ASL Airlines Ireland

If a freighter with FedEx titles and an Irish registration rolls past your spot at night, you have very likely met ASL Airlines Ireland. The airline from Dublin is one of the most inconspicuous in Europe – and that is exactly what makes it exciting: its aircraft often wear other companies’ colors, its types range from turboprops to widebody freighters, and its name has changed several times in five decades. Here you will learn how to attribute it reliably.

ASL Airlines Ireland at a glance

ASL Airlines Ireland is an Irish cargo airline with its company headquarters in Swords near Dublin. Its home base is Dublin Airport, and in Shannon it runs its own hangar for light maintenance. According to the company, aircraft and crews are stationed at bases in ten European countries, and the regular network covers more than 50 destinations in Europe, North America and Asia.

The business model is clearly defined: ASL flies mainly for the big express and parcel services as well as for online retailers. The parent company names FedEx, DHL, UPS and Amazon as customers. In addition, the airline offers full charter, short- and long-term contracts, ad hoc flights and ACMI – meaning aircraft with crew, maintenance and insurance for another operator.

The airline belongs to ASL Aviation Holdings, a group with further flight operations. The best-known sisters are ASL Airlines Belgium, the former TNT Airways, and ASL Airlines France, which emerged from Europe Airpost.

Codes and callsign

• IATA code 5H: appears in flight numbers and cargo bookings but is rarely visible to spotters.
• ICAO code ABR: appears in the air traffic control flight plan and on flight trackers – this is the code you search for.
• Callsign CONTRACT: this is how the crew identifies itself on the radio.

The codes are small time capsules. ABR goes back to the very first name, Air Bridge Carriers, and the callsign CONTRACT to the time as Air Contractors. Both were kept when the airline was renamed. That is handy for you: even when an aircraft is flying in FedEx or DHL colors, the ICAO code on the tracker reveals who is actually flying it.

From Air Bridge Carriers to ASL: the history

The story does not begin in Ireland but in England. In 1972, Air Bridge Carriers came into being at East Midlands Airport. In 1992, it became Hunting Cargo Airlines, named after the owner at the time, the Hunting Group. From 1997, the entire flight operation moved to Ireland, and in 1998 Hunting sold its aviation division to a consortium. From then on, the airline was called Air Contractors – a name under which many spotters still know it today.

In the following years, the group grew through acquisitions. In 2008, it took over France’s Europe Airpost, which mainly flew for the post office; the holding company operated as ASL Aviation Group at the time. In 2015, Air Contractors announced its renaming to ASL Airlines Ireland. In 2016, TNT Airways and Spain’s PAN Air were added when FedEx took over TNT – they became ASL Airlines Belgium and ASL Airlines Spain. Since 2017, the parent has been called ASL Aviation Holdings.

For you as a spotter, that means: old photos with “Air Contractors” titles, Hunting aircraft or Air Bridge aircraft belong to the same company history. If you maintain a historical archive, it is worth linking these names as predecessors instead of listing them as separate airlines.

The fleet: freighters from turboprops to widebody jets

The fleet is a colorful mix and is converted, relocated or supplemented depending on customer contracts. The exact number fluctuates: ASL Aviation Holdings cites about 40 aircraft, while public fleet lists in 2025 and 2026 came to about 35 to 36 active aircraft. So expect an order of magnitude, not a fixed number.

Type	Role	Spotter tip
Boeing 737-800BCF	Backbone on short and medium routes	Largest 737 version in the fleet, no windows, large cargo door at the front left
Boeing 737-400SF	Older narrowbody freighter	Shorter than the 737-800, Classic engines with a flattened underside
ATR 72-600F	Turboprop freighter, mainly for FedEx	Factory-new freighter without windows, large door at the front
ATR 72-500F	Older converted ATR freighter	Only a small number left
Airbus A300-600 freighter	Widebody freighter, including for DHL	Two engines, much thicker fuselage than the 737
Airbus A330 freighter (P2F)	Widebody freighter from converted passenger jets	Newest addition among the widebodies

Converted Boeing 737s

Most of the narrowbody freighters are former passenger aircraft converted into freighters. The 737-800s are Boeing Converted Freighters (BCF), meaning conversions under Boeing’s own program. According to fleet overviews, a large share of these aircraft fly for Amazon, some also for DHL and other customers; more conversions were most recently still on order.

Interesting for you: from the outside, the 737-800BCF and 737-800 conversions by other providers look very similar. The exact variant is usually only in the fleet list. The older 737-400SF, by contrast, is easy to tell apart – it belongs to the Classic generation with the typical engine inlets flattened at the bottom. How to tell the generations apart is explained in the guide Telling the Boeing 737 Original, Classic, NG and MAX apart. The manufacturer is Boeing.

