Amsterdam/London/Dublin – 10th December 2018: PT Wings Abadi, operating as Wings Air and a subsidiary of Lion Air Group, has taken delivery of its fourth new ATR 72-600 aircraft leased from TrueNoord, the specialist regional aircraft lessor. This is the culmination of a deal that has already seen TrueNoord integrate three aircraft into the Wings Air fleet in August, October and November this year.
The aircraft are all provided on long term operating leases in association with Transportation Partners and ATR. Financing is provided under TrueNoord’s recent term loan warehouse facility supported by Morgan Stanley, NORD/LB Norddeutsche Landesbank and Barclays. Legal services were provided by the London and Singapore offices of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP and Indonesian law firm Mochtar, Karuwin & Komar.
Commenting at a convention for aviation finance in London, Anne-Bart Tieleman, CEO – TrueNoord, said “These are the first brand new ATRs for TrueNoord and it has been an exciting experience for us over the past five months. These aircraft sow the seeds of our ultimate vision and long term plan to build up a strong portfolio of young regional aircraft types with a good global spread and leased to experienced, market leading, operators. Wings Air currently flies 270 routes across Indonesia mostly consisting of short-haul flights of less than one hour. Their fleet is exclusively comprised of propeller-based aircraft, allowing the airline to serve difficult routes and airstrips that only turboprop aircraft can service.”
Edward Sirait, CEO - Lion Air Group, said, “We are delighted to start a new relationship with TrueNoord, a specialist regional aircraft lessor, and we look forward to expanding this commercial partnership over the years.” Wings Air is one of the Lion Group airlines, it solely focuses on domestic routes and also serves as a feeder airline for the group in Indonesia. Operational hubs are located across the biggest cities in Indonesia, such Jakarta, Manado, Denpasar, Medan and Batam.
ATR Chief Executive, Stefano Bortoli, said: “ATR repeatedly proves itself as a first class investment asset for lessors, financiers and investors confirming its attractive return and high residual value. It further proves itself as the perfect aircraft to open and serve regional routes because of its operational versatility, unbeatable economics and comfortable and modern cabin, which is why so many communities around the world depend on the service it supplies.”
Tieleman continues “Countries with geographical infrastructure challenges, like Indonesia which is made up of thousands of small islands, rely on air transport to do business, connect to education, healthcare, and families. It is vital for these nations to have a modern, reliable aviation sector that delivers access beyond other more time consuming travel options. TrueNoord are proud to be part of the chain that provides dependable, modern aircraft enabling regional airlines to enhance lives and build prosperity.”
TrueNoord is firmly establishing its footprint in South East Asia. This significant deal for four ATR 72-600s follows TrueNoord’s purchase of two Embraer E190 regional aircraft operated by Mandarin Airlines in May this year. Several other opportunities are currently in development across the region.
TrueNoord is an aircraft leasing company with offices in Amsterdam, London and Dublin. It provides leasing and lease management services to operators and investors in the regional aircraft sector. TrueNoord is supported with investment from cornerstone investors Bregal Freshstream, BlackRock, Aberdeen Asset Management and others. The Company is solely focused on regional jets and turboprop aircraft. See truenoord.com
The Lion Air Group comprises PT Lion Mentari Airlines (known more commonly as “Lion Air”), Wings Air, Batik Air, Lion Bizjet, Malindo Air (based in Malaysia) and Thai Lion Air (based in Thailand). Headquartered in Jakarta, Lion Air began operations in June 2000 with only two Boeing 737-200 and a motto of “We Make People Fly”. Since then, the group has expanded to a total fleet size of 304 aircraft as of 30 September 2018, flying to more than 225 domestic and 153 international destinations and averaging 1,628 flights per day. The fleet includes ultra-modern and environmentally friendly aircraft such as Airbus A330, Boeing 737-900, Boeing 737-800, ATR72-500 and ATR72-600 with an average fleet age of less than five years. All five airlines are IOSA certified.
About ATR: European turboprop manufacturer ATR is the world leader in the regional aviation market. ATR designs, manufactures and delivers modern regional aircraft, with a customer base fleet encompassing some 200 airlines in nearly 100 countries. The ATR 42 and the ATR 72 are the best-selling aircraft in the market segment of 90 seats or less. With continuous improvement as a driving force, ATR produces cutting edge, comfortable and versatile turboprops that help airlines expand their horizons by creating more than 100 new routes every year. Compared with other turboprops, ATRs offer an advantage of 40% on fuel burn, 20% on trip cost and 10% on seat cost, whilst offering the lowest noise emissions. ATR is an equal partnership between leading aerospace firms Airbus and Leonardo and benefits from a large global customer support network allowing it to deliver innovative services and solutions to its clients and operators all over the world. For more information, please visit http://www.atr-aircraft.com.
