ASL 737-800F fleet nears 20 aircraft

Three carrier subsidiaries of Ireland-based ASL Aviation Holdings are each preparing to put newly converted 737-800 freighters into service, bringing the total number of the freighter type in the groupwide fleet to twenty aircraft. As a group of airlines, ASL is now the largest operator of 737NG freighters. [caption id="attachment_416793" align="alignright" width="560"] The ASL 737-800F fleet includes several in FedEx colors. (Photo/ASL Airlines)[/caption] ASL Airlines Belgium received its tenth 737-800BCF (35553, ex-Ryanair) following the redelivery of one of twenty conversions its parent organization ordered from Boeing. The freighter was redelivered this week following conversion by Boeing at the STAECO facility in Jinan [FAT 006669]. This follows two other recent additions (35552) and (29940) that have yet to begin flying. Unlike the aircraft joining the Belgian carrier, which will be utilized for ACMI or charter operations, a 737-800SF (29925, ex-Go2Sky) that will soon enter the ASL Airlines Ireland fleet, will operate on a CMI basis. Amazon is leasing the freighter from Aero Capital Solutions, which recently took redelivery of the freighter after conversion by Aeronautical Engineers Inc (AEI) at the STAECO facility. [FATs 006670-6672]. ASL’s Thai subsidiary, K-Mile Asia, also added a 737-800BCF (29930) leased from JP Lease and will soon begin operating it in ACMI service for Teleport . Once the new additions are in service, ASL affiliate carriers will operate a total of twenty aircraft spread across four AOCs: ASL Airlines Belgium, ASL Airlines France, ASL Airlines Ireland, and K-mile Asia, and are in service for customers including Amazon, FedEx, DHL Express, and Teleport. The majority of the NG freighters in the ASL group’s fleet are dry leased or owned by ASL and then operated on an ACMI basis for customers. However, as is the case with the pair of 737-800SFs in the ASL Ireland fleet, the freighters are leased by Amazon, and operated on a CMI basis. Over the course of this year, ASL’s 737-800 fleet has grown rapidly as its order for twenty 737-800BCF conversions is steadily fulfilled. Boeing redelivered the first aircraft of the twenty in November last year, and is on track to redeliver ten more this year. A fleet that included five 737-800Fs at the end of 2020 is headed for twenty before the end of 2021. “By the end of the year, the first eleven of our pack of twenty will be in service, and then we kick off early in the new year with a balance of that original order that placed of the twenty slots with Boeing,” Dave Andrew, CEO of ASL Aviation Holdings, told Cargo Facts. “ It always has its hiccups, ups and downs, but I'm really glad to say that it's going well thus far, and we look forward to doing more.” Apart from ASL’s own conversions with Boeing, the group had previously leased two 737-800BCFs from GECAS and has since taken on additional dry-leased aircraft and units for CMI services. While ASL is the largest 737NG freighter operator, Amazon is currently the largest CMI customer for the platform, with ASL Airlines Ireland, Southern Air and Sun Country Airlines operating a fleet that will soon total twenty-four 737-800s. For the ASL group’s carriers, the incoming 737-800Fs have not replaced older airframes in the existing fleet on a 1:1 basis. “There’s been a mix, a combination of some new developments and some new opportunities, and then we’ve actually handed back a few leased airplanes,” said Andrew. Earlier this month, ASL returned a 737-400SF (25168) off lease to Vx Capital. “We haven't retired any of our owned aircraft yet.” Cargo Facts Symposium, taking place LIVE Oct. 25-27 at the Wynn Las Vegas, is the essential event for stakeholders in the air cargo industry. Learn more and register at www.cargofactssymposium.com .

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