Aviation Capital Group

Download PDF file | Download Word file Top

Download PDF file | Download Word file Top

Aviation Capital Group Reports 4^th Quarter Activity

Newport Beach, January 25, 2010: Aviation Capital Group today reported 16 transactions for the fourth quarter. This includes delivery of six new aircraft from Airbus and Boeing, five aircraft and one engine lease renewals, the remarketing of two aircraft and two aircraft sales.

In 2009, ACG took delivery of 12 new aircraft from Airbus and Boeing, all on lease. Twenty-four aircraft were remarketed to new customers and leases were extended on 33 aircraft and engines. Four aircraft were sold during the year.

Below is the fourth quarter transaction activity.

During the year, ACG also accomplished the following:

• ·         Creation of a new financing structure in conjunction with the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im) for aircraft financing. This new structure taps capital markets that have been largely closed to commercial aviation since the credit market crisis began in September 2008. The transaction provides for the capital markets issuance of more than $850 million in debt backed by Ex-Im to support the financing of 22 Boeing 737s to be delivered to ACG through 2011
• ·         Creation of a joint venture with Civil Aviation Finance Holding Co. (CIAF Holding), an Egyptian corporation, to form CIAF Leasing to serve Egypt, the Middle East and Northern Africa.
• ·         Selected Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines to power all five Boeing 787 Dreamliners ordered by ACG in 2007. The contract is worth $170m at list prices.
• ·         Selected Precision Conversions to convert up to three Boeing 757s from passenger to cargo airplanes. The first conversion was completed in December.
•  

ACG is the owner and manager of a diversified fleet of commercial jet aircraft leased to the world’s leading airlines. Its portfolio includes 241 aircraft leased to 94 airlines in 40 countries. ACG’s Capital Markets Group also provides asset management and remarketing services to aircraft investors and institutional clients.  ACG was founded in 1989 and is a Pacific LifeCorp company

Download PDF file | Download Word file Top

(Rolls-Royce, December 16, 2009): Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, has won its first order from US lessor Aviation Capital Group (ACG), for Trent 1000 engines to power all five Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft already purchased by ACG. The contract is worth $170m at list prices.

The aircraft, ordered by ACG in 2007, represent a significant addition to its portfolio as the company’s first next generation widebody purchase.

R. Stephen Hannahs, Aviation Capital Group Chief Executive Officer & Group Managing Director, said: “We are delighted to celebrate the 787’s first flight with this announcement. The Trent 1000 provides us with an excellent combination of operating and ownership economics. We are confident in its performance and its ability to meet our expectations and those of our customers.”

The 787 will produce 20 per cent less CO2, 40 per cent less NOx and 50 per cent less noise than current generation aircraft.

Mark King, Rolls-Royce President – Civil Aerospace, said: “I am delighted that this order starts what I have no doubt will be a long and successful relationship with ACG. I am particularly pleased that such a key player in the leasing market has shown its trust in our Trent 1000 technology by selecting the engine for all its aircraft.”

Rolls-Royce has a leading 50 per cent market share on modern, widebody aircraft, with more than 1,500 Trentâ engines in service on more than 550 aircraft and a further 2,500 engines on order. Each of the six members of the Trent family have either been the first or launch engine on the airframe, or have gone on to take the leading market share.

ACG has previously selected V2500 engines produced by International Aero Engines, a multinational aero engine consortium whose shareholders comprise Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce, the Japanese Aero Engines Corporation and MTU Aero Engines.

1.     Rolls-Royce, a world-leading provider of power systems and services for use on land, at sea and in the air, has established a strong position in global markets - civil aerospace, defence aerospace, marine and energy.

2.     As a result of this strategy, Rolls-Royce today has a broad customer base comprising more than 600 airlines, 4,000 corporate and utility aircraft and helicopter operators, 160 armed forces, more than 2,000 marine customers, including 70 navies, and energy customers in nearly 120 countries, with an installed base of 54,000 gas turbines.

3.     Rolls-Royce employs over 38,000 skilled people in offices, manufacturing and service facilities in 50 countries. The Group has a strong commitment to apprentice and graduate recruitment, and to further developing employee skills.

4.     Sixty per cent of research and development investment and 40 per cent of new product development spending over the past five years has been outside the UK, with particularly strong relationships with the 27 universities worldwide where there are Rolls-Royce University Technology Centres.

5.     In 2008, Rolls-Royce invested £885 million on research and development, two thirds of which had the objective of further improving the environmental aspects of its products, in particular the reduction of emissions.

