CDB Aviation raises $660m
CDB Aviation has entered into a facility agreement with seven banks for approximately $660 million secured on 13 Airbus and Boeing aircraft, including A320-200, A350-900, 737 MAX 8 and 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. In a statement the lessor said this was its first large-sized portfolio financing since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and brought its executed financings year-to-date to $2.53 billion. The facility is being provided by a group of leading MLA banks comprising: Natixis, MUFG Bank, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, BNP Paribas, Nord/LB, Societe Generale and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd. Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank acted as Facility Agent and Security Trustee, and Natixis and MUFG Bank Ltd. jointly coordinated the transaction.

‘Diversifying financing sources at a competitive cost of capital is one of our key objectives,” said CDB Aviation CFO Brendan O'Neill. ‘We are very pleased to welcome our existing lenders and counterparties to this new facility, all of whom are major international aviation lenders, and look forward to continuing to build long-term relationships with them. We also appreciate the strong support from our shareholder in concluding this transaction,’ he added.

CEO Patrick Hannigan said: ‘The lenders’ recognition of our platform’s core strengths is the direct result of the collaborative efforts of our entire team, with their unfaltering commitment to our long-term vision and continued hard work in all aspects of our operations – all with the goal of supporting airline customers in navigating this pandemic-affected market environment.’

Meanwhile, United Airlines has just taken delivery of the first of 13 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft under the sale and leaseback transactions with CDB Aviation which were announced earlier this year and in 2020.

Avation to take $32m impairment
Avation, which has a fleet of 44 commercial aircraft leased to 19 airlines in 15 countries, says a revaluation of its turboprop, narrowbody and widebody aircraft will result in a reduction in book value of approximately $32 million, negatively affecting its results for the year ended 30 June 2021.

The weighted average age of the aircraft fleet on 30 June 2021, was 5.1 years, the weighted average remaining lease term was 6.2 years and the total future minimum lease payments receivable under non-cancellable leases was approximately $717 million. Avation owned three unencumbered aircraft on 30 June 2021. It also has 28 long-term purchase rights over ATR72 aircraft.

As of 30 June 2021, Avation had total cash and bank balances (including restricted cash) of $122.3 million (unaudited), compared to $117.6 million as of 31 December 2020. During the six-month period from 1 January 2021 to 30 June 2021 the Company has reduced its gross loan balances by $59 million (unaudited) by repaying aircraft loans. The company expects to release its full year results on 30 September 2021.

In an agreement with AerCap, Garuda has agreed to relocate nine leased B737-800s ahead of schedule.

Executive Chairman Jeff Chatfield said the company is optimistic of a return to profits when the pandemic recedes and as the market recovers. ‘It is our opinion that aircraft valuations will trend upwards as flying recovers. The company both improved its cash position and significantly lowered its debt during the second half of the financial year.’ The impairment review, he added, was in accordance with its accounting policies and Avation had taken a conservative approach to valuing its fleet.

BOC Aviation executed 35 transactions in Q2
BOC Aviation Limited Executed a total of 35 transactions in the second quarter of 2021. It took delivery of 17 aircraft (including three acquired by airline customers on delivery), sold three owned and two managed aircraft and signed 13 lease commitments. It now has a total fleet of 536 aircraft, including 377 owned, 37 managed and 122 on order. Weighted by net book value, the average age of the owned aircraft is 3.7 years and the average remaining lease term is 8.1 years. The owned aircraft utilisation during the quarter was 99.6%, with two single aisle and six twin aisle aircraft off lease. BOC says signed leases are now in place for all six twin aisle aircraft. The fleet includes six freighters.

Garuda Indonesia agrees deal with AerCap
Following the signing of a global side letter agreement to the original contract, AerCap has terminated the bankruptcy lawsuit it filed against Garuda Indonesia in June at the New South Wales Supreme Court in Sydney, Australia. In return the carrier has agreed to relocate nine leased B737-800s ahead of schedule. The lessor owns nine of Garuda’s 67 B737-800s that Garuda operates. The aircraft will now be relocated to an approved location.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s minister of state-owned enterprises, Erick Thohir, has said he will order Garuda to stop competing with foreign airlines on international routes and focus instead on working the local market.

Aero Capital Solutions H1 activity
Texas-based mid-life aircraft and engine lessor Aero Capital Solutions leased 22 engines in the first half of 2021, acquired one new engine and sold seven. It also acquired seven aircraft, sold 11 and concluded two new aircraft leases. During the same period, the company increased its commitment for P2F aircraft conversions from 14 to 21, the first two of which have been completed and placed on lease. It concluded agreements with five new lessees, taking its customer footprint to 31 lessees in 21 countries. At the end of June it had more than 100 aircraft and over 80 engines in its portfolio.

