KLM has unveiled its 107th Delft Blue miniature house, and this year's edition breaks from the Amsterdam canal houses that dominate the collection. It's a model of Wijnhoeve De Kleine Schorre, a black-tarred barn dating to 1735 that became a winery in 2021 on the edge of Dreischor, a moated ring village in the province of Zeeland about 90 minutes from Amsterdam. The estate has supplied wine to the airline for 20 years, and its bottles are poured in KLM cabins from September to November each year.
The reveal took place on October 7, KLM's anniversary, in Dreischor itself — a heritage-listed village built in a circle around a church, complete with its original moat. Only two previous Delft houses have come from Zeeland: a 1955 release believed to depict the Sint Petrus house in Middelburg, and the 1963 "Little Lamb," a 16th-century Gothic merchant's house in Veere. CEO Marjan Rintel noted that Zeeland is the first patch of the Netherlands passengers see when descending to land, making it a fitting tribute.
For the uninitiated: KLM has handed out one Delft tile house per year since the 1950s, originally to first-class passengers. The houses are filled with Bols genever because filling them with alcohol let the airline sidestep rules banning gifts to passengers — technically, they were takeaway cocktails. Today you get one only by flying KLM business class on a long-haul route. Around half of the collection depicts real buildings in Amsterdam; others are scattered across the Netherlands and former Dutch colonies such as Aruba and Curaçao. Special editions — including the Royal Palace, the Concertgebouw and a miniature of the New York Historical marking 80 years of the Amsterdam–New York route — never appear on flights at all.
Collectors have a few tricks. A dedicated app tracks which houses you've gathered, and duplicates can be swapped at a service desk in the KLM Crown Lounge at Amsterdam Schiphol. The newest house is easiest to score in the weeks right after release, when flights are freshly stocked. If you'd rather skip the flying, Amsterdam shops like Kramer Kunst en Antiek on the Prinsengracht sell them — though purists consider that cheating.
There was a second announcement at the event: KLM will roll out free high-speed Starlink Wi-Fi on intercontinental flights from mid-2027, with the entire intercontinental fleet covered by mid-2028. It will be available in every cabin, a step up from the current free texting perk for Flying Blue members.
Why care? If you've been sitting on Flying Blue miles, business-class awards between the US and Europe start at 60,000 miles each way, with monthly Promo Rewards sometimes dropping that to 45,000. Budget for taxes and fees of roughly $300–600 each way, and time your trip for autumn to catch the new house — and maybe taste the Zeeland wine that inspired it.
