Ilyushin Finance (IFC) is hoping to come to new terms with Bombardier within days on a deal that would preserve the Russian lessor’s once-threatened order for 39 CSeries aircraft.
“I’m feeling we may reach a compromise,” says IFC general director Alexander Rubtsov.
The leasing company owns the third-largest CSeries order in Bombardier’s backlog, but the deal has appeared in jeopardy since April.
Sanctions imposed by the Canadian government prevented the country’s development bank from financing IFC’s order with the Montreal-based manufacturer.
But the CSeries debut at Paris air show – featuring the CS300 in the flying display and the CS100 on the static line – shifted the tone of the programme in the mind of some private bankers, Rubtsov says.
Previously, private banks had been unwilling to approve an asset-backed financing package for IFC’s order of the CSeries, he says.
But within days of the Paris air show IFC received two or three proposals from banks to finance the order, with the condition that IFC first sign an agreement with an operator to take the aircraft, Rubtsov says.
IFC is now looking outside of the Russia in the European market to find an operator to take the CSeries. Several candidates have emerged to accept the aircraft, and IFC expects to conclude an agreement by the end of September, Rubtsov says.
Preserving the IFC deal could help build new sales momentum for the CSeries after a series of delays that led to a corporate restructuring and a leadership change at Bombardier.
Since June, Bombardier has announced that the CSeries will beat promised levels for specific fuel consumption, range, noise and reliability, but the company has not yet attracted new buyers.
Rubtsov believes the entry into service of the CSeries with Swiss International Air Lines next year will lead to a wave of new orders for the aircraft.
“They need two or three more brand names [as customers],” Rubtsov says. “But frankly speaking I’m pretty much sure that will happen the moment the aircraft will become operational. Nobody wants to become a tester for a new type of aircraft. They want to see the performance is confirmed.”
Source: Cirium Dashboard
