Air Alpha Greenland has recently taken delivery of its fifth Bell 222, and the company also has another on the way. Operations manager, Svend Olsen, said: “From an operator’s point of view it’s best to only have one type of aircraft, for maintenance and training purposes.”

The sixth 222 will be used for flight and instrument training in Denmark, particularly for pilots catering for the offshore industries. “This aircraft is the perfect size for the type of operations we do in Greenland, it’s quite fast and has a long range at the right price. It is particularly suited to evacuations for people who fall sick in remote areas, for example ice caps.”

The company’s main source of income comes from government contracts, offering flying support to the small settlements and villages in Greenland. “There are no roads to these areas and in the winter it’s not possible to travel there by boat. We bring food, supplies (including mail and medicine) and transportation for people. We have a timetable for all of the flights, so it is practically scheduled traffic that we deal with,” explained Olsen. Although the government earns an income out of the flights , this falls short of the total cost of running the service.

Olsen added that it was quite expensive to operate a helicopter, especially in Greenland: “The government contracts are secure, but at the same time we compete with another company in Greenland (Greenland Air) for the tender, every three years.”

Based in Odense, Denmark, the company’s facilities include maintenance and sales brokerage activities. “We are Piper dealers for Denmark (also selling spare parts) and we deal in used aircraft, including turboprops and small piston jets. The company now has a small production line specialising in helicopter equipment. We have just completed a special camera mount for an EC120, which can turn 360 degrees.”\r

Air Alpha also caters for private charters. “We have jobs within the general community, including servicing the tele companies and also some tourist flights. Nevertheless, it is predominantly the fish industry which needs us in the region, sometimes we may take crew to the trawlers and also boat instruments,” said Olsen.

“The charter market in Greenland is quite small and very seasonal. Most of the charters occur around summer time, including touristic and construction work.”

Air Alpha claims not to have been affected by fluctuations in either the European or the US economy, mainly due to the government contracts.