The 64-metre-long, 18-metre-high aircraft boasts a coat of 4,000 stickers, each in the form of a Delft Blue tile.

The initiative began with the worldwide Tile & 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 ad random from the most inspiring entries. These tiles can now be seen on the Boeing 777-200, which will make its first flight today.

“With this Delft Blue aircraft, KLM is establishing a link between its history and the social media. The successful online Tile & Inspire campaign has enabled us to actively involve our passengers in relation to an age-old Dutch product: Delft Blue. Delft Blue is of course inextricably linked to both Dutch culture and KLM. Since the 1950s, KLM has been presenting miniature Delftware houses to its World Business Class passengers travelling on intercontinental flights. We are extremely proud that one of our aircraft now boasts a complete Delft Blue exterior,” said Erik Varwijk.

As many as 120,000 tiles were created in 154 countries; some 77,000 were submitted for a place on the aircraft. The campaign generated more than 50,000 extra likes on KLM’s Facebook page and more than 450,000 views on YouTube

KLM’s recent worldwide online Tile & 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. Inspiring messages were considered in Chinese, German, English, French, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish. In the end, an entire series of tiles in these languages were selected for the aircraft. These inspiring messages will soon be flying to multiple destinations.

“This is an important step towards an emission-free airline,” said CEO Peter Hartman of KLM.

On November 23 a Boeing 747 will fly on a blend of Camelina biofuel and fossil kerosene. The Transport and Water Management agency has authorized the flight with a limited number of passengers on board.

Camelina is made from plants. KLM is also developing biofuel based on algae. “We will choose the best product,” according to a spokeswoman.