Great Dane Airlines A/S was a Danish airline based in Aalborg, Denmark. Founded in 2018, the airline launched operations with its first chartered and scheduled flights in June 2019. Great Dane Airlines ceased operations on 11 October 2021, when the airline filed for bankruptcy.[3]

Great Dane Airlines
IATA ICAO Call sign
DW GDE[1] GREAT DANE[1]
Founded2018[2]
Commenced operations21 June 2019
Ceased operations11 October 2021[3]
Operating basesAalborg Airport
Fleet size3
Destinations16
HeadquartersAalborg, Denmark
Key people
  • Thomas Hugo Møller (founder)
  • Eigild Bødker Christensen (owner)
Websitegreatdaneairlines.dk

History

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Established in 2018,[2] the airline offered charter flights for a range of Danish tour operators, initially with fleet of two 118-seat Embraer 195 aircraft bought from Stobart Air,[4][5] staffed by eight pilots and twelve cabin crew.[6] The airline operated its maiden flight on 14 June 2019, which was a charter flight from Aalborg to Rhodes,[7] while its first scheduled flight was from Aalborg to Dublin on 21 June 2019.[8]

The airline was initially co-owned by Thomas Hugo Møller and by Huy Duc Nguyen, who resigned from his position as a board member, executive and owner in March 2019 after a newspaper revealed exaggerations in his résumé.[9] In March 2019, Eigild Bødker Christensen invested in Great Dane Airlines (via SEBC II ApS), leaving Great Dane Airlines co-owned by Thomas Hugo Møller (10%) and Eigild Bødker Christensen (90%).[10]

Between September 2020 and May 2021, the airline wet-leased two of its aircraft to startup airline Bamboo Airways.[citation needed]

On 11 October 2021, Great Dane Airlines filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations.[3]

Destinations

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Great Dane Airlines operated charter flights to the following destinations:[11]

Country City Airport Notes Refs
Croatia Split Split Airport Seasonal charter [11]
Rijeka Rijeka Airport Seasonal charter [11]
Zadar Zadar Airport Seasonal charter [11]
Denmark Aalborg Aalborg Airport Base [12]
Greece Crete Chania International Airport Seasonal charter [11]
Rhodes Rhodes International Airport Seasonal charter [11]
Preveza Preveza Airport Seasonal charter [11]
Ireland Dublin Dublin Airport Seasonal charter [11]
Italy Bologna Bologna International Airport Seasonal charter [11]
Naples Naples International Airport Seasonal charter [11]
Norway Lakselv Lakselv Airport Seasonal charter [11]
Portugal Madeira Funchal Airport Seasonal charter [11]
Lisbon Lisbon International Airport Seasonal charter [11]
Spain Palma de Mallorca Palma de Mallorca Airport Seasonal charter [11]
Turkey Alanya Gazipaşa Airport Seasonal charter [11]
United Kingdom Edinburgh Edinburgh Airport Seasonal charter [11]

Fleet

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Great Dane Airlines Embraer 195, aircraft pictured involved in Air Serbia Flight 324.

At the time of shutdown in October 2021, Great Dane Airlines operated the following aircraft:[13][14]

Great Dane Airlines fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
Embraer 195 3 118
Total 3

References

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  1. ^ a b "Airline Code Full Details". Aviation Codes Central. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Vores Historie" [Our History]. Great Dane Airlines (in Danish). Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Christensen, Ole Kirchert (11 October 2021). "Great Dane Airlines begærer sig konkurs" [Great Dane Airlines is filing for bankruptcy]. Check-In.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Embraer Welcomes Great Dane Airlines to the E-Jets Family of Operators" (Press release). Embraer. 14 May 2019.
  5. ^ Christensen, Ole Kirchert (14 February 2019). "Danmark har fået et nyt flyselskab" [Denmark has got a new airline]. Check-In.dk (in Danish). Travelmedia Nordic ApS. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  6. ^ Nikel, David (17 February 2019). "Meet Scandinavia's Newest Airline". Forbes. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  7. ^ Witten, Peter (14 June 2019). "Nyt flyselskab fik plaskvåd start i Aalborg" [New airline receives water salute in Aalborg]. Nordjyske (in Danish). Archived from the original on 15 June 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  8. ^ "Tourism Ireland welcomes new Great Dane Airlines flight from Aalborg to Dublin" (Press release). Tourism Ireland. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  9. ^ "Efter cv-snyd: Medejer af Great Dane Airlines trækker sig" [After misleading CV: Co-owner of Great Dane Airlines withdraws]. Nordjyske (in Danish). 3 March 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  10. ^ Rasmussen, Elise (22 November 2019). "Kassen er tom efter skævert: Rigmand skyder millioner ind i nordjysk flyselskab". Ekstra Bladet (in Danish).
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Destinations". Great Dane Airlines. Archived from the original on 12 May 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  12. ^ Liu, Jim (22 March 2019). "Great Dane Airlines outlines scheduled operations". Routesonline. UBM (UK) Ltd. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  13. ^ "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2019): 13.
  14. ^ "Great Dane Airlines Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
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