King Willem-Alexander will continues his flying career at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. He will take on additional training in order to fly the Airbus A320neo-family.
Despite reaching the official retirement age for KLM pilots, the King has no plans to stop. This year, he celebrates his 58th birthday and his fortieth anniversary as a pilot. During a recent state visit to Kenya, he indicated that he wants to continue flying for a long time. ‘I have no obligation to fly, it’s a hobby I can pursue at KLM. I hope to continue doing that for a long time,”‘said Willem-Alexander. According to De Telegraaf, he will now retrain to fly the Airbus planes.
With his current pilot licenses, the Dutch King could, in theory, remain active as a pilot until he turns 65. He intends to make full use of those years, likely also as an Airbus pilot. The additional training will take place in consultation with KLM, ensuring he does not take up training slots that KLM urgently needs. This is especially the case given the thousands of retraining slots required for the switch to Airbus. The training hours must also fit into the Kings’s schedule.
Governmental plane
If the Dutch King completes his Airbus retraining, it will likely mean the end of his role as pilot of the government aircraft, the Boeing BBJ PH-GOV. To remain active on this type of aircraft, he must accumulate sufficient flying hours.
History
The Dutch King’s connection to aviation is rooted deeply. He started his flying career with AMREF Flying Doctors in Kenya in the 1980s. He took to missions with a Fokker 27 of the Royal Netherlands Air Force in conflict zones in the 1990s. In 1985, he obtained his Private Pilot License second class, followed by his B-3 pilot’s license in 1987. During his years as a student, he continued his flight training at the KLM Flight Academy. In 1989, he obtained the endorsement on his professional license required to fly a heavy multi-engine aircraft.
He moreover holds the grand military pilot’s license, which he received from his father, Prince Bernhard, in 1994. Since 2001, he has held the Airlines Transport Pilot License (ATPL). To maintain this license, he must accumulate annual flying hours, which he does as a guest pilot at KLM. The King flies an average of two to three times a month at KLM, in addition to his flights with the government aircraft PH-GOV.