If you’re lucky enough to fly in international First or Business Class, perhaps you’re looking forward to more than just a comfortable bed in the sky. A long-haul experience in a premium cabin may include all sorts of add ons, from a gourmet meal to your own pair of First Class pajamas. Normally on the list of perks is the amenity kit: a smattering of scented lotions, a single use dental kit and assorted travel-sized gels, socks and eyeshades. The quality of these little kits can vary greatly from airline to airline and, while the carriers consider them to be a great branding opportunity and many AvGeeks even collect them (myself included), most passengers don’t bother to take them off the plane.
However, if you fly up front with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, you’re given something with lasting appeal. In fact, fans of the Dutch airline have been collecting its signature keepsake for decades. It’s one of the most celebrated in-flight amenities in the history of commercial aviation: the Delft Blue House. Identified by its blue and white glaze, Delftware is a style of pottery that’s been associated with the Netherlands city since the mid-Seventeenth Century. While touring the country, visitors see it everywhere - molded into dishes, tulip-lined vases, tiling, even beer mugs. KLM has commissioned the porcelain into another sort of novelty altogether; a series of miniature houses, each one molded after a life-sized historic building found somewhere across the country.
“Our houses are presented to customers on all business intercontinental flights and have become a collector’s item across the globe,” a representative for the airline reported. The term “presented” actually undersells the experience, which plays out more like a pre-landing ritual. Flight attendants pass through the cabin with a tray of dutifully arranged ceramics. Experienced passengers will pull up the KLM Delft Blue Houses app on their tablets or smartphones. They then cross reference the numbers on the backs of each house, ensuring they’re adding a fresh model to their collection. For the rest of us, it really doesn’t matter. When my sons and I were traveling in KLM Business Class from Santiago to Buenos Aires several years ago, we were thrilled to accept the houses offered since none of us had a collection.
Production of this special amenity was random until 1994. A number of houses were produced one after another and then none for several years. An extra 15 houses were produced in 1994 in honor of the airline’s 75th anniversary. This brought the number of exactly 75 and the number of houses in the series has kept pace with KLM’s age ever since. This made for an especially auspicious unveiling on the evening of October 7, 2019 when the airline (the world’s oldest) commemorated its centennial with the release of house number 100. It was a faithful replica of the Huis ten Bosch, King Willem-Alexander’s royal palace in The Hague. The Dutch monarch himself gave final approval for the model and interestingly enough, he is actually a KLM pilot.
The miniature houses come loaded with a locally-sourced liquor: 35 milliliters of Genever (Dutch gin). This juniper-infused style of spirit is native to Holland and an historic antecedent of gin. Safeguarding the adult beverage within the ceramic is a cork stopper along the roof, which is sealed under wax. It was actually the liquor inside that served as the loophole allowing these Delft Blue Houses to become one of the very first airline amenities. Back in 1952, carriers were not permitted to give presents to their customers as it was considered unfair competition. “So, we had the houses made and filled them with genever,” said the airline’s representative. “Our competitors complained that we were giving presents to our customers. But, we asked if we may decide how to serve our drinks. Is there a law which tells me drinks have to be served in a glass?” There wasn’t and that's how it all started.
Seventy years later, it has turned into a global phenomenon. Every day, Business Class passengers scuttle in and out of KLM lounges at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport (AMS) where a dedicated exchange exists behind the customer service counter. But, it doesn’t end there. A book has also been released chronicling the history behind each house in the collection. Historian Mark Zegeling's Little Kingdom by the Sea is a two-book compendium chronicling the history behind each house in the collection, along with a walking guide for visiting some of the actual houses on your next trip to the Netherlands. And since 2004, the winner of the KLM Open Golf Tournament receives their own enlarged Delft Blue mockup of Amsterdam’s Royal Palace. The carrier even takes local laws and customs into consideration. Mindful of the alcohol prohibitions existing in a number of Middle Eastern destinations, KLM loads about 79,000 liquid-less houses onto their aircraft each year, which pales in comparison to the 800,000 genever-filled variations stocked on their long-haul aircraft headed elsewhere.
Only KLM management knows which Delft Blue Porcelain House will be next in the series and the rest of us will have to wait until it's introduced on October 7. Meanwhile, AvGeeks the world over will remain hot on the trail of the ones already in circulation. Although the airline doesn’t sell these souvenirs, you can often find some on the secondary market where older iterations have commanded upwards of $10,000 at auction. That’s pricey porcelain indeed! By combining such recognizable components of Dutch life into a handheld collectible, KLM has created a cultural phenomenon as opposed to a simple amenity. And that’s something that no pair of First Class pajamas can hope to emulate.
Until next time...safe travels.
Wow - Houses filled with alcohol ... reminds me of home!!!