ATR 72-600F for FedEx

A special chapter is the ATR 72-600F. FedEx Express ordered the factory-new turboprop freighter in 2017 as launch customer. The first flight followed in September 2020, the first delivery in December 2020 – and this first freighter was operated by ASL Airlines Ireland, initially between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and the Czech Republic. The freighter has a large cargo door at the front and holds seven LD3 containers.

These ATRs fly in FedEx’s feeder network in Europe. Visually, they wear the customer’s colors, not ASL’s. The manufacturer is ATR; how to tell ATR and Dash 8 apart is explained in the article Telling turboprops apart.

Widebody freighters: A300 and A330

On longer and heavier routes, ASL deploys widebody freighters. The Airbus A300-600 freighters fly for DHL, among others – accordingly often in yellow instead of ASL colors. In addition there were Airbus A330s converted from passenger aircraft to freighters. An A330-300 freighter left according to fleet lists in 2024; currently ASL flies converted A330s in small numbers.

Historical types: 757 and more

The fleet has changed greatly over the decades. Former types include the Boeing 757-200, whose last example left in June 2020, the Boeing 737-300, the ATR 42-300 and the ATR 72-200 as freighters. In the time before Air Contractors, predecessors also flew classic propeller freighters. Anyone looking for a 757 in ASL Ireland’s name today will only find one in the photo archive.

How to recognize ASL Airlines Ireland

The most important rule: don’t rely on the livery. A large part of the fleet flies on behalf of customers and then wears the customer’s colors – FedEx Feeder, DHL or others. Aircraft in ASL’s own colors exist too, but they are only part of the picture.

These features help you instead:

• Registration: ASL Airlines Ireland registers its aircraft in Ireland, the prefix is EI-. A FedEx ATR or a DHL A300 with an EI- registration is a strong hint at ASL. More on the logic behind it is in the article Understanding aircraft registrations.
• ICAO code ABR on the tracker and the callsign “CONTRACT” on the radio.
• No cabin windows and a large cargo door at the front left – typical for converted 737s and the ATR freighters.
• Time of day: Express cargo flies mainly in the evening and at night, when parcels have to get to the hub and back.

Why so many freighters fly under another name at all is explained in the background piece on the express integrators DHL, FedEx and UPS: the parcel services have part of their flights operated by contract airlines that provide aircraft and crew. You can find general tips for recognizing freighters in the article Recognizing cargo aircraft.

Spotting ASL Airlines Ireland

Dublin and Shannon

The most obvious address is Dublin. This is the home base, and ASL freighters are part of the normal traffic picture alongside Aer Lingus and Ryanair. A popular location is described on the page for The Mound at Dublin Airport, and more tips are in the guide Plane spotting in Dublin. In Shannon, ASL maintains a hangar, so aircraft can be parked there for maintenance or arrive and depart.

Express hubs in Europe

Because ASL flies for several parcel services, its aircraft show up at cargo and express airports. The first ATR 72-600F for FedEx, for example, started from Paris-Charles de Gaulle. Overviews of the airline name East Midlands and Paris-CDG as important locations alongside Dublin and Shannon. Which destinations are currently served depends heavily on ongoing contracts and changes again and again. As of October 2026, the rule is therefore: don’t plan based on old spotter reports; check on a tracker beforehand where flights with the code ABR are going.

In Germany, cargo spotters should mainly consider the big express airports, such as Leipzig/Halle or Cologne/Bonn. Whether an ASL Ireland flight is among them there depends on the respective contract – it is not guaranteed. For context, it is worth looking at other cargo airlines such as FedEx Express or DHL Air UK, alongside which ASL aircraft can often be parked on the apron there.

Photo tips for night freighters

Many ASL movements fall in twilight or at night. Then high ISO values, fast lenses and a steady stance are what count. Practical tips on this are given in the article Photographing aircraft at night. Where flying is allowed at night at all depends on the airport; for Germany, the post on the night flight ban at German airports summarizes the rules.

Common mix-ups

• Taking the customer for the airline – an ATR in FedEx colors or an A300 in DHL yellow can be flown by ASL Airlines Ireland. Registration and ICAO code decide.
• Mixing up ASL Ireland with ASL Belgium or ASL France – the sisters share the name but not registrations and codes.
• Treating Air Contractors as a separate airline – it is the same operation under its old name.
• Expecting a current 757 – the Boeing 757 has not been in the fleet since 2020.
• Equating the 737-400SF and the 737-800 freighter – the Classic is shorter and has the typically flattened engine inlets.
• Taking the ATR 72-600F for a converted passenger ATR – the 600F was built as a freighter from the factory.

Conclusion

ASL Airlines Ireland is an airline for spotters who look closely. Behind the name lies a company history from Air Bridge Carriers via Hunting and Air Contractors to today, a fleet from the ATR turboprop to the A300 widebody freighter and a business model in which its own livery is often not visible at all. If you note the registration and ICAO code, you will recognize the airline anyway – even at night under FedEx or DHL colors.