Avialeasing appears to have solution to leasing of Tu-214s for Sibir

Published: 11/23/1999

Avialeasing is reported to have successfully formulated a leasing agreement package under which Sibir will be leased three Tu-214s produced by KAPO, with PS-90A engines. According to Anatloy Makarov, First Deputy General Director of Avialeasing, which has been setup by Perm Region, the deal, which was signed on 16th November between the republic of Tatarstan, Perm and Novosibirsk regions in Moscow, is worth approximately 1 billion rubles. It is intended that the first tranche of financing will be used to fund the completion of work-in-progress on existing airframes. The terms of the leases to be offered, has not been disclosed, other than that they would be for ‘several" years. Recent aviation leases however, from other Russian banks have been for periods of five years. It has been reported that the overall period for the funding, which is to be provided by an undisclosed bank is 10 years. It is anticipated that the delivery of the first Tu-214 could be in around 10 months" time. The First Deputy Governors of the regions, according to Markov, had endorsed the agreement. He added that the leasing scheme involved an arrangement whereby the Novosibirsk Region provides the debt capital, which is then secured by the revenue on the lease of a Avialeasing"s Tu-204-100, delivered to Sibir to operate on the route Novosibirsk-Moscow under anagreement between Sibir and Perm Airlines. The debt and part of the revenues derived from the operation of the Tu-204 will then be used by Avialeasing to finance both Perm for the PS-90As and KAPO for the construction of the Tu-214. This appears to be a novel if complex, approach to the Russian commercial aircraft-leasing situation, but if it works when nothing else does, then good luck. It does however; re-emphasise the role of government continues to be very important if any scheme is going to get under way suggesting the liberalization of the air transport market, may be a long time coming given the increasingly vested interest of the regions in the local carrier. .

Article ID: 1122