AWAS (company)
AWAS, originally Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services, was one of the world’s largest aircraft leasing companies. It was based in Dublin and had offices in Miami, New York, and Singapore. It was founded in 1985 by News Corporation and TNT as a separate company from Ansett Transport Industries and was not part of Ansett’s 1996 sale to Air New Zealand.
In 2000, AWAS was sold to Morgan Stanley Dean Witter for about $600 million. At that time it owned around 105 aircraft worth about $4 billion and served 47 airlines. The Ansett name was kept for a while, then the company was renamed Ansett Worldwide, and finally rebranded as AWAS in 2004 to emphasize independence from the failed airline.
In 2006, Morgan Stanley sold AWAS to Terra Firma Capital Partners, and the business moved its operations to Dublin. In 2007 AWAS bought Pegasus Aviation Finance. In August 2017, AWAS was acquired by DAE Capital and the AWAS brand was retired.
Financial figures from 2013 show revenue of about $1.1 billion, operating income of about $380 million, net income around $72 million, and about 135 employees.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 09:22 (CET).