It’s a fascinating time for aviation in Greenland, given the newly expanded Nuuk Airport can now accommodate jets, providing easier access to the capital. With this development, Air Greenland has plans to significantly scale its network for the upcoming summer season, thanks to some leased Boeing 737s.
In this post:
Air Greenland adds several Boeing 737 routes
Air Greenland’s fleet consists of a single jet, which is an Airbus A330-800neo, flying exclusively between Nuuk (GOH) and Copenhagen (CPH). The airline has eight De Havilland Dash 8-200s, which are used primarily for regional flights, though also for some international flights, like the seasonal service to Iqaluit (YFB).
The airline has plans to expand its jet capacity this upcoming summer, as the airline will be wet leasing up to two Boeing 737-800s, from Jettime and Airseven. Specifically, Air Greenland will be operating the following routes with leased aircraft this upcoming summer, as reported by AeroRoutes:
- As of March 17, 2025, Air Greenland will fly 2x weekly between Kangerlussuaq (SFJ) and Copenhagen (CPH); this is the route that Air Greenland used to fly with its A330-800neo, before the new Nuuk Airport opened
- As of March 17, 2025, Air Greenland will fly 2x weekly between Kangerlussuaq (SFJ) and Nuuk (GOH); this route is also operated by the carrier’s turboprops, but this is the first time the flight will be operated by a jet
- As of April 1, 2025, Air Greenland will fly 1x weekly between Nuuk (GOH) and Billund (BLL)
- As of June 12, 2025, Air Greenland will fly 2x weekly between Nuuk (GOH) and Aalborg (AAL)
The 737s being leased are all in a one-cabin configuration, so don’t feature business class or premium economy. As you can see, the frequencies here are limited, but when you’re talking about about a place that has historically seen as few visitors as Greenland, this does add up.
Can Greenland handle the huge increase in tourism?
It’s not just Air Greenland that’s expanding capacity with the opening of the new Nuuk Airport, but we’re also seeing service from other airlines. In the summer of 2025, United will fly to Nuuk 2x weekly from Newark (EWR), and SAS will fly to Nuuk 3x weekly from Copenhagen (CPH). This represents a major capacity increase for the airport.
With the limited amount of accommodation in Greenland, I’m curious to see how this growth works out. Obviously a lot of people are interested in visiting Greenland, but the logistics of traveling there are more complicated than many other places, and on top of that, there just aren’t that many lodging options.
I know for Greenland this increase in tourism is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, tourism can help the economy and create a lot of jobs. At the same time, it also has the potential to change daily life for locals, and I know that’s something that many people aren’t excited about.
I very much look forward to seeing how air travel demand to Greenland evolves after the 2025 season. Will this all turn out to be a success, or will 2025 be a one-off year, where airlines realize the demand just isn’t there?
Bottom line
Air Greenland will be expanding capacity in the summer of 2025, as the airline operates new routes with leased Boeing 737s. In isolation, this isn’t a game changer, but when you combine it with the other airline growth we’re seeing, the number of visitors to Greenland will likely increase massively.
What do you make of Air Greenland’s expansion with leased 737s?
On the topic of leasing, did you see that Aeroflot will begin wet-leasing Airbus a330 aircraft from iFly for some long-haul domestic routes to the Far East? It's a first in Russian aviation, as far as I can tell, and it's due to recent regulatory changes that make it much easier to wet lease. It seems that it's a money-saving move by Aeroflot, as the economy tickets between Moscow and many far eastern cities are...
On the topic of leasing, did you see that Aeroflot will begin wet-leasing Airbus a330 aircraft from iFly for some long-haul domestic routes to the Far East? It's a first in Russian aviation, as far as I can tell, and it's due to recent regulatory changes that make it much easier to wet lease. It seems that it's a money-saving move by Aeroflot, as the economy tickets between Moscow and many far eastern cities are subsidized and sold at a flat fare, so it's not much of a money-making venture for them. However, the demand for these routes is very high (To which I can attest, as Moscow-Vladivostok is a frequent route for me. Better buy at least a month in advance, or you could be out of luck. At least two months out if it's in summer or arounf New Year.) Hpefully adding the iFly flights will make high-demand travel dates much easier.
What is iFly? Where did they get an A380 from? Haven't heard about this before, and unable to find any (English language) source for this...
Well, if you read closely, I wrote a330, not a380. Here's an English source: https://www.airdatanews.com/aeroflot-signs-wet-lease-for-three-airbus-a330s-with-russian-company/
And another source: https://www.flightglobal.com/airlines/aeroflot-claims-a330-wet-lease-is-first-such-agreement-since-russian-rule-change/160940.article