A BOEING 777 of KLM, colorfully decorated in Dutch delft blue tiles for which Amsterdam has been famous for, touched down at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia ) on Saturday morning with 319 passengers allowing Filipinos and the rest of world the chance to take a  glimpse of the unique aircraft.

KLM Flight 803 arrived at the Naia at about 9:26 a.m. to showcase to the world their unique, exterior-decorated aircraft which has as many as 120,000 tiles from 154 countries, including the Philippines, embellished on the airplane’s massive fuselage.

The initiative began with the worldwide “Tile and Inspire” campaign that ran between April and May. Everyone was invited to participate online, mainly via Facebook, to create a delft blue tile with an inspiring message in a bid to secure a place for it on a KLM aircraft.

Around 4,000 winners were selected at random from the most inspiring entries. These tiles can now be seen on the Boeing 777-200, which made its first flight on June 15.

“With this delft blue aircraft, KLM is establishing a link between its history and the social media. The successful online Tile and Inspire campaign has enabled us to actively involve our passengers in relation to an age-old Dutch product: delft blue,” says Joane Doromal, station manager and her assistant, Ma. Lourdes San Juan.

Delft blue is inextricably linked to both Dutch culture and KLM. Since the 1950s, KLM has been presenting miniature Delftware houses to its World Business Class passengers traveling on intercontinental flights.

“We are extremely proud that one of our aircraft now boasts a complete delft blue exterior,” says Doromal. KLM’s recent worldwide online Tile and Inspire campaign has been a great success. KLM challenged its Facebook fans and passengers to convert their profile pictures into a delft blue tile with an inspiring message in the hope of winning a place on the body of a KLM Boeing 777-200.

(Recto Mercene)