CDB Aviation, a wholly owned Irish subsidiary of China Development Bank Financial Leasing announced the closing of a sale and leaseback transaction for one Airbus A350-900 aircraft with returning airline customer Air France.
“We are delighted to welcome Air France back to our customer family in the EMEA region,” commented Jie Chen, CDB Aviation Chief Executive Officer. “This innovative transaction marks our platform’s first lease agreement with an airline customer underpinned by sustainability-linked KPIs in relation to the airline’s ongoing fleet transformation to newer-tech aircraft.”
The Airbus A350-900, named “Cherbourg-en-Cotentin,” features 292 seats, including 48 business, 32 premium, and 212 economy seats. The widebody aircraft will contribute to the airline’s ongoing efforts to renew its fleet with modern and fuel-efficient aircraft, enabling Air France to achieve a significant reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
CDB Aviation is a wholly owned Irish subsidiary of China Development Bank Financial Leasing, a 39-year-old Chinese leasing company that is backed mainly by the China Development Bank. CDB Aviation is rated Investment Grade by Moody’s (A2), S&P Global (A), and Fitch (A+). China Development Bank is under the direct jurisdiction of the State Council of China and is the world’s largest development finance institution. It is also the largest Chinese bank for foreign investment and financing cooperation, long-term lending and bond issuance, enjoying Chinese sovereign credit rating.
Avolon extends, raises unsecured credit facility
Avolon, a global aviation finance company, announces the extension and upsizing of its unsecured revolving credit facility, supported by a syndicate of 25 banks. The facility’s maturity date has been extended by two and a half years from April 2026 to October 2028, and upsized by US$1 billion to US$5.8 billion over the course of 2024. This transaction brings to US$12 billion the total capital raised by Avolon year to date, of which 75% was raised from unsecured sources.
Ross O’Connor, Avolon CFO, commented: “The strong support from our banking partners for this transaction reflects the strength of Avolon’s franchise and positive financial performance trajectory. The facility maintains Avolon’s high levels of liquidity, providing us with further flexibility and a cost-efficient component of our funding strategy. Increasing the proportion of unsecured debt in our capital structure will provide further momentum towards achieving our goal of higher credit ratings.”
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