ASL Aviation Group acquire TNT and Pan Air Lineas Aereas

An agreement has been signed by TNT Express to sell its airline operations TNT Airways and Pan Air Lineas Aereas to ASL Aviation Group. The sale is conditional to the completion of the intended acquisition of FedEx, who had previously been one of TNT’s major competitors.

ASL Aviation Group will take over the flights operated by both TNT Airways and Pan Air from the moment the sale is agreed, but exciting contracts with partner airlines, contractors and suppliers are expected to be maintained. Details of this transaction will not be disclosed.

TNT Airways is a subsidiary of TNT Express and operates as a cargo and passenger airline, the latter operating chartered flights to mainly European destinations. Pan Air Lineas Aereas operates on the TNT Express European Network, and the cargo airline is based at Madrid Barajas International Airport but also has hubs at San Pablo Airport, Seville; Valencia Airport, Zaragoza Airport, Vitoria Airport and in Barcelona.

ASL Aviation Group, formerly Air Contractors, currently operates services on behalf of FedEx and DHL and is the parent company of ASL Airlines, with hubs in Dublin Airport, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Shannon Airport.

"We are delighted to agree on this key strategic step in our growth and it underlines our commitment to be the preferred neutral aviation services provider to the intended FedEx-TNT combination once the transaction closes,” said Hugh Flynn, Chief Executive of ASL Aviation Group. “We look forward to welcoming the teams at TNT Airways and Pan Air to ASL Aviation and having them become a valued part of our group.”

The FedEx-TNT agreement comes three years after the American package delivery service, United Parcel Service (UPS) had put forward a €5.16 billion bid for TNT. The bid was scrapped by UPS, after European regulators moved to block the deal.

Laura Hamill

Originally from Belfast, Laura graduated from De Montfort University, Leicester with a BA Hons English and Journalism degree in 2014. She has…