John Menzies (Menzies), the global aviation services business, has further expanded in Central America with the acquisition of Interexpresso and additional contract wins in the Oceania region.

Acquisition of Interexpresso

Menzies has agreed to acquire 51% of Interexpresso Costa Rica Corporación, which will see Menzies’ footprint expand in Central America, an exciting growth market.

Interexpresso is an aviation service provider operating in Central America and headquartered in Costa Rica. Interexpresso’s core business relates to cargo handling and aviation security services, primarily consisting of cargo document handling, cargo security screening and aircraft access control. Interexpresso’s operations are based in San Jose, Costa Rica, with additional operations in Guatemala and El Salvador.

Menzies’ initial focus will be on developing and growing Interexpresso’s core cargo and security offerings across the region with the potential to expand into additional air cargo handling and ground handling services. The joint venture has added three new countries to Menzies’ portfolio, creating a strong foothold in Central America to develop its product lines across the region.

Further contract gain momentum in Oceania

In the Oceania region, Menzies has secured new business with Virgin Australia in Australia. From mid-October Menzies will provide ground services at Darwin, Cairns and Queenstown and will also provide air cargo services at Darwin.

These wins, following a competitive tender process, are in addition to existing business retained at Sydney, Melbourne, Kargoorlie, Perth, Brisbane, Cairns and Gold Coast airports and are testament to the excellent service levels provided in the region.

Overall, the contracts will see Menzies handle c8,000 flights and c6,500 tonnes of cargo per annum at a total of 10 locations for Virgin Australia.

These new contracts represent a significant expansion of Menzies’ operations in the Australian market and build on the recent wins with Qantas and Jetstar.

Philipp Joeinig, Chairman & CEO, said: “I am pleased to announce our expansion in the Central American region. We have found a knowledgeable partner in Interexpresso and, working together, we will be able to open doors in new, attractive, higher margin and emerging markets in the region.

“In addition, our contract wins in Oceania demonstrate our reputation in that region for providing excellent service and I look forward to developing our relationship with Virgin Australia as we move forward.”