Air Greenland Becomes Third A330-800 Operator

Originally published on Airways

Air Greenland (GL) has become the third carrier to operate the Airbus A330-800. Today, the aircraft registered F-WWCR is scheduled to fly to Kangerlussuaq Airport (SFJ) in Greenland. The carrier originally ordered the aircraft in 2020.

There have only been seven examples of the Airbus A330-800s delivered to airlines. These are the smaller variants of the Airbus A330neo family. Kuwait Airways (KU) has received four examples, and Uganda Airlines (UR) has received two. The 800 variant has only had eleven orders in total. 

Air Greenland will use the new aircraft to replace its Airbus A330-200, which is over 20 years old. OY-GRN was originally delivered to Belgian carrier Sabena (SN) in 1998, which is just over a year after the Airbus A330-200s’s first flight. Aside from the Airbus A330, GL also operates seven De Havilland Canada Dash-8-200 aircraft to destinations throughout Greenland and Iceland.

The new aircraft, which is named Tuukkaq, will have 30% sustainable aviation fuel and be powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines. The type is configured with a total of 305 seats, including 42 in the premium cabin and 263 in the economy cabin.

The aircraft will be used to operate in Denmark, North America, and other European destinations according to Airbus. Air Greenland has tentatively scheduled for the new aircraft to enter commercial service on March 27, 2023, between SFJ and Copenhagen (CPH).

The larger A330neo variant the A330-900 has 267 orders and has delivered 82 of them.