| |||||||
| Founded | 1991 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AOC # | CASA TAOS.0512 | ||||||
| Hubs | Sydney Cairns Adelaide | ||||||
| Focus cities | Adelaide Brisbane Cairns Melbourne Sydney | ||||||
| Fleet size | 7 | ||||||
| Parent company | ASL Aviation Holdings | ||||||
| Headquarters | Bankstown Airport | ||||||
| Key people | Steve Ferris, CEO | ||||||
| Employees | 150 (2024) | ||||||
| Website | www.aslaviationholdings.com | ||||||
ASL Airlines Australia, formerly Pionair, is a passenger and cargo airline based at Bankstown AirportinSydney. It is a subsidiary of ASL Aviation Holdings.
Pionair was founded in 1991 in Queenstown, New Zealand as a sight seeing company with a restored Douglas DC-3. A further two followed. In 1998 Pionair expanded into the Australian market.[1]
In 2003 it purchased a Convair 580. It diversified into fly-in fly-out work with contracts for the Thiess Sedgman joint venture in Queensland and Fortescue Metals GroupinWestern Australia. Freight operations commenced in 2007 for Toll Priority with a converted passenger Convair 580 with two more purchased in 2008.[1]
Since 2016 AAA has operated cargo aircraft for FedEx / TNT, initially under contract to Virgin Australia and since March 2020 to Qantas Freight.[2][3]
In April 2023, ASL Aviation Holdings acquired Pionair and rebranded it ASL Airlines Australia.[4][5]
The Pionair Australia fleet[6] consists of the following aircraft:
| Aircraft | In service | On order | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| British Aerospace 146-200 | 2 | — | |
| British Aerospace 146-200(QT) | 2 | — | One stored |
| British Aerospace 146-300(QT) | 2 | — | |
| Embraer E190-E2 | 1 | — | |
| Boeing 737-800BCF | 1 | — | |
| Total | 7 |
The first of two Embraer E190-E2 were delivered in January 2020 for operations on behalf of Air Kiribati, scheduled to start in mid-2020 but the agreement was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the other aircraft not being taken up. One used Embraer E190 had been purchased by Pionair and was delivered in November 2020 for company growth and expansion, however this was later sold to Alliance Airlines to allow the company to focus on the E190-E2. As of March 2024, Pionair also operates seven British Aerospace 146 aircraft, five are freighters and the remaining two are passenger aircraft.
In February 2022, Pionair acquired two surplus Royal Air Force British Aerospace BAe 146 transports, these did not join the Pionair fleet but parted out to support the operational fleet.[7] The airline received a Boeing 737-800BCF in February 2024.[3][8]
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Media related to Pionair Australia at Wikimedia Commons
