Air Greenland reconnects to Canada with broader ambitions

This is not a vanity route. It is not a niche service, targeting a small community. Air Greenland‘s route from Nuuk to Iqaluit, Canada – re-inaugurated last month after nearly a decade – aims to deliver financial success to the carrier while significantly expanding access from North America into Greenland.

I’m sure that Greenlanders want to use this route and that Inuit in Canada also want to visit Greenland. But the difference now is that we have agreement with Canadian North where we have connections to the southern part of of Canada, and that makes the the passenger base quite bigger. That’s the change relative to the previous business cases.

– Malik Olsen, Chairman, Air Greenland Board of Directors

The route previously was operated by Air Greenland from 2012-2014. That was driven, according to company Chairman Malik Olsen, by the mineral and oil industries. “There was a boom in this exploration in Greenland and when that went down, then the customer base went down,” he explained in an exclusive interview with PaxEx.Aero on the eastbound segment of the inaugural trip. “We’re trying to aim a bit broader now.”

That broader market base includes a commitment by the Canadian and Greenlandic governments to increase cooperation and collaboration between the Inuit people who share a common heritage. Families today already trace connections on both sides of Baffin Bay. Increasing connectivity across the Bay should further improve those relationships, which will further increase demand. Air Greenland is banking on that virtuous circle supporting market development.

The carrier’s plan also includes attracting passengers from the southern part of Canada, thanks to the Canadian North feed from Montreal and Ottawa to Iqaluit. A passenger from Montreal or Ottawa can now get to Greenland on the same day, without an overnight and flying 30% (CPH) or 60% (KEF) the total miles.

Olsen also hopes to pull in additional connecting traffic from other North American markets, with the idea that skipping the backtracking via Copenhagen or Keflavik can save significant travel time. Connections from further afield will typically require an overnight in Ottawa, Montreal, or Iqaluit based on the Canadian North flight schedule. But generally that’s more comfortable for passengers than sleeping on the plane.

The route (re-)launched with once weekly service, on Wednesdays. Demand for the inaugural trip was relatively light, with dignitaries on board outnumbering the “regular” passengers. But the route is showing up on search engines and at least one traveler from Ottawa picked it “looking for a creative way to get to Europe” not realizing it was an inaugural flight. Olsen is also optimistic that, as traffic builds, there will be an opportunity to increase flight frequencies.

“If you have the frequencies that creates more traffic,” Olsen explains. “But, of course, we have to base that on the economic outcome of the route. It’s a wish that we can increase the frequency so we can create flexibility for business travelers or other travelers that need only a few days in either of the destinations.”