 | |
| Company type | Division |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail Public services |
| Headquarters | Sisimiut, Greenland |
Area served | Greenland |
Key people | Lars Behrendt [1] |
| Parent | KNI |
| Website | pilersuisoq.gl |
Pilersuisoq is a chain of all-purpose general stores in Greenland, a major division of the state-owned KNI conglomerate. [2] Like its parent company, it is based in Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg), [3] the second-largest town in Greenland.
Lars Behrendt is the administrative director of the company since 2008. [1]
The chain operates 64 outlets in all small settlements in the country, as well as smaller towns which are not, except for Aasiaat, covered by the Pisiffik or Brugsen supermarket chains. [4] The stores in remote settlements are supplied by Royal Arctic Line but the intervals between the shipments are long, with some settlements like Ittoqqortoormiit and Qaanaaq only served twice a year. [5]
Pilersuisoq stores have an integrated Post Greenland office, the employees of which also process bank operations on behalf of the Bank of Greenland. [6]
Pilersuisoq also operates the duty-free stores at the Kangerlussuaq Airport and Narsarsuaq Airport, [7] although as of August 2010 the future of all duty-free stores in Greenland (including a stand at Kulusuk Airport) is uncertain due to budget cuts considered by the Government of Greenland. By 2013 the pre-2010 rules regarding duty-free sales had been restored. [8]
Passenger check-in for Air Greenland helicopter flights from the settlement heliports is performed by Pilersuisoq employees at the local store, in the Post Greenland counter. The passenger does not receive a boarding pass, but the baggage is tagged, unless the passenger does not connect in a local helicopter hub. Baggage is transported in a tractor, quad or snowscooter between the heliport and Pilersuisoq store.
The transportation system in Greenland is very unusual in that Greenland has no railways, no inland waterways, and virtually no roads between towns. Historically the major means of transportation has been by boat around the coast in summer and by dog sled in winter, particularly in the north and east. Nowadays air travel, by helicopter or other aircraft, is the main way of travel.
Kangerlussuaq, is a settlement in western Greenland in the Qeqqata municipality located at the head of the fjord of the same name. It is Greenland's main air transport hub and the site of Greenland's largest commercial airport. The airport dates from American settlement during and after World War II, when the site was known as Bluie West-8 and then Sondrestrom Air Base.
Narsarsuaq is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. It had 123 inhabitants in 2020. There is a thriving tourism industry in and around Narsarsuaq, whose attractions include a great diversity of wildlife, gemstones, tours to glaciers, and an airfield museum.
Air Greenland A/S, also known as Greenlandair, is the flag carrier of Greenland, owned by the Greenlandic Government. It operates a fleet of 28 aircraft, including 2 airliners used for transatlantic and charter flights, 8 fixed-wing aircraft primarily serving the domestic network, and 18 helicopters feeding passengers from the smaller communities into the domestic airport network. Flights to heliports in the remote settlements are operated on contract with the government of Greenland.
Nuuk Airport is an airport serving Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. The airport is a technical base and focus city for Air Greenland, the flag carrier airline of Greenland, linking the capital with several towns in western and south-western part of the country, including the airline hub at Kangerlussuaq Airport. With connections to Iceland, Nuuk Airport is also one of six international airports in Greenland but serves only destinations within Greenland and Iceland. International connections are made with flights to either Keflavík International Airport in Iceland or Kangerlussuaq Airport.
Kangerlussuaq Airport is an airport in Kangerlussuaq, a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Alongside Narsarsuaq Airport, it is one of only two civilian airports in Greenland large enough to handle large aircraft. It is located away from the coast and hence less prone to fog and wind in comparison with other airports in Greenland. Kangerlussuaq Airport is the international hub for Air Greenland. The Kangerlussuaq area has very few inhabitants, so few travellers have their origin or destination here; most travellers change aircraft. Due to runway pavement failures caused by thawing of the permafrost and climate change, the airport will be closed to major commercial traffic in 2024. However, military use of the airport will continue.
Alluitsup Paa is a village in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. Alluitsup Paa had 202 residents in 2020. Presently, the community's religious activities take place in Qaqortoq.
Sisimiut, formerly known as Holsteinsborg, is the capital and largest city of the Qeqqata municipality, the second-largest city in Greenland, and the largest Arctic city in North America. It is located in central-western Greenland, on the coast of Davis Strait, approximately 320 km (200 mi) north of Nuuk.
Qassiarsuk is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality, in southern Greenland. Its population was 39 in 2020. Qassiarsuk is part of the Kujataa World Heritage Site, due to its historical importance as the homestead of Erik the Red and its unique testimony to Greenlandic farming.
Saarloq is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. Its population was 21 in 2020. It is located on a small island with the same name off the Labrador Sea coast, at the mouth of the Qaqortoq Fjord, west of Alluitsup Paa and 20 km south of Qaqortoq.
Kulusuk Airport is an airport in Kulusuk, a settlement on an island of the same name off the shore of the North Atlantic in the Sermersooq municipality in southeastern Greenland.
Narsarsuaq Airport is an airport located in Narsarsuaq, a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. Along with Kangerlussuaq Airport, it is one of two airports in Greenland capable of serving large airliners. It is also the only international airport in southern Greenland. The settlement it serves is small, with the airport primarily functioning as a transfer point for passengers heading for the helicopter hubs of Air Greenland in Qaqortoq and Nanortalik. The airport is to be closed in 2025 when Qaqortoq Airport is scheduled to open.
The Greenland Airports is the national airport operator of the airports in Greenland, in charge of airport upgrades and associated fees and taxes in all airports in Greenland.
Nerlerit Inaat Airport is an airport in the Sermersooq municipality in eastern Greenland. It is located on Jameson Land and serves the town of Ittoqqortoormiit, approximately 40 km (25 mi) to the south-east. The airport can serve STOL aircraft. An AS 350 helicopter of Air Greenland is permanently housed at the airport, linking it with Ittoqqortoormiit Heliport. The helicopter also provides search and rescue capabilities within the surrounding area, and can be chartered for transport. On July 28, 2021, in Nerlerit Inaat Airport, a temperature of 23.2 °C (73.8 °F) was recorded.
Narsaq Heliport is a heliport in the northwestern part of Narsaq, a town in the Kujalleq municipality, in southern Greenland.
Royal Greenland A/S is a fishing company in Greenland, spun off from Kalaallit Niuerfiat in 1990 but still wholly owned by the Government of Greenland. The company operates in a number of towns and settlements in Greenland, with 20 fish processing plants and ship bases of local subsidiary units. Some of the processing plants were closed between 2007 and 2009. Royal Greenland had an annual net profit of DKK 335 million before tax in 2016.
KNI A/S or Greenland Trade is a trading conglomerate in Greenland. It is the successor to the Royal Greenland Trading Department, which controlled the government of Greenland itself from 1774 to 1908 and possessed a monopoly on Greenlandic trade from 1776 to 1950. Today, the company remains a major component of the Greenlandic economy and remains fully owned by the local government. The company is based in Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg), Greenland's second-largest city, located in mid-western Greenland's Qeqqata Municipality.
The Royal Greenland Trading Department was a Danish state enterprise charged with administering the realm's settlements and trade in Greenland. The company managed the government of Greenland from 1774 to 1908 through its Board of Managers in Copenhagen and a series of Royal Inspectors and Governors in Godthaab and Godhavn on Greenland. The company was headquartered at Grønlandske Handels Plads at Christianshavn.
Brugseni or Brugsen is a Greenlandic supermarket chain, which was founded in 1991 as a union of separate cooperatives dating back to 1963.
