Updated with further deal details
Delta Air Lines has closed a sale and leaseback deal for about 24 narrowbody aircraft, as it works to expand the number of leased aircraft in its fleet.
The deal includes roughly 10 Boeing 737-900ERs and roughly 14 Bombardier CRJ900s that will be delivered in 2014, sources tell Flightglobal at the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading (ISTAT) Americas conference in San Diego. A request for proposals was sent to lessors in January.
CIT is understood to be the winner of the deal, the sources say.
“We just did a large placement for narrowbodies with a large US carrier,” says Jeff Knittel, president of transportation finance at CIT, at ISTAT. He declines to comment on what carrier.
CIT declines to comment on whether it won the Delta RFP.
Paul Jacobson, chief financial officer of Atlanta-based Delta, said that the airline was looking at a combination of leasing and financing options for its 2014 deliveries, earlier in March.
The carrier is seeking to build up the number of leased aircraft in its fleet following a reduction in the number of aircraft on uneconomic leases in recent years, he added.
Delta closed a sale and leaseback for the 737-900ER registered N816DN (MSN 31927) with an undisclosed lessor in February, Flightglobal’s Ascend Online database shows. It has 15 more 737-900ER deliveries scheduled in 2014.
The airline declined to comment on who the lessor was earlier in March.
Delta-subsidiary Endeavor Air has also closed sale and leasebacks for four CRJ900s with undisclosed lessors since February, according to Ascend. The aircraft are registered N304PQ, N306PQ, N307PQ and N309PQ with MSNs 15304, 15306, 15307 and 15309.
Endeavor expects delivery of 20 more CRJ900s in 2014, Ascend shows.
Delta received between C$500 million ($448.9 million) and C$1 billion in export credit financing from Export Development Canada (EDC) for its order for 40 CRJ900s in December 2012.
Delta was not immediately available for comment.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
