Ireland-based ASL Aviation Group has launched a new European airline brand, ASL Airlines, as part of its strategy for continued growth in passenger and cargo operations.
ASL’s four European airlines are to be renamed under the new ASL Airlines brand and there will be four 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, Co Dublin, and will be led by Group Chief Executive, Hugh Flynn.
The total ASL fleet is around100 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 at 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 recently announced that its shareholding is to increase to 72.59%.
New Livery and Logo
The new ASL Airlines brand and identity will achieve a number of key strategic aims:
- Creation of an evolutionary new identity and brand image
- Progressive transition from the current ASL Aviation Group identity
- Show a clear and consistent link between ASL Aviation Group and the four airlines
- Reflect key selling points of trust, reliability, size and credibility
- Affirm ASL’s commitment to its value proposition to customers
- Enable the company 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 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.
“ASL’s optimisation potential will include the creation of Centres of Excellence, reducing cost and improving safety, reliability, quality and profitability, four of ASL’s five corporate values. In addition, there will be increased security of employment, job satisfaction and challenge for all of the people of ASL, our fifth corporate value, and the most important after safety.”
A fifth 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. Colin Grant, current Chief Executive of Air Contractors, will become Chief Executive of the new European Airline’s division and will be based in Dublin. Dave Andrew, current Chief Executive 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 four 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 airline’s own brand from Switzerland, Ireland and France, while the Irish airline, Air Contractors, operates three passenger Boeing 757s on daily transatlantic flights from Dublin and Shannon to Canada and the USA.
