has announced that it will be leasing an Airbus A320neo as part of its expansion plans in advance of the opening of the country’s new international airport in 2026. The new aircraft – which will only be delivered at the end of next year – will serve to reinforce the carrier’s links to Copenhagen, the Danish capital.
The lease agreement
Air Greenland has signed a six-year lease agreement with Carlyle Aviation Partners. The Airbus A320neo will become Air Greenland’s first narrowbody jet since it retired its Boeing 757-200 back in 2010.
The plane will join Air Greenland’s fleet in December 2026 and will “then be adapted to Greenlandic conditions.” It hopes to introduce the aircraft into commercial service in spring 2027, in advance of that year’s summer season.
It does not come as a complete surprise that Air Greenland opted for an A320. The idea of a narrowbody jet was floated back in late-2022. The airline’s CEO told Aviation Week at the time that the introduction of an A320 family aircraft was “something we are discussing” for which no decision had been made.
A new route to Copenhagen
Air Greenland hopes to use the aircraft on an as-of-yet unopened route from the third largest airport in the country. North Greenland’s Ilulissat Airport is undergoing a major expansion project, which will see the opening of a new terminal and extension to the runway to reach 2,200 meters. Completion of these works is expected for late-2026.
Once ready, Air Greenland hopes to launch a new route to Copenhagen. Currently, the only international destination from Ilulissat is Reykjavik (Iceland) with an Icelandair flight that operates summer seasonally.
At the time of this week’s announcement, CEO at Air Greenland, Jacob Nitter Sørensen, said:
“The delivery time for new Airbus aircraft is currently 6-7 years, so we have chosen to lease the aircraft to be ready when the new international airport in Ilulissat opens and to gain financial flexibility as the route is still new.
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Greenland has a very limited air network but does have flights to Denmark, Iceland, and seasonally, the United States.
We have high hopes for the new route to Ilulissat and see the lease agreement as a catalyst for exciting opportunities on our route network. Not least, we will be able to adjust capacity between the larger A330neo aircraft and the smaller A320neo.”
The carrier currently operates a direct service to Copenhagen (CPH) from its Nuuk (GOH) hub using an Airbus A330-800. OAG traffic analyzer shows that between August 2023 and July 2024, 40,000 two-way passengers flew between CPH and GOH. Similarly, figures for service to Ilulisat stood at around 40,000 for the same period – most of which routed via GOH.
Photo: Air Greenland
Greenland is a Danish territory, which explains the importance of links to Copenhagen. Most of the population is of Greenlandic origin, while those of Danish descent make up around 8%.
Pilot (re)training
Air Greenland’s current fleet consists of one Airbus A330-800 as well as several turboprop and helicopter aircraft. Of these turboprop planes, Air Greenland has a fleet of eight Dash 8 aircraft, the pilots of which will be retrained to also fly on the A320neo, the company says.
The new plane – which will be repainted in Air Greenland colors – will also be piloted be existing crew from the Airbus A330neo. In a statement, the airline said:
“Tuukkaq crews will therefore also be able to fly the new A320neo aircraft, supplemented by retrained Dash-8 pilots. The name of the new aircraft will be announced later.”
Photo: Jonathan E. Hendry | Simple Flying
As for the maintenance of the aircraft, Air Greenland will leverage its existing relationship with SAS in Copenhagen. It says:
“The A320neo will have a technical maintenance base in Copenhagen. SAS already maintains Air Greenland’s A330-800 Neo, Tuukkaq, so it makes sense to have an A320 maintenance agreement with SAS in addition to the A330.“
