Airbus A321neo Transavia
Registration: PH-YHD Named: John Block Painted: Transavia Holland Retro Type: A321-252NX Engines: 2 × CFMI LEAP-1A30 Serial Number: 12652 First flight: Jul 9, 2025
In October 2025, as part of its 60th anniversary celebrations, Transavia christened an Airbus A321-252NX registered as PH-YHD with the name "John Block." The company's fleet includes three aircraft with individual names, and the one depicted on the poster is among them. But who was this John Block? What made him famous, and why was an aircraft named in his honor?
His full given name was Johan Nicolaas Block, though in everyday life he was commonly known simply as John Block.
Born in 1929 in Amsterdam to a schoolteacher's family, Block applied to KLM after World War II but was not accepted. Refusing to give up, he joined the Royal Netherlands Air Force and became a pilot. Later, in 1958, together with Johan Martin Schröder, he founded the airline Martin's Air Charter, known as Martinair. Having gained management experience, Block left the company in 1965 to take the helm a year later of the small, dormant airline Transavia Limburg and transform it into a major player in the charter market.
In June 1966, Block commissioned Dutch designer Thijs Postma to create a livery for three DC-6 aircraft. Within 15 minutes, Postma sketched the iconic green-and-black design; by Friday the design was complete, and by Sunday it was already painted on the aircraft. In November, just two days after receiving the operating license, the inaugural flight took place, carrying the Dutch Ballet Orchestra and Dance Theatre from Amsterdam to Naples.
This rapid execution of ideas that characterized Transavia's early years laid the foundation for the airline's long-term success. Within ten years of founding Transavia, Block had built an airline that captured 45% of the Dutch leisure market, making air travel accessible to ordinary citizens. And although Block left Transavia in 1975 following disagreements with investors, his legacy continued to shape the company's trajectory for decades.
In July 2025, a Transavia A321neo gleaming with fresh paint landed at Amsterdam Airport. The aircraft was painted in that very same Thijs Postma livery, and in November the name "John Block" appeared on the fuselage. In the coming year of 2026, Transavia will celebrate its 60th anniversary, and this modern airliner serves as a reminder that innovation and accessibility remain central to the airline's mission—exactly as envisioned by its founder, John Block.
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