AWAS, formerly Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services, was one of the world's largest

aircraft leasing Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons: to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, as well as to provide ...

companies. Its head office was in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland, with offices in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. Founded in 1985 by

News Corporation The original incarnation of News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp. and also variously known as News Corporation Limited) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media corporation founded and controlled by media mogul Ru ...

and

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

, in August 2017 it was acquired by

DAE Capital Dubai Aerospace Enterprise Ltd (DAE) () is a globally recognized aviation services corporation with two divisions: DAE Capital and DAE Engineering. Headquartered in Dubai, DAE serves over 200 airline customers in over 85 countries from its eight of ...

and the brand retired.

History

Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services was established by

and

, co-owners of

Ansett Transport Industries Ansett Australia, originally Ansett Airways, was a major Australian airline group based in Melbourne, Victoria. The company operated domestically within Australia, and from the 1990s, to destinations in Asia. Following 65 years of operation, ...

, in 1985.A report by Ansett Worldwide

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 42 countries and more than 80,000 employees, the firm's clients in ...

2004 It was a separate company from Ansett Transport Industries and not included in the sale of Ansett to

Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 28 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily within the Pacific Rim. The airline h ...

in 1996. Ansett Worldwide was sold to Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in February 2000 for US$600 million. At the time of sale, AWAS had a leasing portfolio of 105 aircraft valued at US$4 billion, with 47 airlines. The Ansett name was retained as it was instantly recognisable in the global aviation industry. Under Morgan Stanley ownership the company was renamed simply Ansett Worldwide, the Aviation Services being omitted. The Ansett Worldwide fleet was combined with the Morgan Stanley Aircraft Leasing fleet, resulting in a combined fleet size of 180 aircraft by 2003. In 2004 Ansett Worldwide was rebranded as AWAS. A company media release issued to coincide with the rebranding stated that the company had outlived its association with a failed airline, hence the dropping of the Ansett name. In the industry it was known that some customers had shown a reluctance to deal with Ansett Worldwide, perceiving that the aircraft available were ex-Ansett Airlines aircraft that had been sitting idle since the airline had ceased operations, despite assurances from the lessor that this was not true. In 2006, Morgan Stanley sold AWAS to

Terra Firma Capital Partners Terra Firma Capital Partners Limited is a British private equity firm. Financier Guy Hands founded the firm in 2002 through the spin-off of Nomura Principal Finance Group. The firm, which traces its roots to the formation of its predecessor i ...

with management and operations relocated to

. In 2007, AWAS acquired Pegasus Aviation Finance Company. In August 2017, AWAS was acquired by

and the brand retired.

Corporate affairs

AWAS had its head office in The Galleries Building, 500

George Street, Sydney George Street is a street in the Sydney central business district, central business district of Sydney. It was Sydney's original high street, and remains one of the busiest streets in the city centre. It connects a number of the city's most im ...

, Australia during the period of Morgan Stanley ownership. Administratively, the CEO and selected staff relocated to the

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

office to be closer to Morgan Stanley's

headquarters. The company's marketing, I.T., communications, legal, financial and administrative sections remained in Sydney throughout this period. Post the acquisition by Terra Firma the Sydney office closed, staff were either retrenched or relocated to the new Ireland office in Block B of Riverside IV along

Sir John Rogerson's Quay Sir John Rogerson's Quay () is a street and quay in Dublin on the south bank of the River Liffey between City Quay in the west and Britain Quay. Named for politician and property developer Sir John Rogerson (1648–1724), the quay was form ...

, Ireland. Its

office was in One Brickell Square in

Downtown Miami Downtown Miami is the urban city center of Miami, Florida, United States. The city's greater downtown region consists of the Central Business District, Brickell, the Historic District, Government Center, the Arts & Entertainment District, and ...

, while its New York office was at 444

Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stree ...

. Previously, its Dublin location was in the City West Business Campus. It also had a

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

office in the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...

.Corporate Locations
Ansett Worldwide 2 November 2001 By 2007 the company opened its new Dublin headquarters, Alexandra House, The Sweepstakes,

Ballsbridge Ballsbridge () (from historic Ball's Bridge) is an affluent neighbourhood of the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The area is largely situated north and west of a three-arch stone bridge across the River Dodder, on the south side of the ...

. At that time it consolidated its London office into its Dublin headquarters. The company previously had an office in

Bellevue, Washington Bellevue ( ) is a city in the Eastside (King County, Washington), Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, located across Lake Washington from Seattle. It is the third-largest city in the Seattle metropolitan area, and the f ...

. In 2006, the office had 30 employees in the office. By 2007, it merged into the

office.Corporate Locations
AWAS 28 July 2007

References

External links

Official website
{{Aircraft leasing companies, state=collapsed Aircraft leasing companies Aircraft leasing companies of the Republic of Ireland Companies based in Dublin (city) Transport companies established in 1985 Transport companies disestablished in 2017 1985 establishments in Australia 2017 disestablishments in Ireland