CDB Aviation acquired 40 aircraft on operating lease in 2019, growing its fleet by 19.7% year-on-year.
In a statement summarising last year’s activity, the lessor says it signed lease transactions for 54 aircraft, along with agreements to sell 22 aircraft and acquire 17.
Financing transactions inked during the year are valued at $2.49 billion.
Having added 22 new airline customers, CDB Aviation has 420 aircraft in its owned, managed and committed fleet as at 31 December 2019, with 68 lessees across 37 jurisdictions.
The lessor, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Development Bank’s leasing arm, attributed 2019’s performance to an ongoing focus by the leadership team to evolve its business model into a full-service, global platform.
It says that this has been achieved by a combination of advancing business infrastructure, leveraging emerging opportunities in the sale and leaseback channel, and expanding key relationships with OEMs, finance partners, and an increasing base of airline customers worldwide.
Chief executive Patrick Hannigan says, “This past year’s continued growth in our operations is evidence of our unwavering commitment to execution and progressing our highly competitive position in the world’s key markets.”
Hannigan, who was appointed just this month, says the company’s new leadership is “razor focused on successfully effecting a clear path to the next iteration of our business model with a clear focus on our customers.”
“With our shareholder China Development Bank’s backing, we will continue building upon our success with a clear focus on the path forward for growth which is measured through our customer relationships.”
