Flydubai secures $750m aircraft financing
Dubai, September 22, 2010
Flydubai, Dubai’s first low cost airline, has secured aircraft financing worth more than $750 million from Gecas (General Electric Capital Aviation Services) and BBAM.
The financing will take care of the next nine aircraft flydubai is due to receive and secures all the airline’s financing requirements until June 2011.
“We already have agreements in place with both Gecas and BBAM and it is clear from their willingness to enter into further ties with us that they have been pleased with what flydubai has delivered so far,” stated Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai.
Both deals are eight year term sale and leaseback agreements. The agreement with Gecas is for six aircraft, taking the total number of flydubai aircraft Gecas finances to 10. BBAM are adding another three aircraft to make their total commitment to six.
flydubai began commercial flights on June 1, 2009. Since then the airline has grown to a fleet of nine B737-800NG aircraft operating to 22 destinations within a five hour flight radius of Dubai.
Four more aircraft are due to be received before the end of this calendar year. These will be the new Boeing Sky Interior 737-800NG and will be fitted with the revolutionary new type of in-flight entertainment system from Lumexis that the airline announced earlier this year, a statement said.-TradeArabia News Service