Hong Kong - 29 June 2015 - China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings Limited (“CALC” or the “Group”, stock code: 01848.HK), the largest independent operating aircraft lessor in China announced that it has signed a Letter of Intent with Pegasus Airlines (“Pegasus”) for the lease of two new Airbus A320 aircraft, which are scheduled for delivery in June 2016. Upon execution of a firm leasing agreement, Turkey’s leading low cost airline will become CALC’s first customer in Europe. It marks another significant step for CALC’s overseas expansion.
The aircraft will be equipped with two CFM56-5B4 engines and with Sharklets installed, have a Maximum Take-Off Weight of 77 tons. CALC and Pegasus are amongst the first customers benefiting from the A320 Family new exit limits, which, when combined with the innovative Airbus Space-Flex module, increases the A320 seating capacity from 180 to 186 seats while retaining the higher comfort level of the Airbus 18” (45.72 cm) wide seat.
“The Turkish civil aviation market has been one of the fastest developing markets and we are very proud to partner with Pegasus, the fastest growing carrier among the 25 largest European airlines, to provide them with our new Airbus A320 Aircraft to support their affordable and on-time air travel service,” Jens Dunker, Senior Vice President - Aircraft Trading and Global Marketing of CALC said, “The inclusion of Pegasus into our client list marks our milestone for expanding our footprint from Asia to Europe, after establishing our long-term partnership with Air India in 2014.”
Pegasus Airlines’ CFO Serhan Ulga said, “We are delighted to be welcoming the addition of CALC's 2 new Airbus A320ceo aircraft to our young and growing fleet. The new aircraft will be the first A320 Aircraft with a 186 seat capacity to join our fleet. We are very happy to be working with CALC and certainly hope that our initial agreement will lead to establishing a strong long-term partnership.”
“The commitments from our overseas clients and the recent joining of Christian Mc Cormick, former CEO of Natixis Transport Finance, a leading expert in aviation financing, emphasizes the growth of our company into international markets. CALC will step up its effort in overseas expansion and in enhancing our cooperation with well-regarded overseas airlines like Pegasus, in order to diversify its portfolio” added Jens Dunker.
CALC’s portfolio is currently made up of 50 current generation Airbus and Boeing aircraft with an average age of 2.5 years. CALC’s strong clientele includes top-tier Chinese and Asian airlines as well as newly established regional airline. In December 2014, CALC placed a large order of 100 Airbus A320 series aircraft, including 74 A320neos, which is the largest single order from a Chinese lessor and brings CALC’s cumulative order book to 140 A320 series aircraft. CALC is committed to providing its airline customers with aircraft full-life solutions.
Pegasus is a public listed company on the Istanbul Stock Exchange. The carrier experienced rapid expansion of its operations both in domestic routes as well as internationally. In comparison to the cumulative annual growth rate of the Turkish market between 2007 and 2014 at 13%, the cumulative annual growth rate of the scheduled passengers flying with Pegasus reached 25% during the same period. In addition to being the fastest growing airline in Turkey in terms of passenger numbers during this period, Pegasus was the fastest growing airline among the 25 largest European airlines in terms of seat capacity in 2011, 2012 and 2013 according to the Official Airline Guide (OAG).
