Avolon, a global aviation finance company, has completed the delivery of the first A320neo in Transavia France’s fleet, as part of a leasing agreement with the French low-cost subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group.
The delivery was celebrated today at a ceremony at the Airbus Delivery Centre in Toulouse. The new aircraft will support Transavia France’s fleet renewal strategy as it transitions to an all A320neo family fleet, delivering 20% lower fuel burn and CO2 emissions compared to previous-generation Airbus narrowbody aircraft, and 50% noise reduction.
This is Avolon’s first lease agreement with Transavia France, building on the existing relationship with Air France-KLM Group.
Avolon has 105 A320neo family aircraft in its fleet, with a further 287 on order.
Andy Cronin, CEO of Avolon, said: “We welcome Transavia France as a new customer and we are delighted to be able to celebrate the delivery of their first A320neo as part of their fleet renewal strategy. Building on our relationship with the Air France-KLM Group, we look forward to supporting this long-term partnership. Avolon begins 2024 with an orderbook of 458 aircraft which will support customers’ replacement and fleet expansion plans into the next decade.”
Avolon releases Q4-2023 update
The lessor also released results for the past year and the fourth quarter. The company said it:
- Ordered 200 new aircraft including 100 A321neo, 80 737MAX and 20 A330neo;
- Entered into letters of intent for the sale and leaseback of 51 new aircraft;
- Executed 147 lease transactions comprising new aircraft leases, follow-on leases and lease extensions;
- Delivered 43 new aircraft and transitioned 30 aircraft to 22 customers;
- Sold 31 aircraft in 2023 and ended the year with 25 aircraft agreed for sale;
- Owned, managed and committed fleet of 1,035 aircraft at year end, a 24% increase year on year;
- Raised US$4.9 billion of new debt across both the public and private markets;
- Upsized unsecured revolving facility to US$4.8 billion, bringing total revolving debt capacity to US$6.1 billion at year end;
- Placed order for 100 A321neos and 40 737 MAX aircraft;
- Entered into letters of intent for the sale and leaseback of 14 aircraft;
- Executed 43 lease transactions comprising new aircraft leases, follow-on leases and lease extensions;
- Delivered 22 new aircraft and transitioned 4 aircraft to 11 customers;
- Sold 12 aircraft and entered into letters of intent for the sale of a further 14 aircraft;
- Added 2 new customers, giving a total of 146 airline customers operating in 65 countries;
- Ended the quarter with an owned and managed fleet of 577 aircraft, with total ordersand commitments for 458 fuel-efficient, new technology aircraft;
- Closed a private offering of US$400 million in senior unsecured notes due 2028; and
- Repriced a US$2.3 billion Term Loan B, extending $650 million of the facility from 2027 to 2028.
CEO Cronin said: “Strengthening market conditions allowed us to place our orderbook and used aircraft at accretive lease rates while underwriting US$4bn of new volume through the sale and leaseback market. Our balance sheet scale allowed us to order a further 200 new technology aircraft which strengthens our delivery pipeline and growth into the next decade.”
For Editorial Inquiries Contact:
Editor Matt Driskill at matt.driskill@asianaviation.com
For Advertising Inquiries Contact:
Head of Sales Kay Rolland at kay.rolland@asianaviation.com
