KLM little blue houses tradition taps into Netherlands’ living history

Breadcrumb Trail Links

1. Travel
2. Travel Europe

Article content

Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.

Article content

AMSTERDAM — They’re one of the best-kept secrets in aviation.

In honour of the airline’s 105th year, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines have unveiled their newest Delft Blue House — a traditional Dutch keepsake given to passengers who fly intercontinental routes in their World Business Class.

The houses, a collection of 105 gin-filled miniatures, represent real Dutch houses found throughout Amsterdam, the Netherlands and its overseas territories.

Enter any KLM Crown Lounge around the world and you’ll see them displayed prominently.

If you ride the escalator to KLM’s lounge at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, you’ll see hundreds of them mounted along mirrored walls.

KLM Delft Blue House photographed by the author aboard a KLM business class flight from Toronto to Amsterdam. Photo by Bryan Passifiume /Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network

The history of the homes is an interesting tale of brand loyalty and clever loopholes around international regulations.

Article content

“In the early 1950s, KLM sought to give a souvenir to their first-class passengers,” said Mark Zegeling, a Dutch journalist who quite literally wrote the book on KLM’s Delft Blue Houses — Little Kingdom by the Sea.

“Over time, it became so popular that they decided to adopt this souvenir as their masterpiece of gifts.”

The airline opted to make the miniature porcelain houses a complementary hand-out to their top-tier passengers, but the International Air Transport Association (IATA) saw things differently, telling KLM that regulations forbade handing out gifts to fare-paying customers.

So KLM decided to fill them with Dutch Bols Genever gin and brand them “complimentary beverages” rather than gifts.

“KLM said no, ‘it’s just a last drink on the house,’” Zegeling said.

Article content

Article content

And from there, a tradition was born — with 850,000 Delft Blue Houses handed out annually.

And yes, despite the houses being considered an in-flight beverage, they lose their value substantially if they’re opened.

What is Delft Blue?

Taking inspiration from 14th-century Chinese master porcelain makers, delftware is a Dutch take on traditional blue-and-white earthenware pottery, originating in the Netherlands in the early 1600s.

Dutch glazed pottery came into its own during a century-long period starting in the mid-1600s, becoming one of the nation’s best-known and enduring cultural treasures.

Delftware has joined wooden clogs, windmills, cheese and tulips as a central feature of the Netherlands, and its influence can be seen anywhere.

Article content

Our hotel, Hyatt’s Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht — located in the centre of the city along the banks of the iconic Prinsengracht canal, features delftware patterns prominently throughout the property, including a stunning piece by Dutch designer Marcel Wanders spanning the entire height of the hotel’s five-storey atrium.

The hotel, designed by Wanders, was a public library before being transformed into a luxury hotel.

Delftware-inspired wall treatment adorns the atrium of the Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht hotel. Photo by Bryan Passifiume /Postmedia Network

Each room is decorated with delftware-inspired wallpaper, fixtures and accoutrements, which sometimes whimsically recount the city’s storied history.

Travelling in the hotel’s glass elevators from lobby to the top floor, one gets the sense of ascending from hell to heaven in the delft-inspired mural, beginning with skulls and crossbones and ending the journey with light and enlightenment — all illustrations of the Netherlands’ long and living history.

Article content

The Houses

Fly any intercontinental route in KLM’s World Business Class, and near the end of your flight you’ll be presented with a tray of miniatures to choose from.

While novices typically choose whatever house appeals to them, seasoned travellers will check each and every house being offered — they’re all numbered — in order to choose a miniature they don’t already have.

Marjan Rintel, KLM’s president and CEO, said the houses play an important role in the history and legacy of the airline.

“It’s part of who we are, it’s part of our culture,” she told the Sun, adding she maintains her own collection of about 90 homes.

KLM’s announcement of a new house always comes with a certain sense of anticipation, said Bas Gerressen, managing director of KLM Netherlands.

Article content

“It’s very attractive for a lot of our customers to collect them, and of course they want the ‘missing’ ones,” he said, with many hardcore collectors booking flights soon after the new homes are unveiled in order to add to their collections.

“Many of our ‘ultimate’ customers … will make sure they have the new house.”

KLM’s newest Delft Blue House, is unveiled at a reception in Amsterdam. Photo by Bryan Passifiume /Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network

House No. 105, unveiled Oct. 7, is a rendering of Huis op Drie Gretchen, or “the house on three canals,” a Dutch renaissance-style home built in 1610 at the intersection of the Oudezijds Voorburgwa, Oudezijds Achterburgwal and Grimburgwal canals located in Amsterdam’s famed (and sometimes notorious) De Wallen district. 

During a tour of Amsterdam’s canals, we got to see some of the real homes that became KLM Delft Blue houses.

Article content

Just up the road from our hotel, at Prinsengracht 263, is the famed Anne Frank House — where the eponymous little girl penned a diary while in hiding from the Nazis.

That’s KLM house No. 47, issued in 1975.

Several delftware homes can be found along the Prinsengracht canal, including Nos. 514 and 516 — a pair of side-by-side homes that became figurines No. 42 and 43, released in 1972 and 1973. 

Prinsengracht 514 and 516, two homes in Amsterdam that became KLM figurines No. 42 and 43

Some houses are more valuable than others, Zegeling said — including the figurine modelled on the Het Loo Royal Palace in Apeldoorn, about 50 kilometres east of Amsterdam.

Not just any traveller gets that house, however — they’re presented to those who’ve flown KLM business class at least 60 times a year for 10 consecutive years, and accumulated one million KLM frequent flyer miles.

Article content

“You can imagine that this is something quite special,” Zegeling said.

“The estimated value right now is about 12,000 euros (around C$18,000).”

Other times, one-of-a-kind figurines are handed out on special occasions.

On April 30, 2013, the day Willem-Alexander became king of the Netherlands, business class passengers boarding at Schiphol Airport were given special edition Delft Blue figurines of the Royal Palace of Amsterdam.

His majesty, who himself is a pilot for KLM’s regional short-haul Cityhopper subsidiary, is among those with notable collections of delftware houses.

The Museum Van Loon in Amsterdam, represented by KLM Delft Blue House No. 83 Photo by Bryan Passifiume /Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network

As for which house is his favourite, Zegeling said it was KLM’s house No. 83, the Museum Van Loon, located along the Keizersgracht canal in Amsterdam.

“That house was built in 1672 when the Netherlands was at war with England, France and two cities in Germany,” he said.

“It’s a beautiful house which has lots of special meaning to me. I presented my book, Little Kingdom by the Sea, there.”

KLM’s Delft Blue houses, much like the homes they’re modelled after, represent the vibrant, living history of the Netherlands.

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume

Article content

Share this article in your social network