Carlyle closes Fly Leasing deal
Carlyle and Fly Leasing have confirmed that an affiliate of Carlyle Aviation Partners has completed the previously announced acquisition of FLY following the receipt of all the necessary regulatory approvals. Carlyle Aviation has used funds from its fifth aviation fund, SASOF V, for this acquisition.

Oaktree invests in Vmo Aircraft Leasing
Ares Alternative Credit Group, funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management and Diameter Capital Partners, are among the investors who have injected some $600 million in the San Francisco-based lessor Vmo Aircraft Leasing, increasing its capital base to $1.1 billion. ‘We are thrilled to welcome new investors during this round alongside the ongoing support from funds managed by the Private Equity and Credit Groups of Ares Management,’ added Scott Graves, Partner, Co-Head of Private Equity Group and Head of Special Opportunities at Ares, whose investment funds collectively comprise Vmo’s lead shareholder.

Fitch rates AVICIL planned Euro Note issue
Fitch Ratings has assigned an expected rating of ‘A-(EXP)’ to China-based AVIC International Leasing Co Ltd’s proposed senior unsecured euro-denominated notes issued under Soar Wise Ltd’s $2 billion medium-term note programme (A-). Soar Wise is AVICIL’s wholly-owned offshore SPV, registered in the Cayman Islands. The proposed notes will be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the proceeds are to be used for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Arena Aviation Capital expands
Arena Aviation Capital has appointed Peter Blakeney, formerly of Carlyle Aviation and AerCap, in the capacity of Managing Director. He will spearhead the growth of the Irish office, which added 12 aircraft to its lease portfolio during the first half of 2021 and expects similar growth in the second half with the expansion of in-house capabilities

Novus sale and leaseback deal with flydubai
Novus Aviation Capital has completed the sale and leaseback of two Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft with flydubai. The aircraft were delivered at the end of June 2021.

ALC places used A320s with Allegiant
Air Lease Corporation placed 10 used Airbus A320-200 on long-term lease with the Las Vegas-based low-cost carrier Allegiant Air. The young aircraft are scheduled to deliver later this year and in 2022. Allegiant Air currently operates thirty-five A319-100s and seventy-nine A320-200s, with one more A320 due for delivery shortly. ALC has also delivered one new Airbus A321neo aircraft on long-term lease to SKY (Chile) – the first A321neo to operate in Chile.

GECAS has ordered six more 737-800BCFs, bringing its fleet of converted 737-800NG freighters to more than 40.

BOC Aviation places aircraft with Norse
BOC Aviation has placed six used Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners with new low-cost long-haul Norwegian carrier Norse Atlantic Airways, scheduled for delivery in Q4 this year. Based in Oslo, Norse was launched in March 2021 and plans to commence operations in late 2021 or early 2022. It is understood the aircraft have been taken on 16 year leases. Norse founder and CEO Bjorn Tore Larsen says it intends to have initial fleet of 15 Dreamliners on routes between a number of European countries and the US. Earlier this year AerCap said Norse had committed to take six used Boeing 787-9s and three used Boeing 787-8 jets on lease.

GECAS orders more 737-800BCFs
GECAS has firmed up an order for six more 737-800BCFs, bringing its fleet of converted 737-800NG freighters to more than 40. Two of the aircraft will be added to the fleet of Volga-Dnepr Group’s ATRAN and the remaining four will be leased by as yet undisclosed operators. ATRAN LLC recently took delivery of two 737BCFs from GECAS and will add two more of the P2F narrow-bodies to its operations in September.

CALC takes A330s possible P2F conversion
China Aircraft Leasing Group (CALC) has added three Airbus 330-300 aircraft to its fleet through a sale-and-leaseback transaction. The three mid-life aircraft will be handed over to the Group’s affiliate, China Aviation Aftermarket Holdings, after the expiry of their leases CALC says it will explore freighter conversion business to extend their service lives and maximize asset values.

Volga-Dnepr explores conversion options
Russian logistics specialist Volga-Dnepr Group has expressed interest in the potential for a freighter version of the Irkut MC-21 after it toured the MC-21 during the MAKS 2021 Moscow air show. The company also discussed the launch programme for A350 freighter conversions, as a wide-body cargo aircraft solution.

IATA and ACI Europe disagree on slot usage
The European Commission’s decision to set a 50 per cent slot usage threshold for the upcoming Winter 2021 season has been welcomed as ‘pragmatic and proportionate’ by the airport representative body ACI Europe but condemned as being ‘out of touch with reality’ by the airline body IATA.

