Chorus Aviation Inc. (‘Chorus’) (TSX: CHR) has announced that Chorus Aviation Capital (‘CAC’) has acquired two ATR72-600 aircraft (MSNs 1147, 1154) on lease to Malindo Air, a Malaysian operator forming part of the Lion Air Group. Earlier this year, CAC also delivered two new ATR 72-600 aircraft (MSNs 1577 and 1579) for lease to Malindo Air, bringing the total number of aircraft leased by CAC to the Lion Air Group to five.
“We are delighted to expand our relationship with Malindo Air and the Lion Air Group in the fast-growing and increasingly significant Southeast Asian market,” said Steve Ridolfi, President, Chorus Aviation Capital.
“So far this year, we’ve secured lease commitments for 24 aircraft and continue to evaluate several additional opportunities. To date, we’ve grown the value of our leasing portfolio to approximately US $1.1 billion with US $815.0 million in future contract lease revenue.”
“This solid growth trajectory has led to a very strong portfolio of brand name regional airlines with aircraft type and geographic diversity. Since the launch of the business, we have grown the regional aircraft leasing segment by an average of approximately 20 aircraft per year.” commented Joe Randell, President and Chief Executive Officer, Chorus.
“In the near term, we have the capacity to continue with a similar rate of growth through a combination of additional debt and internally generated cash flows to fund the equity portion of the aircraft acquisitions,”
Upon the completion of this transaction, and four pending aircraft deliveries to other customers, CAC’s portfolio will include 46 turboprops and 12 regional jets. When the aircraft earning leasing revenue under the Capacity Purchase Agreement are added to the aircraft in CAC’s portfolio, Chorus’ total leased portfolio grows to 124 aircraft valued at approximately US $2.0 billion.
