KLM Expanding A350 Service To Five Routes In Canada, Tanzania And Kenya

Last month, I talked about KLM expediting their Airbus A330-200 retirement plans. With up to three Airbus A350-900s expected to join the fleet by the end of 2026, they plan to retire the equivalent number of A330-200s, leaving just two going into 2027.

It’s been known for quite some time that KLM wanted to launch its A350s on its Toronto-Pearson (YYZ) route, but in a later schedule update, they have added another Canadian destination, as well as a few cities across parts of Africa.

KLM’s first A350 flight will be to Toronto, starting on September 29, 2026. This isn’t a surprise, and the flight will operate five weekly flights as KL691 and KL692. Service will bump up to six times weekly from January, and daily from March 2027. This is specific to 691 and 692 as they also operate a second flight depending on the time of year.

Montreal (YUL) is next on the line up. Starting November 30, 2026, the daily A330-300 will be swapped to an A350-900 until the end of the year. Unfortunately, the A350 will be pulled from the route for January and February, most likely going back to an A330-300.

Two countries in Africa will see a switch from Boeing 787-10s to A350-900s. Starting December 1, 2026, the first Tanzanian triangle service running from Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro (JRO), Dar es Salaam (DAR) and back to Amsterdam, will see two of its five flights using the new Airbus variant.

On December 6, 2026, the other Tanzanian route (Amsterdam – Zanzibar (ZNZ) – Dar es Salaam – Amsterdam) will also see an equipment swap, starting with one of the two flights, and upgrading to two of the three flights from January 8 to February 19, 2027.

From January 5, 2027, the Amsterdam – Kenya (NBO) route will see a shift, starting with two of seven flights, bumping up to three of seven from March.

Of course, this is just the start as the airline plans to make more swaps as they take delivery of more aircraft. In total, KLM plans to take on 22 A350-900s, giving them room to deploy their Boeing 787-10s on other routes (my home airport included).

No business class, yet

The A350s will seat 331 passengers, split between 34 Stelia Opera lie-flat business class suites in a 1-2-1 config, 26 of the popular Collins MiQ recliner seats in premium economy (2-4-2), with the remaining 271 in economy, featuring Recaro R3 seats in a 3-3-3 layout.

Unfortunately, business class seats won’t be offered for sale on any of these flights as the company is still working through the certification process to get the new seats approved. It is understood that this may be limited to the first two aircraft, with the hopes of having the seats approved when the third is delivered.

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