Investment firm Bain Capital Credit will invest an initial $360 million in a joint venture with Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings (NASDAQ: AAWW), a major provider of outsourced all-cargo aircraft operations and other aviation services, to lease freighter aircraft, the companies said Wednesday.
Under the agreement, Atlas’ leasing subsidiary Titan Aviation Holdings Inc. will contribute $40 million of equity towards the portfolio, which ultimately could have a value of $1 billion with additional commitments to acquire aircraft over the next several years. The number and type of planes to be acquired are still to be determined. Titan will identify and source aircraft, as well as provide lease-management services to the venture.
The new company will be called Titan Aircraft Investment, Dan Loh, Atlas’ vice president of investor relations, told FreightWaves. “The parties are working expeditiously to complete and implement all elements of the joint venture,” he said.
Since its inception in 2009, Titan has grown to become the third-largest freighter lessor globally by fleet value with over 30 aircraft and a book value of over $1.5 billion.
Titan provides aircraft to airlines, which put them under their own operating certificate and then fly, maintain and insure them. Contracts are usually long term.
Bombardier will perform heavy maintenance and refurbish 59 Bombardier-built REGINA commuter trains, improving safety and comfort for every passenger’s journey in Sweden
Latest contract highlights Bombardier’s position as industry-leading mobility services provider in the Swedish market
Mobility technology solution provider Bombardier Transportation announced today that it has signed a new services contract with AB Transitio, Sweden’s rail vehicle leasing company, to perform heavy maintenance and refurbish 59 BOMBARDIER REGINA Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) trains. The contract is valued around SEK 280 million ($30 million US, €27 million euro) over a period of five years. Deliveries of the newly refurbished trains is planned to start in mid-2020 with pre-series deliveries and will continue until mid-2024.
“With this new contract, Bombardier is expanding its services footprint in Sweden by maintaining the REGINA EMU trains operated by regional and private rail authorities, as well as refurbishing these trains to bring safe and reliable service to over millions of passengers across Sweden every year,” said Marina Sundman, Chief Commercial Office, Nordics Region, Bombardier Transportation. “We are proud to deepen our long-term relationship with AB Transitio and we are more committed than ever to delivering our range of service solutions to help customers maximize value from their assets.”
Around 20 years ago, our local teams designed and built these vehicles which are appreciated by the local rail operators. Today, more than 100 REGINA EMU trains operate across Sweden’s rail network in various car configurations, each train having travelled an average of 200.000 km per year in regional and intercity traffic, supporting the public transport authorities from south to the upper north of Sweden.
In addition to undertaking heavy maintenance on 59 REGINA EMU trains (54 trains of 2 cars and 5 trains of 3 cars each), our teams will also be involved in technical and comfort upgrades such as changing interior carpets, exterior paint, passenger seats refurbishment, interior lighting, installing additional pantograph with control equipment and new headlights.
This project marks a milestone in the development of our refurbishment activities and contributes to placing Bombardier as the leader of this market segment in Sweden. Bombardier is an important player in Sweden’s rail industry as a leading supplier of metros, trams, high speed trains, signalling systems and services.
DUBLIN, Nov. 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Fly Leasing Limited (FLY) (“FLY”), a global leader in aircraft leasing, today announced it has repriced its $385 million Term Loan. The interest rate on the amended loan is LIBOR plus 1.75%, a 0.25% margin reduction. Additionally, the maturity has been extended by more than two years from February 2023 to August 2025. In conjunction with the extension, FLY paid a one-time fee of 0.25% OID to the lenders.
“FLY’s strong upward trajectory, combined with its significant deleveraging and recent Standard & Poor’s rating upgrade, created the momentum for the successful repricing of FLY’s largest debt facility. We anticipate annual cash interest savings of nearly $1 million,” said Colm Barrington, CEO of FLY. “We remain committed to reducing our borrowing costs while opportunistically extending debt maturities. FLY will continue to explore other opportunities to optimize its balance sheet and create value.”
Dubai, UAE, November 17, 2019 – Embraer and Cairo-based CIAF Leasing have signed a firm order for three E190 aircraft. The deal has a value of USD 161.4 million at current list prices and will be added to Embraer’s fourth quarter backlog.
The three new aircraft will join CIAF’s existing fleet of three E170s, two of which are on lease with Jasmin Airways, the other with Air Cairo. CIAF are also due to receive two E195s in mid-November.
Dr. Hassan Mohamed, Chairman and CEO of CIAF Leasing said, “The three new E190s will be an excellent addition to our growing fleet of Embraer E-Jets. With a fleet of E170s, E190s, and E195s, CIAF will have the flexibility to offer to both our wet and dry lease customers a service that fits their needs exactly.”
Raul Villaron, Vice President Sales, Africa and Middle East, Embraer Commercial Aviation said, “CIAF is rapidly increasing its footprint in both wet and dry leasing with the addition of further aircraft to their fleet and the establishment of their own AOC (Air Operator Certificate) in June this year. It’s a pleasure to work with an organisation that’s going from strength to strength by exploiting the benefits a family of aircraft can provide.”
