LONDON – flydubai has placed five Boeing 737 MAX aircraft on a sale & leaseback arrangement with Standard Chartered.
Four of the five aircraft have already been delivered between March 2022 and this month, with the fifth due to be delivered in the remainder of the first half of this year.
Standard Chartered was the company that structured, financed, and arranged this deal exclusively.
Executive Comments…
Commenting on the transaction, Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer of flydubai, said: “We are pleased to have received Standard Chartered’s support on this transaction which builds on previous aircraft financing and leasing agreements.”
“We continue to diversify our sources of funding and attract reliable partners in support of our future growth plans. We look forward to working with Standard Chartered again in the future.”
Rola Abu Manneh, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered UAE, added: “Standard Chartered has had a long-standing relationship with flydubai and the Investment Corporation of Dubai across multiple businesses.”
“This transaction demonstrates the Bank’s continued commitment to the airline and the Government of Dubai’s vision for the wide spectrum of sectors that support Dubai’s dynamic economy.”
Arbind Kumar, Senior Vice President, Finance of flydubai, added: “We are pleased to partner again with Standard Chartered.”
“The transaction was closed swiftly post-mandate, demonstrating the close working relationship between our institutions and the confidence the market has in our strong business model.”
Kieran Corr, Global Head of Aviation Finance and CEO of Ireland, added: “We are proud to further strengthen our relationship built over a decade with flydubai and support its growth with these new additions to its fleet.”
“This Sale and Leaseback deal shows our commitment to support our clients’ transition to the most fuel-efficient aircraft.”
flydubai’s Quiet 2022…
flydubai has had a relatively quieter start to the year than others. Around four months ago, the airline added services to AlUla and resumed its service to Yanbu.
The carrier then had to make changes to its schedule for the runway refurbishment at Dubai International Airport and transfer operations over to Dubai World Central instead. The refurbishment is expected to finish on June 22.
Around two months ago, the airline then had to make the decision to suspend services to Krasnodar and Rostov-on-Don in Russia due to the ongoing Ukraine Crisis.
And more recently, the airline has partnered up with Qatar Airways, Kuwait Airways, Oman Air & Saudia to ramp up shuttle flights ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Overall…
The extra aircraft received by flydubai will no doubt play a role in the shuttle flights that will take place during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
As the airline is trying to break ground in other regions of the world, this is also going to play a big factor in ensuring as much demand is met with the capacity that the airline has.
With a fleet of over 60 aircraft, the airline can definitely break ground and provide key services in the UAE from the secondary cities that it sometimes serves as well.
