Category Archives: ASL Aviation Group

Titan Aircraft Investments leases a Boeing 737-800SF to ASL Airlines

Titan Aircraft Investments, the joint venture between Titan Aviation Holdings, Inc. and Bain Capital Credit, have announced the placement of a Boeing 737-800SF converted freighter on long-term dry lease with ASL Aviation Holdings.

Titan Aviation Holdings, a subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc., will manage the aircraft.

Fergus Wilson, ASL Aviation Holding’s Group Fleet and Leasing Director, said: “We are looking forward to this Boeing 737-800SF entering service with ASL in the coming weeks and to a successful business relationship with Titan. The aircraft’s arrival will mark another step forward in ASL’s fleet renewal program which has already seen our 737-800NG fleet outgrow our 737 classic fleet.”

ASL Aviation Holdings, a global aviation services company with airlines based in Europe, South Africa and Asia, is a world leader in ACMI airline operations serving major cargo and passenger airlines.

Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, ASL’s six airlines include ASL Airlines Ireland, ASL Airlines Belgium, ASL Airlines France and ASL Airlines United Kingdom in Europe and associate and joint venture airlines FlySafair in South Africa and K-Mile Asia in Thailand. The group also includes MRO X-airservices, airlines services companies and several leasing entities.

ASL Aviation Holdings operates cargo services for the world’s leading express parcel integrators and online retailers. Group airlines also operate scheduled and charter passenger services under its own airline brands on domestic, international, and intercontinental routes in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, North America and Africa.

ASL has a global team of 3,000 people of 51 nationalities. The Group has a fleet of 130 aircraft that includes 7 aircraft types ranging from the turbo prop ATR 72 to the Boeing 747. ASL’s agreement with Boeing for 30 firm slots and 10 options for Boeing 737-800BCF ‘Boeing Converted Freighters’, will see the entry into service of the twentieth aircraft from that programme later this year.

Top Copyright Photo: Prime Air – ASL Airlines Ireland Boeing 737-86N (F) WL EI-AZA (msn 28655) CDG (Jacques Guillem Collection). Image: 959153.

ASL Group welcomes its first SAAB 340 to its fleet

ASL Group welcomed the latest aircraft to be added to its growing fleet, a SAAB 340.

The aircraft will be used to support the development ASL Group Charter Flights and Incentives which were initiated with the two ERJ’s (135 and 145) which are currently chartered under the commercial identify of Air Charters Europe (ACE). The SAAB 340 will be a great complimentary tool for this kind of activities next to the ERJ’s for the European Network.

The aircraft will be operated under the AOC of JetNetherlands, but from a sales perspective, it will be offered to the charter market in partnership with the company Cargo Union under the commercial brand “CU Air”. Flights will be operated on an ad-hoc basis from all the company’s home bases, but the aircraft will initially have Antwerp-Deurne (Belgium) as fixed home base.

ASL, Boeing announce agreement for 20 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighters; Boeing increasing production to meet growing demand

ASL Aviation Holdings DAC (ASL) and Boeing signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for 20 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighters (BCF), bringing the world’s first Next-Generation 737-800 freighter conversion to 120 orders and commitments, from eight customers. The agreement includes 10 firm orders and 10 purchase rights.

Operating on six continents, ASL provides network solutions to express freight integrators, transporting more than 357,000 metric tonnes of cargo in 2018.

Boeing recently inaugurated new conversion lines at Boeing Shanghai Aviation Services (BSAS) and Taikoo (Shandong) Aircraft Engineering Company (STAECO), while looking to expand further. The program is committed to more than double 737-800BCF output this year, going from eight conversions in 2018 to 17 in 2019.

Boeing predicts that 2,650 freighters will be delivered between 2018-2037, with more than 60 percent of these deliveries comprised of passenger-to-freighter conversions.

Already operating on four continents (Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America) after entering service last year, the 737-800BCF is certified by various global regulators: the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the European Aviation Safety Agency, the Civil Aviation Administration of China, and Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency.

The 737-800BCF carries more payload – up to 23.9 tons (52,800 lbs.) – and flies farther – 2,000 nautical miles (3,750 km) compared to 737 Classic freighters. It also offers operators improved fuel efficiency, lower operating cost, and higher reliability than previous standard-body freighters.

Image: Boeing.

ASL Aviation Group to rebrand its four European airlines

ASL Aviation Group (Dublin) is combining and rebranding its four European airlines under the same name. Air Contractors, Europe Airpost, Farnair Switzerland and Faranair Hungary will begin operating under the ASL Airlines brand. The group issued this statement:

Ireland based ASL Aviation Group is to launch a new European airline brand, ASL Airlines, as part of its strategy for continued growth in passenger and cargo operations.

ASL’s 4 European airlines are to be renamed under the new ASL Airlines brand and there will be 4 airline operations ‘centres of excellence’ in Ireland, France, Switzerland and Hungary.

Air Contractors will become ASL Airlines Ireland

Europe Airpost will become ASL Airlines France

Farnair Switzerland will become ASL Airlines Switzerland

Farnair Hungary will become ASL Airlines Hungary

The ASL Group, which employs 1,500 globally, will continue to be based at its Corporate Support Office in Swords, County Dublin and will be led by Group Chief Executive, Hugh Flynn.

The total ASL fleet is +/- 100 aircraft depending on leasing arrangements, of which 75 aircraft are flying in Europe and in future will operate as ‘ASL Airlines’. Some of these aircraft will be painted in airline customer colours while the rest will soon start to become visible in Europe’s airports in the new ASL Airlines livery.

The strategy, named ‘Platform for Growth’, is an initiative aimed building on ASL’s leading role in various express integrator, passenger and postal markets in Europe.