Airlines are normally required to use 80 per cent of their airport slots but waived this requirement last year in response to the pandemic. This summer the EC has allowed airlines to use up to half of their slots, with a force majeure clause provided in case of travel bans.
ACI Europe said this was a "solid first step as we progress to a further increase for the Summer 2022 season and an expected return to the 80/20 usage rule in Winter 2022’. But IATA said the EC had ignored advice and evidence presented by EU member states and the airline industry making the case for a much lower threshold.

‘There is no alleviation to hand back slots at the start of the season allowing airlines to match their schedule to realistic demand or enable other carriers to operate,’ IATA said. It also complained that the rule on force majeure had effectively been switched off for intra-EU operations. ‘The result of these changes will be to restrict the ability of airlines to operate with the agility needed to respond to unpredictable and rapidly changing demand, leading to environmentally wasteful and unnecessary flights. It will also further weaken the financial stability of the industry and hinder the recovery of the global air transport network,’ IATA said.

Its DG, Willie Walsh, commented: ‘The Commission had an open goal to use the slots regulation to promote a sustainable recovery for airlines, but they missed … by stubbornly pursuing a policy that is contrary to all the evidence presented to them.’
While ACI Europe Director-General Olivier Jankovec welcomed the EC decision he also called for a wider review of the 28 years old slot regulation system, which he said was ‘wholly inadequate for today’s market’.

Condor to acquire new planes as EU clears Attestor deal
Following clearance by anti-trust officials and the EU Commission, European asset manager Attestor has acquired a 51 per cent stake in Condor, clearing the way for Attestor to invest €200 million in fresh equity capital into the carrier. The European Commission also determined that a €525.3 million COVID-19 aid package provided by Germany to the airline did not breach EU State aid rules. On the back of this Condor, which is the German launch customer for the Airbus A330-900neo, has decided to order 16 latest-generation Airbus A330-900neos – seven direct orders and nine on lease.

GOL to lease 28 Boeing 737 MAX-8
Brazil’s largest airline, GOL, has signed lease agreements for 28 additional Boeing 737 MAX-8 aircraft, in what CEO Paulo Kakinoff said was an acceleration of its fleet transformation plan in anticipation of a strong recovery in travel in the post-pandemic environment. The new 737 MAX 8 aircraft will replace 23 B 737-800 NGs by the end of 2022. The company currently operates 12 737 MAX aircraft, having returned 18 B737 NGs in the past 18 months.

The aircraft will be financed via 15 direct operating leases, nine sale-leasebacks and four finance leases. The company’s plan is to own around half of its fleet via finance leases, with the remainder in operating leases to give it high flexibility to upside or downsize capacity based on demand. Additionally, GOL said, bringing in the 737 MAXs enables GOL to accelerate returns of -700 and -800 NGs aircraft on short-term leases, while it maintains substantial flexibility to manage its fleet in close alignment with fluctuations in demand for air travel during the pandemic.

Bluebird Nordic to treble B737 cargo fleet
As part of an ‘unprecedented and hugely ambitious expansion plan,’ Icelandic cargo airline Bluebird Nordic, a member of the Avia Solutions Group, says it intends to add 25 x B737-800 aircraft to the company's existing fleet by the end of 2024. Siggi Agustsson, Bluebird Nordic's CEO and Managing Director, cited the growing demand for cargo transport during the present pandemic as one of the main reasons behind this development.
Bluebird currently operates a fleet of one B737-300 and seven B737-400 full freighter aircraft. The new acquisitions will grow the fleet to 33 aircraft. The B737-800 model can carry an additional 4 tons more than the current in-service B737-400, while also offering increased cargo volume with an extra pallet position on the aircraft's main deck.

The first B737-800, which will be delivered by Avia Solutions Group sister company, AviaAM leasing, will join the fleet in September 2021, followed by a second in October 2021. In the interim period while Bluebird Nordic awaits aircraft conversion and delivery, the aircraft will be utilised by sister company Avion Express for passenger flights during the busy summer season, offering extra capacity and highly competitive prices.

Frontier to take 10 more A321s
Frontier Airlines has Q2 net profit of $19 million little changed on the $17 million recorded for the same quarter last year, net income reported in the second quarter of 2020 and a $72 million net income in the same quarter of 2019. Anticipating recovery, it has signed an LOI for 10 additional A321ceo aircraft, with deliveries to begin in the second half of 2022. Five more A320neos are already set to join the fleet in the third quarter of 2021, followed by nine A320neos and five A321neos next year, 19 A321neos in 2023 and another 19 A321neos in 2024.