ASL Airlines Australia to buy New Zealand’s Airwork

By Andrew Curran.

ASL Airlines Australia has entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement to buy Airwork, the New Zealand freight company currently in receivership. The deal was first reported by Air Cargo News.

“This is expected to be an exciting development for ASL and a welcome step forward in our operations,” said ASL Airlines Australia CEO Stefan Oechsner.

Airwork Holdings Limited, Contract Aviation Industries Limited, Airwork Flight Operations Limited, Airwork Fixed Wing Limited, and AFO Aircraft (NZ) Limited entered receivership in July after a syndicate of lenders led by the Bank of New Zealand called in debt following a series of defaults and a loan extension.

Since then, Airwork has continued operating its fleet of eight Boeing freighters around Australia and New Zealand, including on behalf of freight airline Parcelair. Airwork was founded in 1936 and became one of New Zealand’s largest ACMI freighter operators.

Airwork faced operational and financial headwinds

The business was acquired by Chinese firm Zhejiang Rifa Precision Machinery in 2017. In the years that followed, Airwork faced multiple challenges, including an increasingly competitive regional ACMI market, the loss of five leased aircraft in Russia following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and unsustainable debt levels.

In mid-2024, Airwork defaulted on a NZD140.4 million (USD82 million) loan. It later negotiated a one-year extension, hoping to sell enough assets during that time to cover the debt.

By mid-2025, it was becoming clear this would not happen, and the Bank of New Zealand-led banking consortium pulled the plug on the company, saying Airwork had breached its banking facilities.

In March, receivers Neale Jackson and Brendon Gibson from Calibre Partners said Airwork owed creditors, including the banks, approximately NZD153.6 million (USD89.6 million).

ASL eyes expansion in regional freight market

The proposed buyer, ASL Airlines Australia, part of global aviation services company ASL Aviation Holdings, operates a similarly sized fleet, including two Boeing 737-800s and six BAe 146s, although not all of the latter type are currently in service.

The terms of the proposed acquisition were not disclosed. ASL Airlines Australia said the deal remains subject to final due diligence and the satisfaction of conditions precedent.

Photo: Airwork.
Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com