6.     Annual underlying revenues were £9.1 billion in 2008, of which 52 per cent came from services revenues. The firm and announced order book stood at £57.5 billion at 30 June 2009, providing visibility of future levels of activity.

7.     ACG is the owner and manager of a diversified fleet of commercial jet aircraft leased to the world’s leading airlines. Its portfolio includes 241 aircraft leased to 94 airlines in 41 countries. ACG’s Capital Markets Group also provides asset management and remarketing services to aircraft investors and institutional clients. ACG was founded in 1989 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pacific LifeCorp.

Top

PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Precision Conversions, LLC (Precision) is pleased to announce that the company has received an award to provide Aviation Capital Group (ACG) with up to three, 15-pallet position 757-200PCFs. The first conversion, a high gross weight, 1992 year of build 757-200 (MSN 25597) is currently undergoing modification and an S4C airframe check at Flightstar Aircraft Services in Jacksonville, FL and is scheduled for re-delivery in October, 2009. The timing for the remaining two conversions has not yet been determined.

Upon completion of the conversion and the optional Precision Conversions weight upgrade, the first ACG 757-200PCF will be capable of carrying up to 80,000 lbs (36,287 kg) of payload.

Steven Thomas, Precision Conversions’ President stated, “Aviation Capital Group is a world renowned owner/lessor of commercial jet aircraft with an expansive portfolio.” He added, “And we are extremely excited to have them join our current customer base of over fourteen owners and operators of the 757-200PCF.”

Douglas Kaprielian, Senior Vice President – Capital Markets at ACG stated, “We look forward to working with the Precision team and are excited about the placement prospects for this aircraft with cargo operators wanting to upgrade the productivity and efficiency of their fleet.”

Precision Conversions has redelivered a total of 21 conversions operating in Europe, North and South America, India, Africa, and P.R. China; Precision holds 2 firm orders and 47 options on its 757-200PCF freighter.

About Precision Conversions, LLC

Precision Conversions, LLC (www.precisionconversions.com) maximizes the utility, service life, revenue potential and residual value of the B757-200 as a freighter for its aircraft owners and operators. The company maintains its executive offices and operations in Portland, Oregon with an additional marketing and sales office in North Carolina.

About Aviation Capital Group

Aviation Capital Group is the owner/lessor and portfolio manager of a diversified fleet of commercial jet aircraft leased to the world’s leading airlines. Its portfolio includes more than 230 jets leased to more than 90 airlines in 40 countries. ACG’s Capital Markets Group provides asset management and remarketing services to aircraft investors and institutional clients. ACG was founded in 1989 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pacific LifeCorp, the parent company of Pacific Life Insurance Company.

Contact:

For Precision Conversions

Brian C. McCarthy, Vice President, Marketing and Sales

336-540-0400; bcm@pax2cargo.com

or

For Aviation Capital Group

Cathy Egan, 949-219-4631

Top

Aviation Capital Group Reports Second Quarter Activity

Newport Beach, CA, August 3, 2009: Aviation Capital Group (ACG), one of the world’s Top Tier lessors, today reported its 2009 second quarter leasing, sales and financing activity.

The quarter was highlighted by two strategic initiatives. The first was a commitment by the U.S. Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) to participate in a new financing structure valued at nearly $900 million for 22 Boeing 737NGs to be delivered over the next two years. The structure involves an Ex-Im guarantee for bonds issued by U.S. investment banks, providing a new source of liquidity to the aviation capital market that has not been seen since the global financial crisis began last September. ACG is the first lessor to use this structure, reflecting on the company’s sound financial standing and operating business plan.

The second strategic initiative was the creation of a joint venture with Egyptian government agencies and companies to create CIAF-Leasing, serving the Middle East and North African (MENA) regions. Operations of this company are scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter. ACG serves as manager of CIAF, which will extend ACG’s reach into the MENA regions.

Full details of the Ex-Im and CIAF initiatives may be found on ACG’s Newsroom website at www.aviationcapital.com.

Operating activity during the second quarter involved transactions of 16 aircraft, all owned by ACG. These were:

Avianca                              767-300ER    Lease extension
China Eastern                    A320-200      Lease extension
Norwegian Air Shuttle        737-300        Lease extension
Saga Airlines                      737-800        Transition to new lease
Sunwing Airlines                737-800        New order delivery/lease
Taimyr Airlines                   737-800        Transition to new lease
Thomas Cook                     A320-200     Transition to new lease
Thomas Cook                     A321-200     Transition to new lease
Tiger Airways (2 leases)    A320-200      Lease extension
Transavia France               737-800        New order delivery/lease
Webjet     (3 leases)          737-300        Transition to new lease
                                           MD-82           Sale
                                           MD-82           Sale

Aviation Capital Group is the owner/lessor and portfolio manager of a diversified fleet of commercial jet aircraft leased to the world’s leading airlines. Its portfolio includes more than 230 jets leased to more than 90 airlines in 40 countries.  ACG’s Capital Markets Group provides asset management and remarketing services to aircraft investors and institutional clients. ACG was founded in 1989 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pacific LifeCorp, the parent company of Pacific Life Insurance Company.

