Air Greenland (GL, Nuuk) took delivery of its new flagship A330-800 on December 7, 2022, and plans to induct it into revenue service on December 19.
OY-GKN (msn 2020) was delivered from Toulouse Blagnac to Kangerlussuaq, Air Greenland's main base and one of only two commercial airports in the territory capable of handling a widebody jet. It plans to transition from the current A330-200 through March 1, 2023, when the older aircraft will be phased out, in favour of the -800. OY-GRN (msn 230) is 24.3 years old and has been operated by Air Greenland since 2002, the ch-aviation fleets module shows.
Air Greenland will initially deploy the -800 on the trunk route between Kangerlussuaq and Copenhagen Kastrup. However, Managing Director Jacob Nitter Sørensen said new routes would be opened once the expansion of Nuuk and Ilulissat are completed in 2024. Chairman Bodil Marie Damgaard said the airline would also look at adding more frequencies on existing routes so as to lower ticket prices. The carrier has a monopoly on flights to Denmark, Greenland's parent state.
Kangerlussuaq and Narsarsuaq, the only other facility capable of handling widebody aircraft, are both former US military airports located far from Greenland's main settlements. The state-owned airline also operates charter flights from Pituffik/Thule airport, which is managed by the United States Air Force and caters exclusively to the needs of the sizeable US military facilities in northern Greenland. Sørensen added that the expansion Greenland's main city airports may entice other carriers to launch routes to the territory and thus end Air Greenland's monopoly on services to continental Europe.
Airbus also indicated in its press release that the airline could use the aircraft to add routes to other European destinations, as well as to North America in the future. Air Greenland did not respond to ch-aviation's request for comment.
Except for the A330, Air Greenland's fixed-wing fleet comprises one DHC-8-200, six DHC-8-Q200s, and one Beech (twin turboprop) Super King Air operated as a medevac aircraft.