ASL will also expand its global presence through its interest in Safair in South Africa and cargo airlines K-Mile in Thailand and QuikJet in India where ASL announced last week that its shareholding is to increase to 72.59%.

The new ASL Airlines brand and identity will achieve a number of key strategic aims:

The creation of an evolutionary new identity and brand image
A progressive transition from the current ASL Aviation Group identity
Show a clear and consistent link between ASL Aviation Group and the 4 airlines
Reflect key selling points of trust, reliability, size and credibility
Affirm ASL’s commitment to our value proposition to our customers
Enable us to enhance optimisation across the group
Increase the competitiveness of each airline in the market

“Our intent is to have a new strong single brand that will play a major role in helping us to achieve our vision and mission and reflect our corporate values in our business”, said ASL Group Chief Executive, Hugh Flynn.

“This strong single brand will make it considerably easier to use the aircraft of the European fleet across the individual countries to meet customer demand and this increased fleet flexibility and consequent competitiveness will enable us to grow our business”, Hugh Flynn continued.

Hugh Flynn explained that ASL’s optimisation potential will include the creation of ‘Centres of Excellence’, reducing cost and improving safety, reliability, quality and profitability, 4 of ASL’s 5 corporate values.

“In addition”, he said. “there will be increased security of employment, job satisfaction and challenge for all of the people of ASL, our 5th corporate value, and the most important after safety,”, Hugh Flynn concluded.

A 5th operations ‘centre of excellence’ in South Africa will oversee the continued growth in Safair, the specialist humanitarian Hercules operator; FlySafair, South Africa’s first ‘true’ low cost airline launched in October 2014 and the two Asian airlines. ASL’s aircraft leasing platforms will also continue to be based in Dublin.

To facilitate the ‘Platform for Growth’ strategy the ASL Group is being restructured into two divisions, European Airlines and Rest of the World Airlines and Leasing.

The current CEO of Air Contractors, Colin Grant will become Chief Executive of the new European Airline’s division and will be based in Dublin.
The current CEO of Safair, Dave Andrew, will become Chief Executive of the new Rest of the World Airlines and Leasing Division and will be based between Johannesburg and Dublin.
‘Platform for Growth’ will see ASL increase the number of aircraft in its combined cargo and passenger fleets. Aircraft will also be transferred throughout the group to facilitate the airlines and their ‘centres of excellence’ becoming specialists in operating specific aircraft types.

The 4 European airlines to be rebranded ASL Airlines currently operate throughout Europe for the leading express freight integrators and for postal services in France and the UK from hubs in France and Germany and between bases throughout the continent from Norway to Greece.

Passenger services are also operated under the airlines own brand from Switzerland, Ireland and France while the Irish airline, Air Contractors, operates three passenger Boeing 757’s on daily transatlantic flights from Dublin and Shannon to Canada and the United States.

Air Contractors – ASL Airlines Ireland

Copyright Photo above: SM Fitzwilliams Collection/AirlinersGallery.com. ATR 72-212 EI-SLK (msn 395) prepares to land at Shannon.

Irish Airline, Air Contractors, will be rebranded as ‘ASL Airlines’ Ireland. Just last week the airline won the prestigious ‘Aircraft Operator of the Year’ award at the Irish Aviation Authority sponsored Irish Aviation Awards.

Copyright Photo above: TMK Photography/AirlinersGallery.com. Air Contractors operates this Boeing 757-2Q8 EI-LBS (msn 27623) for Aer Lingus.

Air Contractors operates Boeing 757-200 transatlantic passenger services from Shannon and Dublin to North America for Aer Lingus and also operates Boeing 737 charter passenger services throughout Europe from Dublin, Shannon, Cork and Knock Airports.

The airline also operates a fleet of turbo prop and jet aircraft for express parcel integrators throughout Europe and the Middle East.

Air Contractors aircraft slide show:

Europe Airpost – ASL Airlines France

Paris CDG based Europe Airpost will be rebranded as ‘ASL Airlines’ France. The airline operates a fleet of Boeing 737-300/-400/-700 aircraft on passenger and cargo services.

Copyright Photo above: Arnd Wolf/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-31S EI-STA (msn 29057) of Europe Airpost arrives at scenic Salzburg, Austria.

Europe Airpost flies passenger charter services for tour operators throughout Europe and the Mediterranean countries, as well as VIP and ad hoc passenger flights throughout the world. On the cargo side, Europe Airpost flies for overnight and postal operators within France and Europe, and operates ad hoc cargo flights throughout the world.

As part of its strategy of diversification, Europe Airpost also operates a weekly scheduled cargo service out of Paris CDG to Tunis, and a number of seasonal scheduled passenger routes serving France, Austria, Portugal and Halifax (Nova Scotia/Canada) via Dublin.

Europe Airpost aircraft slide show:

Video: Europe Airpost:

Farnair Europe – ASL Airlines Switzerland and ASL Airlines Hungary

The two European airlines in the Farnair Group will be rebranded as ‘ASL Airlines’ Switzerland and ASL Airlines Hungary.

Copyright Photo above: Paul Bannwarth/AirlinersGallery.com. Farnair Switzerland ATR 42-320 HB-AFF (msn 264) arrives back at the Basel/Mulhouse/Freiburg base.

Farnair operates a fleet of turbo prop and jet aircraft for express parcel integrators throughout Europe and also operates cargo turbo prop services in Africa. Farnair also operates ATR42 passenger services.

Farnair’s joint venture airlines in Asia, Quikjet in India and K-Mile in Thailand are not included in the rebranding initiative.

Farnair aircraft slide show:

Video: