ASL Airlines Ireland (ASLI), formerly Air Contractors, is a cargo
airline
An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...
with an extensive operations network. It operates scheduled freight services throughout Europe on behalf of major parcel integrators such as
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
,
FedEx Feeder
FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation, is a major American cargo airline based in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. As of 2020, it is one of the world's largest airlines in terms of fleet size and freight tons flown. It is the name ...
and
DHL Express
DHL is an American founded, German logistics company providing courier, package delivery and express mail service, which is a division of the German logistics firm Deutsche Post. The company group delivers over 1.8 billion parcels per year. DHL ...
; and some
wet lease
Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons: to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, and to provide tempora ...
services for scheduled airlines.
ASL Aviation Holdings DAC
American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is express ...
, the parent company of ASL Airlines Ireland, is headquartered in
Swords
A sword is a cutting and/or thrusting weapon.
Sword, Swords, or The Sword may also refer to:
Places
* Swords, Dublin, a large suburban town in the Irish capital
* Swords, Georgia, a community in the United States
* Sword Beach, code name for ...
,
County Dublin
"Action to match our speech"
, image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg
, map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
.
History
The airline was established and started operations in 1972, as Air Bridge Carriers at
East Midlands Airport
East Midlands Airport is an international airport in the East Midlands of England, close to Castle Donington in northwestern Leicestershire, between Loughborough (), Derby () and Nottingham (); Leicester is () to the south and Lincoln () nort ...
. In September 1992 the name Hunting Cargo Airlines was adopted and in 1997 the transfer of all airline operations to Ireland was completed. In June 1998 the Hunting Group sold its aviation arm to a joint consortium of CMB
Compagnie Maritime Belge
The Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB) is one of the oldest Antwerp ship-owners. It is controlled by the Saverys family who also own major stakes in the Exmar and Euronav groups.
History
CMB was founded in 1895 under the name Compagnie Belge Mariti ...
and
Safair
Safair is an airline based at the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, South Africa. It operates one of the world's largest fleets of civil Lockheed L-100 Hercules cargo aircraft. (part of the Imperial Group) and the airline was rebranded Air Contractors.
The Imperial Group transferred its 49% shareholding in the company to 3P Air Freighters/Petercam S.A. in 2007.
Air Contractors acquired French carrier
Europe Airpost
ASL Airlines France, (ASLI) formerly ''Europe Airpost'', is an airline based in Paris-Charles de Gaulle and operates out of major French airports. The airline operates both cargo and passenger flights with a fleet of B737 aircraft including the B ...
on 14 March 2008. Following the acquisition of EAP into the ACL group of companies, the group was rebranded ASL Aviation Group, representing the three core activities of the group; ''Airlines'', ''Support'' and ''Leasing''.
In 2010 Air Contractors entered a new era with the start of passenger flying on a Boeing 737-300 aircraft in conjunction with its Group partner, Europe Airpost.
On 4 June 2015, ASL Aviation Group announced that Air Contractors would be rebranded as ASL Airlines Ireland,
Europe Airpost
ASL Airlines France, (ASLI) formerly ''Europe Airpost'', is an airline based in Paris-Charles de Gaulle and operates out of major French airports. The airline operates both cargo and passenger flights with a fleet of B737 aircraft including the B ...
as ASL Airlines France,
Farnair Hungary
ASL Airlines Hungary Kft, formerly ''Farnair Hungary'', was an airline based on the property of Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport in Budapest, Hungary. as ASL Airlines Hungary and
Farnair Switzerland
ASL Airlines Switzerland AG was a Swiss passenger charter and freight airline. The airline operated package delivery services from its base at EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg throughout Europe, in addition to transport for the Swiss Armed Fo ...
as ASL Airlines Switzerland.
The company announced on 5 February 2016 that it had agreed to buy
TNT Airways
Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reage ...
and
PAN Air
ASL Airlines Spain, formerly PAN Air Líneas Aéreas S.A., was a cargo airline based at Madrid–Barajas International Airport, Spain. Its main hub was at Madrid–Barajas International Airport with small hubs at Barcelona–El Prat, Seville, ...
, on the condition that FedEx's purchase of TNT goes ahead. The sale went through in May 2016.
[globaltrademag.com - ASL Finalizes Acquisition of TNT Air Operations](_blank)
2 June 2016 TNT Airways became ASL Airlines Belgium and Pan Air became ASL Airlines Spain.
[aslairlines.be - ASL AIRLINES BELGIUM formerly TNT Airways](_blank)
retrieved 26 June 2016 In early 2017, ASL Aviation Group rebranded as ASL Aviation Holdings.
Subsidiary
ASL Airlines Switzerland
ASL Airlines Switzerland AG was a Swiss passenger charter and freight airline. The airline operated package delivery services from its base at EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg throughout Europe, in addition to transport for the Swiss Armed Fo ...
ceased all operations on 1 February 2018, while
ASL Airlines Spain
ASL Airlines Spain, formerly PAN Air Líneas Aéreas S.A., was a cargo airline based at Madrid–Barajas International Airport, Spain. Its main hub was at Madrid–Barajas International Airport with small hubs at Barcelona–El Prat, Seville, ...
ceased all operations in August of that same year.
Destinations
ASLI maintains crew bases in 10 European countries and has its own maintenance hangar in
Shannon, Ireland. The airline's operations span a network of more than 50 regular destinations across
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
,
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
and the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
under its own brand name and on behalf of customers such as
DHL
DHL is an American founded, German logistics company providing courier, package delivery and express mail service, which is a division of the German logistics firm Deutsche Post. The company group delivers over 1.8 billion parcels per year. DHL ...
,
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
and
FedEx
FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...
.
Fleet
The ASL Airlines Ireland fleet consists of the following aircraft as of June 2022;
In June 2021,
ASL Aviation Holdings announced an order with Boeing for up to 20
737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter (BCF) aircraft - 10 firm orders and 10 options at the
Paris Air Show
The Paris Air Show (french: Salon international de l'aéronautique et de l'espace de Paris-Le Bourget, Salon du Bourget) is a trade fair and air show held in odd years at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France. Organized by the French ...
. This was extended to an additional 20
737-800 Boeing Converted Freighters (BCF) in March 2022. ASL's order, including options brings the number of 737-800BCF to 40 aircraft. Eleven aircraft operate for
ASL Airlines Belgium
ASL Airlines Belgium,[aslairlines.be - ASL AIRLINES BELGIUM formerly TNT Airways](_blank) ,
ASL Airlines France
ASL Airlines France, (ASLI) formerly ''Europe Airpost'', is an airline based in Paris-Charles de Gaulle and operates out of major French airports. The airline operates both cargo and passenger flights with a fleet of B737 aircraft including the B ...
, ASL Airlines Ireland and ASL joint venture,
K-Mile Asia.
See also
*
Transport in Ireland
Most of the transport system in Ireland is in public hands, either side of the Irish border. The Irish road network has evolved separately in the two jurisdictions into which Ireland is divided, while the Irish rail network was mostly creat ...
References
External links
*
ASL Aviation Holdings
{{IATA members, europe
Airlines of the Republic of Ireland
Airlines established in 1972
Cargo airlines
Companies based in Swords, Dublin