-30-
        

Download PDF file | Download Word file Top

Paris Air Show, June 16, 2009: Civil Aviation Finance Holding Co. (CIAF Holding), an Egyptian corporation, and US lessor Aviation Capital Group (ACG) today announced the formation of a joint venture aircraft leasing company to serve Egypt, the Middle East and Northern Africa.

The company is named Civil Aviation Finance and Operating Leases Co., or CIAF-Leasing. Executives of Egypt CIAF Holding and ACG signed the final documentation at the Paris Air Show during a press conference. Operations are expected to begin in the fourth quarter this year.

The shareholders are CIAF, ACG, an aircraft leasing company rated among one of the top five companies in the industry, and the Civil Aviation Support and Development Fund, an Egyptian entity founded to support and develop civil aviation activities. Capitalization is undisclosed but is substantial. The Egyptian entities own 90% of the joint venture and ACG has a 10% shareholding. The initial investment profile of CIAF Holding will concentrate primarily on new and younger narrow-body aircraft.

Prof. Medhat Hassanein is chairman and CEO of CIAF Holding. He is the former Egyptian Minister of Finance (1999-2004). He is a Board member of the Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation, a member of the UN High Level Commission on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor and a Board member of HSBC in Cairo. Prof. Hassanein signed the final JV agreement on behalf of the CIAF Holding and the Fund.

ACG will serve as manager under a five year agreement with renewal options. The management service activities will include the general management and control of the day-to-day business operations and affairs of CIAF-Leasing subject to the directions of the Board of Directors of the Company.

Group Managing Director and CEO R. Stephen Hannahs signed the JV agreement for ACG.

Donald Bunker, a renowned aviation attorney based in Dubai, advised CIAF Holding on the creation of the joint venture. His firm, Donald H. Bunker and Associates in Dubai, caters to carriers and corporate operators worldwide.

“Relationships are extremely important and ACG’s 20-year history of building relationships with its customers worldwide made ACG the best and easiest choice for this JV,” Bunker said. “This is going to be a very interesting and fruitful enterprise. With the contacts the Egyptians have and the capabilities ACG has, this is a very good marriage.”

Prof. Hassanein said Egypt is well positioned to become the center of commercial aviation in the Middle East and Northern Africa, or MENA (pronounced mee-nuh). Cairo is already well-established as an aviation center for airline, airport, maintenance and related operations. Aircraft leasing is the next step in this progression. Prof. Hassanein envisions long-term expansion beyond the MENA. The MENA represents growth opportunities in global aviation for Egypt and for ACG.  The MENA currently represents about 4% of ACG’s portfolio.

“At ACG, deals begin as a business transaction and they become relationships,” said Hannahs. “Partnering with Egyptian private and public entities broadens our presence in the region, but most importantly it creates a relationship that we will value for years and years to come.”

Hannahs expressed appreciation at ACG’s selection by the Egyptian partners to launch this joint venture. “This new partnership is a compliment and endorsement on a global scale of ACG’s business model.  The joint venture is a source of stability in an unstable market where airlines and lessors have challenges finding financing and where lessors are facing unusual challenges of their own.

“We look forward to our partnership with ACG,” said Prof. Hassanein. “ACG’s emphasis on relationships, its position in the global leasing community and its sound financial footing makes the company a perfect fit for our new joint venture.”

Web Downloads: Press releases, logos, personnel photos and biographies, and airplane photos may be downloaded at www.aviationcapital.com under “Newsroom.”

About CIAF-Leasing

CIAF-Leasing is a joint-venture company between the Civil Aviation Finance Holding Co. (CIAF Holding), an Egyptian corporation founded under the Capital Market Law in November 2008 to serve as the financial arm of the Civil Aviation Sector in Egypt; Aviation Capital Group, an aircraft leasing enterprise rated among one of the top five companies worldwide in the industry; and the Civil Aviation Support and Development Fund, an Egyptian entity founded to support and develop Egyptian Civil Aviation activities. The initial investment profile of the Company will concentrate primarily on new and younger narrow-body aircraft to be operated in Egypt, the Middle East and North Africa region.

