many other countries.
Reason enough for KLM to choose a historic Dutch train station as its KLM House this year. By the way, several Dutch InsideFlyer readers have been suggesting for some time that it would be Valkenburg train station. Could it be a coincidence that Marjan Rintel, the current CEO of KLM, previously had her career at the Dutch Railways?
Last year on 7 oktober 2022, KLM presented House #103. This is the Ecury family home on the Caribbean island of Aruba. This house was chosen because KLM already operated flights between Amsterdam and Aruba for 100 years!
This is how KLM House #104 looks like
The latest addition to the KLM Houses collection can be found in the Dutch province of Limburg. It’s the historic train station of Valkenburg. The building was opened on 23 October 1853 and is the oldest still existing train station in The Netherlands. The national monument marks its 170th birthday later this month. The building is constructed in an English neo-Gothic style and the materials came from the nearby marl caves.
The brand new KLM House will be available as a gift to all long haul Business Class passengers on flights operated by KLM. Have you received the new KLM House after your flight? Do share it in the comments below the article!
Valkenburg still remains a popular touristic hot spot in the south of The Netherlands. Years ago, the Dutch National railways even operated a direct train connection between Amsterdam and Valkenburg. If you visit The Netherlands, the province of Limburg is definitely worth a trip if you have the time.
It gives me great pleasure to present this miniature to the mayor of the beautiful town of Valkenburg aan de Geul. Having worked for NS Dutch Railways in the past, I know how committed people are to conserving the rich and interesting rail history of our country. We chose this building because it represents the shared future of KLM and NS Dutch Railways, in which we will further expand our range of air-rail services to replace short distance flights. We’re working hard to make this happen. This is important to KLM because it is a key aspect of our efforts to make our operations cleaner, quieter, and more efficient.
KLM CEO Marjan Rintel
Dutch ‘Bols Jenever’ gin
KLM has been handing out it’s famous Houses since the ‘50s. The decorative miniature Delft blue houses are filled with Dutch Bols gin. All intercontinental Business Class passengers can pick one after their flight. Most of the KLM Houses are inspired by actual buildings in and around The Netherlands. Every year on 7 October, KLM fans look forward to find out which house was selected as the new KLM House. Want to see the other KLM Houses? Then download the KLM Houses app via the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
Source pictures: KLM. This news article is translated from the original version on InsideFlyer.nl.
