Airbus announced today that Air Greenland, the flag-carrier for Greenland, has formally placed an order for a single A330-800neo.
Nearly one year ago, the airline disclosed their selection of the A330neo to replace their A330-200ceo; this was to secure operations linking the Arctic island with Denmark, from the end of 2022 onwards and beyond.
“The A330neo is a fundamental part of Air Greenland’s fleet strategy. The new aircraft will, for years to come, offer travellers to and from Greenland a unique inflight experience; while leaving the lowest carbon footprint possible. The A330neo is a perfect fit for, the very challenging, task of providing safe and efficient all year passenger, cargo and freight services to and from Greenland.”
Air Greenland’s CEO’s Jacob Nitter Sørensen
Air Greenland’s current 22 year old A330-200, with registration OY-GRN and powered by Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines, was originally delivered to Sabena in September 1998; she has been in service with Greenland’s airline since 2002.
Besides the A330-200 the Arctic island airline has a fleet of 7 Dash 8-200’s, 1 Super King Air (on a permanent mission for the Greenlandic health service) and multiple helicopters.
“We’re pleased to see Air Greenland renew its confidence in the A330 Family, and join the growing number of operators who are selecting the A330neo as a logical replacement for their ageing fleets. To imagine the airline’s distinctive red livery set against the Arctic’s environment, provides some Christmas cheer at the end of a year that has been harsh for our entire industry.”
said Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer
With this order Air Greenland will join Kuwait Airways and Uganda Airlines, both of which also currently have A330-800’s on order. Up until today only 14 recent orders had been placed for this type of aircraft: 2 for Uganda Airlines, 8 for Kuwait and 4 for an undisclosed client.