Air Greenland has today confirmed its order for the Airbus A330-800. The Greenland flag carrier will become part of an exclusive group of just three airlines that have ordered the variant of Airbus’ popular widebody aircraft.
Many airlines have been put off placing new aircraft orders this year, given all that is going on in the industry. That’s not to say that no orders have been placed, though. Earlier this month, Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair ordered 75 further Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, despite it remaining grounded in Europe for the time being.
Air Greenland’s new order
Airbus today confirmed that Air Greenland had placed an order for a single Airbus A330-800 aircraft. In January, it was revealed that Air Greenland had placed a memorandum of understanding for the aircraft. The airline had been torn between the A330-800 and the Boeing 787. A memorandum of understanding typically has no binding, meaning that it can be walked away from.
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A year on from when the MOU was signed, Air Greenland has finally firmed up the order. The A330neo will be used to replace the airline’s 22.3-year-old A330-200 and will connect the island to Denmark, of which it is an autonomous territory.
While most people will fly past Greenland on the way between North America and Europe, a few will stop there, with around 56,000 people living there. Air Greenland’s A330 is used to keep the country connected to Denmark and ferry people and cargo to and from the island.
Commenting on the order, Air Greenland’s CEO’s Jacob Nitter Sørensen said,
“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.”
Joining an exclusive group
With its firm order for the Airbus A330-800, Air Greenland will join a club that currently only includes Kuwait Airways and Uganda Airlines. While over 300 orders have been placed for the larger of the A300neos, only 14 have been placed for the -800 as of November 31st. Two from Uganda Airlines, eight from Kuwait Airways, with the remaining four being undisclosed.
At the end of October, Kuwait Airways became the first airline to take delivery of the Airbus A330-800. The -800 has a smaller payload than its bigger sister, the -900. Hence, fewer airlines have ordered it. However, what the aircraft lacks in payload, it makes up in range, traveling up to 8,150 nautical miles.
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