All three aircraft will be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2020, in a new livery showing off CIAF’s new visual identity.
Embraer is the world’s leading manufacturer of commercial aircraft up to 150 seats with more than 100 customers across the world. For the E-Jets program alone, Embraer has logged more than 1,800 orders and 1,500 aircraft have been delivered. Today, E-Jets are flying in the fleets of 80 customers in 50 countries. The versatile 70 to 150-seat family is flying with low-cost airlines as well as with regional and mainline network carriers.
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, Nov. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Embraer and KLM Cityhopper have signed a firm order for 21 E195-E2 aircraft, plus 14 purchase rights. The 21 firm positions will be acquired via operating lease from Embraer lessor partners Aircastle and ICBC Aviation Leasing. The order was previously announced as a Letter of Intent for 15 firm orders with 20 purchase rights at the Paris Air Show earlier this year. With all purchase rights exercised the deal would have a value of USD 2.48 billion.
The aircraft for this order will come from the existing backlogs of lessors Aircastle and ICBC Aviation Leasing; each providing KLM with 11 and 10 E195-E2s, respectively.
“KLM’s decision to add a further six aircraft to this order is a significant vote of confidence in our E2 programme”, said John Slattery, President and CEO, Embraer Commercial Aviation. “Delivering 30% lower emissions when compared to KLM’s current E190s, yet still providing a further 32 seats, the E195-E2 will simultaneously increase capacity for KLM at slot constrained Schiphol Airport, while also delivering huge reductions in emissions.”
KLM President & CEO Pieter Elbers, said, “For KLM this aircraft is a significant part of our commitment to improving our environmental impact. Not only is the E195-E2 the most fuel efficient lowest emission aircraft in its class, it is also the quietest by a considerable margin – a huge benefit for both our communities and our passengers.
KLM will configure the aircraft with 132 seats. Deliveries will begin in the first quarter of 2021.
Embraer is the world’s leading manufacturer of commercial aircraft up to 150 seats with more than 100 customers across the world. For the E-Jets program alone, Embraer has logged more than 1,800 orders and 1,500 aircraft have been delivered. Today, E-Jets are flying in the fleets of 80 customers in 50 countries. The versatile 70 to 150-seat family is flying with low-cost airlines as well as with regional and mainline network carriers.
Nov 6 (Reuters) – Aircastle Ltd said on Wednesday Japan’s Marubeni Corp and Mizuho Leasing Co Ltd had offered to buy the aircraft lessor in a deal valued at $2.4 billion, ending a nearly two-week long strategic review of its business.
Shares of the company rose 16% to trade in line with the offer price of $32 per share. Marubeni, the company’s largest shareholder, has a 29% stake in Aircastle as of Oct. 23 that is currently valued at about $600 million.
Aircastle, which owned and managed 277 aircraft in 48 countries as of Sept. 30, counts American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines among its customers.
Airline bankruptcies have increased this year at the fastest ever rate, led by the collapse of India’s Jet Airways, British travel group Thomas Cook and Avianca of Brazil, adding pressure on aircraft leasing companies.
Fitch Ratings said in September that it expects the sector to worsen in the medium term with a potential rise in airline bankruptcies, further aircraft repossessions and increased financing costs. (http://bit.ly/2qrjaG5)
The deal, which is valued at $7.4 billion including debt, is expected to close in the first half of 2020, Aircastle said.
Citigroup Global Markets Inc will serve as financial adviser to Aircastle.
(Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Anil D’Silva)
São José dos Campos, Brazil, October 15, 2019 – Amaszonas Línea Aérea of Bolivia is the newest Embraer E-Jet operator. The airline started flying an E190 today between Santa Cruz de la Sierra’s Viru Viru Airport and La Paz. Amaszonas is adding a total of six E190s to its fleet. The airplanes will fly to several domestic and international destinations.
“We have been working with Amaszonas for a long-time. To see the E190 flying in the airline’s colors is really rewarding for Embraer,” said Reinaldo Krugner, Vice President, Latin America & Caribbean, Embraer Commercial Aviation. “The E190 is the ideal aircraft to support the airline’s growing capacity in a very disciplined way. Amaszonas is taking advantage of the E190’s low operating cost.”
The first two E190s are leased from GECAS and configured with 112 seats in a single class layout. The other four aircraft will be leased from CDB Leasing and have 110 seats in a single class layout. The airline will also operate the E190s at Montevideo’s Carrasco International Airport in the future.
“The range of the E190 allows us to replace our smaller regional jets and support our expansion plans in Bolivia and Uruguay,” Sergio de Urioste, President & CEO of Amaszonas Línea Aérea. “Our E-Jets give us the flexibility we need to add more frequencies and destinations. We know our passengers are going to love the comfort of the E190 cabin.”
