04 Jan 2021

North American Newsletter 4 January

Aviation Capital Group Announces Closing of $500 Million Unsecured Loan Aviation Capital Group LLC closed a $500 million unsecured loan with Mizuho Bank Ltd. The loan matures in December 2023 and is supported by an Overseas Untied Loan Insurance policy from Nippon Export and Investment Insurance the official export credit agency of Japan. Tokyo Century Corporation helped arrange, lead, and support the transaction. “This transaction is another significant milestone for ACG as we continue to diversify our funding sources,” said Madhu Vijay, Executive Vice President and CFO of ACG. “We are very appreciative of Mizuho’s continued support of ACG and Tokyo Century, and grateful to our parent, Tokyo Century, for their key role in identifying and arranging NEXI support for this transaction.” JetBlue Rings in the New Year with Its New Airbus A220-300 Aircraft JetBlue announced it has formally taken delivery of its first Airbus A220-300 aircraft registered N3008J on 31^st December, marking the start of a new era for the airline's fleet. It is the first delivery of 70 A220 aircraft JetBlue has on order, which will be phased in to ultimately replace the existing fleet of 60 Embraer 190 aircraft. "The A220 is a next-generation aircraft our customers and crewmembers will love, featuring impressive range and superior economics to support critical financial and operating priorities along with new network planning flexibility,” said Robin Hayes, chief executive officer, JetBlue. "And as we evolve our fleet for the future, the A220’s significant reduction in per-seat emissions supports our ongoing commitment to carbon neutrality for all our domestic flights, and moves us closer to achieving our pledge of net zero carbon emissions across all operations by 2040.” Mesa Air Group to Add Five Additional CRJ-900 Aircraft to American CPA Mesa Air Group announced that it is amending its new Capacity Purchase Agreement with American Airlines. The amendment will see Mesa pick up flying at the beginning of 2021 over and above its new CPA levels, increasing to a total of five incremental aircraft by March. "We appreciate the opportunity to add this additional capacity at the request of American Airlines," said Brad Rich, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. "We remain optimistic about our relationship with American Airlines and are well prepared to respond positively to future opportunities." Qatar Airways Cargo Welcomes Three Brand New Boeing 777 Freighters to its Fleet Qatar Airways Cargo took delivery of three brand new Boeing 777 freighters  bringing its total freighter fleet count to 30 freighters, consisting of two Boeing 747 freighters, 24 Boeing 777 Freighters and four Airbus A330 freighters. Qatar Airways Cargo will introduce these freighters on its long haul scheduled routes and will also operate them as cargo charters, supporting global trade and the movement of time and temperature sensitive goods. The Boeing Company Senior Vice President Commercial Sales and Marketing, Mr. Ihssane Mounir, said “During these challenging times, Qatar Airways Cargo has been transporting humanitarian relief and medical goods to those in need and we are proud that their growing fleet of 777 freighters is supporting such a commendable effort. We deeply appreciate our long-standing partnership with Qatar Airways and their confidence in the 777 freighters as the backbone of their expansive global air cargo operations.” Acumen Aviation © 4 January 2021 All Rights Reserved.