Great Dane Airlines

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]
Founded	2018[2]
Commenced operations	21 June 2019
Ceased operations	11 October 2021[3]
Operating bases	Aalborg Airport
Fleet size	3
Destinations	16
Headquarters	Aalborg, Denmark
Key people	Thomas Hugo Møller (founder) Eigild Bødker Christensen (owner)
Website	greatdaneairlines.dk

History

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

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

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	—