Air Greenland has taken delivery of its first and only A330-800 neo, joining a select group of carriers to fly the next-generation aircraft.
The A330-800 neo is part of the A330 neo Family of aircraft, which also includes the larger A330-900 neo.
Airbus says it has had orders for 275 A330 neos from 24 customers, but the vast majority of these are for the A330-900 variant, with just three customers so far having taken delivery of a total of seven A330-800s – Kuwait Airways, Uganda Airlines and now Air Greenland.
The A330-900 has proved more popular, with carrier’s including Virgin Atlantic and TAP Air Portugal among the operators. For our review of Virgin’s inaugural A330-900 neo service to Tampa, see:
Greenland’s state carrier has configured its A330-800 neo – which is replacing an existing A330-200 – with 42 seats in Premium class and 263 in economy. The plane also features Airbus’ Airspace cabins, with larger overhead bins and a new lighting system.
The next-generation aircraft is equipped with Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, and has a range of 15,094 km, compared to the A330-200’s 13,450 km.
Airbus also notes that the aircraft has “the ability to offer the latest in-flight entertainment systems and full connectivity”, although it’s not clear exactly what Air Greenland will be offering on this front.
The carrier’s A330-800 neo will initially serve flights between Greenland and Denmark, before being deployed on routes to North America and the rest of Europe “at a later date”.
Air Greenland operates a fleet of around ten fixed-wing aircraft, including seven De Havilland Canada Dash 8-200s, as well as 20 helicopters, operating primarily domestic flights across around a dozen airports within Greenland.
