Thursday, March 17, 2011

Jet Airways Conferred "Regional Deal of The Year 2010" Award By Airfinance Journal

Jet Airways, India's premier international airline, has been awarded the "Regional Deal of the Year" for 2010 by the Airfinance Journal, a leading financial magazine serving the commercial aviation industry worldwide. The award to Jet Airways was for structuring an innovative operating lease for its six ATR aircraft, under a deal with Calyon Bank, France and Investec in London. Under this deal, the airline took delivery of six new ATR aircraft between October and December 2010. This is the second such award accorded to the airline by Airfinance journal.

The first such award received by Jet Airways, in 2002, was for the US exim guaranteed financing deal that the airline did with the Standard Chartered Bank, Mumbai, and SBI Bahrain, and accomplished the delivery of 10 B737s aircraft between February 2001 & May 2003.
Alasdair Whyte - Publisher, Airfinance Journal will present the award to Jet Airways at a ceremony in New York in April.
Receiving the news of the award Nikos Kardassis, CEO, Jet Airways said, "Given the cyclical nature of the aviation business, it is critical that airlines innovate their operations to stay ahead of the growth curve. Innovating to drive operational excellence and rationalize costs is a Continuous Strategic Imperative for us at Jet Airways, testimony to which is this award by the Airfinance Journal. The airline has been awarded for structuring a unique finance deal for six ATR aircraft, wherein finance was secured at the most competitive rates resulting in attractive lease rentals for us. With the delivery of these aircraft, Jet Airways has been able to replace the six JetLite CRJs and ensure that we continue to have one of the youngest aircraft fleet in the world."
Airfinance Journal's 2010 Awards recognize deals that were innovative; tapped new sources of finance or found new participants; and, as always, reward borrower ambition and lender commitment.