ASL Airlines Belgium

ASL Airlines Belgium,[3] (ASLB) formerly TNT Airways, is a Belgian cargo airline operating chartered flights mainly to European destinations. It has its head office and hub on the grounds of Liège Airport.[4] The airline used to be a subsidiary of TNT Express but was acquired by ASL Aviation Holdings DAC and subsequently rebranded in 2016.[5] ASL Aviation Holdings DAC,[6] the parent company of ASL Airlines Belgium, is headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland.[7]

ASL Airlines Belgium
IATA ICAO Callsign
3V[1] TAY QUALITY
Founded1999
HubsLiège Airport, Paris CDG
AllianceASL Aviation Holdings DAC
Fleet size34
Destinations6 (without contracted charters)[2]
Parent companyASL Aviation Holdings DAC
HeadquartersLiège, Belgium
Key people
  • Rinesh Ramissoon, CEO
Websitehttp://www.aslaviationholdings.com/

ASLB operates worldwide Boeing 737 freighter services under the ASL Aviation Holdings brand and for major express integrator and e-commerce customers including FedEx and Alibaba.[8] In addition to its own fleet, the airline also manages various third-party airlines providing aircraft for FedEx's European network.[9]

History

TNT Express was established in Australia in the 1940s, by Ken Thomas. The company expanded from a single truck to road and rail freight services across Australia including, for the first time, new overnight services. In 1958, the company became known as Thomas Nationwide Transport or TNT for short and, by 1961, TNT had become so successful that it was listed on the Australian stock exchange.[10]

The company was founded in 1999 as TNT Airways in Belgium.[11] Air cargo operations began in Belgium and operated from Liège Airport. TNT Airways started to work with BAe 146-300 and Airbus A300.[12] This transformation brought the company to an extension from a European to a Worldwide coverage. The Group introduced their first Boeing 737-300 in 2003.

In May 2004, TNT Post Group (TPG) announced major expansion of the TNT Express European air hub in Liège, Belgium. To consolidate and improve recognition of the TNT brand, the name 'TPG' was dropped in favor of 'TNT' in 2005.[13]

The split-up of TNT N.V. which was announced in December 2010, materialized in May 2011 when TNT Express and TNT Post (now: PostNL) were separately listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange.

In May 2016, ASL Aviation Holdings acquires TNT Airways which joins the ASL portfolio of 9 other airlines in Europe, South Africa and Asia. Rebranded as ASL Airlines Belgium,[14] the Airline signs a multi-year service agreement with the new Fedex/TNT combination.

Destinations

As of November 2021, ASL Airlines Belgium serves six scheduled destinations in North America and China under its own brand name[2] with several dozen more operated as contracted charters, e. g. on behalf of DHL.

Fleet
ASL Airlines Belgium Boeing 737-400F
A Boeing 747-400F from TNT Airways (now operating for ASL Airlines Belgium)

As of October 2023, the ASL Airlines Belgium fleet consists of the following registered aircraft:[15][16]

Current fleet
ASL Airlines Belgium fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Notes
Boeing 737-400BDSF 3 —
Boeing 737-400SF 12 —
Boeing 737-800BCF 14 — More NG’s to be added in 2023
Boeing 747-400ERF 2 —
Boeing 747-400F 3 —
Total 34 —

Retired Fleet
ASL Airlines Belgium's retired fleets
Aircraft Fleets Introduced Retired
Boeing 737-300BDSF 2 2016 2018
Boeing 737-400BDSF 6 2016 2023
Boeing 737-400SF 6 2016 2021
Boeing 747-400ERF 4 2016 2019
Boeing 757-200PF 2 2016 2022
Boeing 757-200SF 1 2020 2022
Boeing 777F 3 2016 2017

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.[17] This was extended to an additional 20 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighters (BCF) in March 2022.[18]  ASL's order, including options brings the number of 737-800BCF to 40 aircraft. Eleven aircraft operate for ASL Airlines Belgium,[19] ASL Airlines France,[20] ASL Airlines Ireland[21] and ASL joint venture airline, K-Mile Asia.[22]

Accidents and incidents
  • On 15 June 2006, TNT Airways Flight 325N, a Boeing 737-300 cargo aircraft operating a flight from Liège Airport to London Stansted Airport had to divert to East Midlands Airport due to bad weather. On final approach the autopilot was disengaged for a short period. The aircraft touched down on the grass to the left of the runway, resulting in the right main landing gear being detached and the right wing tip and engine scraping the ground. The flight crew managed to lift off again and subsequently made an emergency diversion to Birmingham International Airport, where a landing was performed on the nose and left main landing gear, during which the aircraft scraped its nose and right engine. There were no injuries, but thousands of passengers had to be moved to other airports. The cause of the incident was determined to be a poorly-timed message from local air traffic control which a pilot misinterpreted, causing the plane to descend too quickly. The autopilot system was disengaged due to a "momentary lapse". The flight crewmembers were said by the airline to have managed the situation with skill once the error had been detected, but were dismissed from service with the company as a result of the incident.[23]

References
  1. "IATA - Airline and Airport Code Search". iata.org. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  2. aslairlines.be - Services retrieved 6 November 2021
  3. aslairlines.be - ASL AIRLINES BELGIUM formerly TNT Airways Archived 2019-02-06 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 26 June 2016
  4. "Contact." TNT Airways. Retrieved on 27 June 2010.
  5. "ASL Aviation Group acquires operations of TNT Express". The Irish Times. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  6. "ASL – Aviation". Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  7. "Contact – ASL". Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  8. Orban, André (5 December 2018). "Belgian Government has signed agreement with Alibaba making Liege Airport the European port of entry of the Chinese e-commerce giant". Aviation24.be. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  9. "FedEx proposes second fiddle role for Liege in final leg of TNT integration | Cargo Facts". 22 January 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  10. Kinnear, Susan; Rose, Adam; Rolfe, John (8 August 2014). "Emissions Reporting in the Australian Road Freight Transport Sector: Is There a Better Method than the Default Option?". International Journal of Sustainable Transportation. 9 (2): 93–102. doi:10.1080/15568318.2012.738777. ISSN 1556-8318. S2CID 154588107.
  11. "Login required". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  12. "ASL Airlines Belgium - About". www.aslairlines.be. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  13. "History | Welcome to TNT's corporate website, offering company news and information for investors, press, and other stakeholders". freight.tnt.com. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  14. Coninx, Ivan (25 May 2016). "ASL Aviation Group acquires TNT airline operations". Aviation24.be. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  15. "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World: 5. October 2019.
  16. "ASL Airlines Belgium Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. 7 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  17. "ASL Aviation Holdings Confirms It Will Exercise Options for 10 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighters – ASL". Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  18. "ASL Aviation Holdings Confirms Up To 20 More Boeing 737-800BCF Aircraft – ASL". Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  19. "Welcome to the new addition in the ASLB fleet: OE-IWB (B737-800BCF)". www.aslairlines.be. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  20. "First ASL Airlines B737-800BCF Enters Service In France". AVIATOR. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  21. "ASL prepares for Amazon 737 operations | Cargo Facts". 20 October 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  22. "AirAsia's Teleport serves e-commerce demand with own-controlled 737 freighter | Air Cargo World". 3 November 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  23. "Cargo plane crash pilots sacked". 27 July 2006 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
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