Embraer and Amaszonas have also signed a Flight Hour Pool Program agreement until 2024 to provide repairable component support for the carrier’s fleet of up to six E190s. The multiyear program features both the Pool Program and repair management services for the carrier’s fleet of E-Jets, including material services engineering and advanced component exchanges from Embraer’s spare parts distribution center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Embraer is the world’s leading manufacturer of commercial aircraft up to 150 seats with more than 100 customers across the world. For the E-Jets program alone, Embraer has logged more than 1,800 orders and 1,500 aircraft have been delivered. Today, E-Jets are flying in the fleets of 80 customers in 50 countries. The versatile 70 to 150-seat family is flying with low-cost airlines as well as with regional and mainline network carriers.
LONDON, Aug 23 (Reuters) – British Airways pilots are to go on strike for three days in September, their union said on Friday, in a dispute over pay that could disrupt the peak summer holiday season.
Last month, the pilots overwhelmingly voted for industrial action and the airline, which is part of IAG, failed in a court bid to stop them.
“The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) has today given notice to British Airways that it will call on its members to strike on 9th, 10th and 27th September 2019,” the union said in a statement.
“It is clear, following discussions with members over the last few days, that BA’s most recent offer will not gain the support of anywhere near a majority of its pilots.”
British Airways said the strike action was unjustifiable as their pay offer was fair and that the strikes would destroy the travel plans of tens of thousands of customers.
“We are now making changes to our schedule. We will do everything we can to get as many people away on their journeys as possible,” the airline said in a statement.
“However, it is likely that many of our customers will not be able to travel and we will be offering refunds and re-bookings for passengers booked on cancelled flights.”
The airline said it was exploring options to supplement its fleet with aircraft and crew from other airlines, known as wet-leasing, and working with partner airlines to schedule larger aircraft to take more customers.
(Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Stephen Addison)
LOS ANGELES, July 1, 2019 – Air Lease Corporation (NYSE: AL) will host a conference call on August 8, 2019 at 4:30 PM Eastern Time to discuss the Company’s financial results for the second quarter of 2019.
Investors can participate in the conference call by dialing (855) 308-8321 domestic or (330) 863-3465 international. The passcode for the call is 4472126.
The conference call will also be broadcast live through a link on the Investors page of the Air Lease Corporation website at www.airleasecorp.com. Please visit the website at least 15 minutes prior to the call to register, download and install any necessary audio software. A replay of the broadcast will be available on the Investors page of the Air Lease Corporation website.
For your convenience, the conference call can be replayed in its entirety beginning at 7:30 PM ET on August 8, 2019 until 7:30 PM ET on August 15, 2019. If you wish to listen to the replay of this conference call, please dial (855) 859-2056 domestic or (404) 537-3406 international and enter passcode 4472126.
About Air Lease Corporation
ALC is a leading aircraft leasing company based in Los Angeles, California that has airline customers throughout the world. ALC and its team of dedicated and experienced professionals are principally engaged in purchasing commercial aircraft and leasing them to its airline customers worldwide through customized aircraft leasing and financing solutions. For more information, visit ALC’s website at www.airleasecorp.com.
PARIS, France, June 18, 2019 – Today Air Lease Corporation (NYSE: AL; “ALC”) announced the long-term lease placement with Korean Air for ten new Boeing 787-10 aircraft. Scheduled to deliver to the airline starting in 2021 through 2023 from ALC’s order book with Boeing, these ten 787-10s from ALC are the first -10 Dreamliner aircraft to be placed in Korean Air’s fleet.
“As a launch customer for the 787-10, ALC is thrilled to announce this major lease placement introducing the 787-10 to Korean Air’s fleet, a project we have worked on with Korean and Boeing for a long time. The 787-10 will bring new levels of Korean Air’s outstanding service to its passengers, and provide significant revenue benefits to Korean’s global network,” said John L. Plueger, Chief Executive Officer and President of Air Lease Corporation.
“As we continue to innovate our product offering, the 787 Dreamliner family will become the backbone of our long-haul fleet for many years to come,” said Walter Cho, Chairman of Korean Air. “In addition to 25 percent improved fuel efficiency, the stretched 787-10 offers around 15 percent more space for passengers and cargo than our 787-9s, which will be critical to our long-term business goals.”
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including expected delivery dates. Such statements are based on current expectations and projections about our future results, prospects and opportunities and are not guarantees of future performance. Such statements will not be updated unless required by law. Actual results and performance may differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
About Air Lease Corporation (NYSE: AL)
ALC is a leading aircraft leasing company based in Los Angeles, California that has airline customers throughout the world. ALC and its team of dedicated and experienced professionals are principally engaged in purchasing commercial aircraft and leasing them to its airline customers worldwide through customized aircraft leasing and financing solutions. For more information, visit ALC’s website at www.airleasecorp.com.
About Korean Air
Korean Air is both the flag carrier and the largest airline of South Korea, with global headquarters located in Gonghang Dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, South Korea. Korean Air’s international passenger division and related subsidiary cargo division together serve 130 cities in 45 countries, while its domestic division serves 20 destinations. It is among the top 20 airlines in the world in terms of passengers carried and is also the top-ranked international cargo airline. Incheon International Airport serves as Korean Air’s international hub.
