Air Greenland Considering The Order of an A330-800NEO

Real World Aviation
#1

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Air Greenland Airbus A330-200, © Andreas Spaeth

Air Greenland is rumored to be considering a purchase of one Airbus A330-800NEO to replace their aging A330-200 after an internal review barley knocked out the possibility of the Boeing 787-8. Part of the choice has reportedly come down to the takeoff distance of both aircraft, with the NEO’s 2200 meter beating out the 787-8’s 2600 meter distance. A cloud of doubt still hangs around the order, as it is unknown if Airbus plans to go ahead with the plan of producing this aircraft, with the 800NEO only having 14 orders to this day.

My Opinion:
Personally, I never saw the A330 as a good fit for Air Greenland, with the 4 hour 21 minute flight time from Copenhagen to Kangerlussuaq I feel that the purchase of 1 or 2 A321XLRs would be a better fit for this route while also giving the ability of fifth freedom flights through other locations. At least it is nice to see them stick with Airbus though.

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#2

Even just an A321neo could do the job. They shouldn’t buy such a big aircraft when also Greenland doesn’t have a high demand rate or many tourists.

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#3

I hope Air Greenland goes for the A330-800NEO. It can open up many more routes in Europe and North America, possibly even Asia or South America. One problem I see with this though is that during the Winter, there isn’t as much flights to the North. And usually big planes equal more expensive/more cost. But it would be pretty cool to see the 800NEO in the Air Greenland livery.

#4

I thought that aswell, but its interesting to note:

“There was overcapacity”, says Michael Højgaard, CEO of Air Greenland. “Then SAS quit in 2002 and we got our A330, and since 2003 we are very profitable.”

Maybe there is a much higher load factor than we really know about? It seems to me they know something we don’t.

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#5

The A330s are used to fly cargo mostly into Greenland which with the A321neo would be rather limited since it has a smaller cargo space.

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#6

Yeah. They are not really in it for the passengers rather for the cargo. They profit off the customers but with the cargo it makes up for the empty seats. So in reality its probably making what a normal full A330 flight would make, I assume.

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#7

Even the A320-200 could do the job. The A321 would be practical to expand into areas like Denver or LA.

#8

The reason the 330 is needed is for Cargo hauling capability.
Passengers are nowhere as important.
The 330 acts a lifeline to Greenland, bringing in food, medicine, equipment and really anything else needed.
I highly doubt we I’ll see them get a narrowbody as replacement for the 330.

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#9

How many people want fly from Denver to Kangerlussuaq…
😂

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#10

Yea, that’s something interesting to point out because I completely overlooked that aspect of the carrier in my opinion piece. They are essentially the only air service operator in Greenland, managing SAR, Air Ambulance services, cargo, passenger transport, etc. I think with this new knowledge, some people to me seem to be overlooking the point of Air Greenland, as if they are looking for expansion. In reality, they are more of a “for connection” company instead of “for profit” and with almost everyone going through Copenhagen to connect to Greenland, why expand? No need to at this point in time as it is such a niche market to operate in, with a somewhat small tourist/buissness base and a large connection/cargo transport base, which is the opposite of what most other airlines operate in. Looks like they are more for quality as opposed to quantity.

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#11

I wonder if they would still keep their A332 they currently or scrap it

#12

Exactly, they are not trying to be Icelandair.
They are more a piece of infrastructure for the island.
The only fleet additions I could see in the future would be
2-3 Viking Twin otters
9 ATR-42-600s
1 A319CEO
1 A330-800

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#13

What’s the registration

#14

It’s 22 years old.
They would probably either send it off to the desert, or leave it at CPH as an operational spare.
About the 319, read the post again ;)

#15

The A220-100 could also fly it, but since they have a high demand, The A321neo, A321LXR or A330-800Neo is good

#16

How many people would want to go from anywhere to Kangerlussuaq? I was just using Denver as a reference point.

#17

A lot of people from Denmark, Greenland is a danish autonomous territory.

#18

But in the US.

#19

As has already been noted. They are really an airline based around providing a connection. Dare I say any connection. Greenland really is a low demand destination. Air Greenland is one of, if not the only one providing that connection. They connect to Denmark being a territory of them. That connection provides access to cargo, patient extradition, all sorts of things beyond tourists. Air Greenland has a lot more considerations with these flights than when United decides what plane to fly between Pittsburgh and Denver for example.

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#20

Exactly, there are no flights from Greenland to the US at all.
A 321N won’t change that.

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