Sky Greenland
| |||||||
| Founded | 2013 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating bases | |||||||
| Fleet size | 0 | ||||||
| Destinations | 01 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Kangerlussuaq, Greenland; Aalborg, Denmark | ||||||
| Key people | Gert Brask, Owner | ||||||
| Website | http://www.greenlandexpress.com | ||||||
| Notes | |||||||
^1 Operations are currently suspended. | |||||||
Sky Greenland (formerly known as Greenland Express) is a virtual airline headquartered in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland which started operations in June 2014, using a sole Fokker 100 leased from Denim Air ACMI.
History
Sky Greenland started operations on June 17, 2014 with two Fokker 100 aircraft (one in storage for possible new routes coming soon, and used for charter services), mainly flying between Greenland and Denmark, Kangerlussuaq - Narsarsuaq - Keflavik - Aalborg - Copenhagen. It had plans to operate from Akureyri in Iceland to other destinations in Europe.[1] (direct flights from Akureyri save at least 4 hours travel time compared to changes at Reykjavík, partly because of the ground transfer needed). It also had plans to have a hub in Greenland in the future.
Operations were suspended in September 2014, three months after the carrier got airborne.[2] In early 2015 it was announced that the airline was expecting to finalise a three-year wet lease agreement for two Airbus A319 aircraft.[3] In April 2015, the carrier was granted permission to fly domestic services, which are expected to commence before August 2015.[4] A 19-seat Let L-410 Turbolet aircraft (short-takeoff aircraft) will be used.[5]
Plans to restart regular services in July and then August 2015 were abandoned. It is now pursuing its own Air Operator Certificate and plans to acquire up to 5 Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft.[6]
A general problem for Greenland is that only two airports, Kangerlussuaq and Narsarsuaq, can handle typical airplanes. But very few passengers live within road connection from those airports and most must transfer to local flights. Other airports accept only special short-takeoff planes which can't go to Denmark, and some cities accept only helicopters. These local flights are operated by Air Greenland only, the competitor, and this raises passenger cost.
Destinations
Sky Greenland had plans to operate from Billund Airport and Copenhagen Airport to Kangerlussuaq Airport and Narsarsuaq Airport, but the airline was not able to launch operations in 2015.[7] The airline was going to lease an Airbus A319-100 from BH Air, but problems with payment resulted with the contract not being completed.[8]
Fleet
| Aircraft | Total | Orders | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sukhoi Superjet 100 | 0 | 5 | 98 | Leased from Sukhoi[9] |
| Total | 0 | 5 |
References
- ^ Beint flug frá Akureyri (Icelandic)
- ^ Moores, Victoria (23 September 2014). "Greenland Express suspends operations". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 24 September 2014.
- ^ "Greenland Express to Resume Operations". Airliner World: 6. February 2015.
- ^ Moores, Victoria (14 April 2015). "Greenland Express secures domestic rights". Archived from the original on 16 April 2015.
- ^ Our future aircraft to domestic Greenland. With room for 19 pax or about 1700 kg cargo. (Facebook 4 May 2015)
- ^ "Greenland Express Relaunch on Hold". Airliner World: 5. November 2015.
- ^ "Greenland Express opgiver at komme i luften". Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ^ "Greenland Express opgiver at komme i luften". Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ^ [1]
