Commercial passenger aircraft leasing company Avation has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire an Airbus A320 on lease to Etihad Airways.
This deal adds a “high credit quality airline to Avation’s customer list and further enhances its narrow-body aircraft fleet,” the company said in a statement on February 25, 2025.
“We are delighted to announce this Airbus A320 CEO aircraft acquisition which adds a top-quality operator to Avation’s fleet, further improving revenue diversification and the overall credit quality of our portfolio,” said Jeff Chatfield, Avation’s Executive Chairman.
The deal is expected to be finalized in March 2025. Currently, over half of Avation’s fleet consists of narrowbody commercial aircraft.
“We also note that, as announced in our half-year results announcement issued earlier today, the average remaining lease term from our fleet has increased to 4.2 years at 31 December 2024,” Chatfield added. “This is the first increase in this metric since the COVID pandemic ended.”
The company’s unaudited financial results for the six months ending December 31, 2024, showed that Avation’s revenue rose to $55.4 million, EBITDA reached $55.6 million, while operating profit increased to $125.6 million.
The report noted that Avation’s fleet is currently “100% utilized and is set to grow” because of the latest agreement with Etihad Airways.
Avation plans to receive a new ATR 72-600 in the second quarter of 2025. This aircraft has been pre-sold to an airline in the Caribbean in a transaction expected to generate a profit and release net cash proceeds of around $4.9 million, the report added.
Further fleet growth is expected in the fourth quarter of 2025, with two more ATR 72-600 aircraft scheduled for delivery. The first one, set for October 2025, will be leased long-term to a Japanese airline, while the second one is expected to be leased long-term to a South Korean airline. The company said that both airlines are new customers for Avation.
