Home » Business » Reluctantly at first: Lufthansa sells the A350 and Boeing 777 F and leases them back

Reluctantly at first: Lufthansa sells the A350 and Boeing 777 F and leases them back

In June the airline expressed its willingness to sell planes and lease them back. So far Lufthansa has only done this for two jets.

Airlines around the world need money to get through the corona crisis. That is why they are launching austerity programs, fleeing old aircraft, taking out loans and applying for state aid. And they have another means at their disposal: they can sell aircraft and lease them back directly – this process is called sale and lease back.

This is possible both with aircraft that are already in the fleet and with the delivery of new aircraft. In this way, airlines avoid having to pay the large amount that is due on delivery. And the leasing companies that buy the planes instead get new planes directly from the manufacturer.

Lufthansa changes course

Lufthansa boss Carsten Spohr said in mid-March on the subject of sale and lease back: “We are definitely not selling our fleet.” By the beginning of June, the corona crisis had then turned his mind. “If anyone is interested in airplanes, give me a call, I have around 700,” he said, humorously exaggerated. He said that most of the aircraft owned by the Lufthansa Group are eligible for sale and lease back.

Five months later, the group only signed contracts for two planes. Wilken Bormann, head of Lufthansa’s hub in Munich and responsible for the airline’s finances, said on Thursday (November 5) that they had a six-year sale-and-lease-back contract with a German leasing company for an Airbus A350-900 closed. In addition, they are currently negotiating a contract for a Boeing 777 F from Lufthansa Cargo for four years.

Other airlines are selling and leasing more

In general, so-called secured aircraft financing is currently more attractive, said Lufthansa manager Bormann. This means that when the airline receives a new aircraft, it pays for it with the help of a loan, for which the new aircraft provides security.

Other airlines have signed contracts for more planes. United Airlines announced in mid-October that it had agreed with CDB Aviation on sale and lease back for two Boeing 787-9s and ten Boeing 737 Maxs that United had ordered from Boeing. The American start-up Breeze will purchase five Airbus A220-300s via sale and lease back.

Easyjet mit Sale and Lease Back bei 28 Jets

Jetblue chooses this route with three new planes as well as two planes that are already part of the fleet. Easyjet even sells 28 planes and leases them back.

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