One B737-800 aircraft was placed on an operating lease to Ethiopian Airlines. The company is going to receive 18 new A320-200 aircraft this year.  13 of the 18 aircraft delivering this year have been leased to four major regional and global airlines for a period of up to eight years and the balance 5 aircraft were sold.  The company will also receive 2 new B737-900ER aircraft from Boeing this year.

In addition, after conducting exhaustive due diligence, the European Export Credit Agencies indicated their interest to finance 15 of ALAFCO’s ordered A320-200 aircraft delivering this year of which two aircraft were already delivered to Wataniya Airways in January and February.  It is worth noting that, despite the global financial crisis, ALAFCO was successful in obtaining preliminary financing commitments for 15 aircraft delivering this year.

Finally, Alzabin announced that ALAFCO continues to pursue expansion opportunities globally, however, recently the company has been directing its marketing efforts in the Gulf, Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent.  By the end of this year, ALAFCO shall deliver 3 A320-200 aircraft to Wataniya Airways, 6 A320-200 aircraft to Saudi Arabian Airlines, 4 A320-200 aircraft to Go Air (India) Pvt. Ltd., 2 B737-800 aircraft to Sky Airlines (Turkey) and 5 A320-200 aircraft to Aref Investment Group.

(c) Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. Date posted: 07-Apr-09

In-depth analysis of the Middle East airline and airport sectors, including latest traffic and financial reports and outlooks, is available each month in the Monthly Essential Middle East.

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• ALAFCO's aircraft leases renewed