About ACG

ACG is a “Tier 1” customer of the airframe and engine manufacturers, with a backlog of nearly 150 single-aisle and twin-aisle mainline jets. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pacific LifeCorp, the parent company of one of the largest and oldest insurance companies in the U.S. ACG has its own stand-alone investment grade credit rating and recently received an Ex-IM Bank commitment to finance 22 aircraft through the issuance of securities. When completed, this financing should offer an alternative to previously issued Ex-Im Bank-backed loans and potentially could alter the ways aircraft are financed in the future.

Aviation Capital Group is the owner/lessor and portfolio manager of a diversified fleet of commercial jet aircraft leased to the world’s leading airlines. Its portfolio includes more than 230 jets leased to more than 90 airlines in 42 countries.  ACG’s Capital Markets Group provides asset management and remarketing services to aircraft investors and institutional clients. ACG was founded in 1989 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pacific LifeCorp, the parent company of Pacific Life Insurance Company. www.aviationcapital.com.

Contacts:

Download PDF file | Download Word file Top

Top

Muhammad Medhat Hassanein, the Chairman and CEO of CIAF Holding, is the former Egyptian Minister of Finance (1999-2004). During his term as Minister of Finance, he developed and instituted the second-generation set of fiscal public policy reforms for the Government of Egypt. These included customs reforms, reviewing the procurement system in government, revising the pensions system (pay-as-you-go versus fully-funded systems) and a number of other economic policies and reforms. He currently is a Board member of the Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation.

He is a member of the UN High Level Commission on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor and a Board member of the HSBC Bank in Cairo. He also served as Governor of the World Bank (1999-2004) and as a member of the G7 Expanded Committee for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) (2003-2004).

Dr. Hassanein was the senior economist of the Projects Department of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development in Kuwait, which is a regional development fund that operates according to the rules of the World Bank and services all developing Arab countries. During his term with the Fund he participated in the financing of infrastructural, agro-industrial, industrial and agricultural projects. He later was promoted to lead the Fund’s Technical Assistance Department.

Dr. Hassanein served with the Arab Investment Bank in Egypt as the head of the Investment Sector in charge of projects finance, assets management and private equity transactions of the bank. After his service with the Arab Investment Bank he was named president and CEO of the Egyptian Gulf Bank in Egypt (a commercial bank), in charge of all bank’s operations.

Download PDF file | Download Word file Top

Newport Beach, CA, June 12, 2009: Aviation Capital Group (ACG), one of the world’s top tier aircraft leasing companies, announced today that it plans to use a new financing structure in conjunction with the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im) for aircraft financing. This new structure taps capital markets that have been largely closed to commercial aviation since the credit market crisis began last September.

The transaction provides for the capital markets issuance of more than $850 million in debt backed by Ex-Im to support the financing of 22 Boeing 737s to be delivered to ACG during the next two years.  The transaction is a combination of Final Commitment and Preliminary Commitments and that the conversion of the Preliminary Commitment into a Final Commitment requires approval by Ex-Im’s Board of Directors.

This template could open financial resources in the United States and help close the “funding gap” widely discussed in aviation industry circles for much of this year. Financial market sources believe that European Export Credit Agencies are contemplating similar capital markets structures with a view towards further increasing available liquidity for the airline industry.

ACG’s transaction involves 22 Boeing 737s, which may be -700 and/or -800 models, to be delivered in 2009 through 2010. These are part of an ACG backlog of more than 80 Boeing order positions.  The financing amount is more than $850 million.

 The aircraft will all be leased to non-U.S. airlines in conformance with standard Ex-Im financing practices and with ACG’s own long-standing business strategy focusing on the global aviation marketplace.  All of ACG’s aircraft deliveries through 2010 have been placed.

ACG is the first aircraft lessor to use this Ex-Im bond structure. This demonstrates the strength of ACG’s business strategy and its ability to obtain financing in the current challenged capital market. Despite multiple economic cycles, ACG has been profitable every year since its founding.

Aviation Capital Group is the owner/lessor and portfolio manager of a diversified fleet of commercial jet aircraft leased to the world’s leading airlines. Its portfolio includes more than 230 jets leased to more than 90 airlines in 42 countries.  ACG’s Capital Markets Group provides asset management and remarketing services to aircraft investors and institutional clients. ACG was founded in 1989 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pacific LifeCorp, the parent company of Pacific Life Insurance Company.

Contact:

Aviation Capital Group:

Cathy Egan, 949-219-4631

Download PDF file | Download Word file Top