Company Among First Lessors to Place A320neo Aircraft with Carrier under New Tata Group Ownership

CDB Aviation, a wholly owned Irish subsidiary of China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co., Limited (“CDB Leasing”), announced on the sidelines of Airline Economics Growth Frontiers Asia Pacific 2022 conference the signing of lease agreements for a fleet of six Airbus A320neo aircraft with India’s leading airline, Air India.

CDB Aviation is among the first aircraft leasing companies to secure the placement of Air India’s additional A320neo aircraft under the recently announced multi-stage transformation plan since the purchase of the airline by Tata group, which aims to increase the carrier’s fleet and help it boost both domestic and international operations. The aircraft will be delivered in the second half of 2023.

“Our commercial team is delighted to have worked closely with Air India to help solve their fleet requirements with these new Airbus narrowbody aircraft from our orderbook,” commented Ryan Barrett, CDB Aviation’s Head of Asia Pacific. “These fuel-efficient, new generation aircraft are well suited to support Air India’s fleet revitalization initiatives, positioning the airline for sustained growth and profitability.’’

Commenting on the agreement, Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial Officer of Air India, said: “This is an important agreement, which will help us to strengthen our fleet with state-of-the-art aircraft. This will boost our connectivity, especially on the short and medium-haul routes, and is an important step ahead in our transformation journey.”

“India is an increasingly important region for CDB Aviation, being the second largest Asia Pacific market for new aircraft deliveries, with nearly 1,000 Boeing and Airbus jets in its orderbook,” explained Peter Goodman, CDB Aviation’s Chief Commercial Officer. “Our commercial team remains steadfast in its outreach efforts across Asia Pacific, leveraging our platform’s resources and scale to support the region’s airlines in restoring their networks and growing their fleets.”

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, beliefs or opinions, including with respect to CDB Aviation’s business, financial condition, results of operations or plans. CDB Aviation cautions readers that no forward-looking statement is a guarantee of future performance and that actual results or other financial condition or performance measures could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements sometimes use words such as “may”, “will”, “seek”, “continue”, “aim”, “anticipate”, “target”, “projected”, “expect”, “estimate”, “intend”, “plan”, “goal”, “believe”, “achieve” or other terminology or words of similar or analogous meaning. These statements are based on the current beliefs and expectations of CDB Aviation's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results and we do not assume any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, we do not undertake any obligation to, and will not, update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Air India

Founded by the legendary JRD Tata, Air India pioneered India’s aviation sector. Since its first flight on October 15, 1932, Air India has an extensive domestic network and has spread its wings beyond to become a major international airline with a network across USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Far-East, South- East Asia, Australia and the Gulf. Air India is a member of Star Alliance, the largest global airline consortium. After 69 years as a government-owned enterprise, Air India and Air India Express were welcomed back into the Tata group in January 2022. The present management at Air India is driving the five-year transformation roadmap under the aegis of Vihaan.AI to establish itself as a world-class global airline with an Indian heart. www.airindia.in

About CDB Aviation

CDB Aviation is a wholly owned Irish subsidiary of China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co., Limited (“CDB Leasing”), a 36-year-old Chinese leasing company that is backed mainly by the China Development Bank. CDB Aviation is rated Investment Grade by Moody’s (A2), S&P Global (A), and Fitch (A+). China Development Bank is under the direct jurisdiction of the State Council of China and is the world’s largest development finance institution. It is also the largest Chinese bank for foreign investment and financing cooperation, long-term lending and bond issuance, enjoying Chinese sovereign credit rating.

CDB Leasing is the only leasing arm of the China Development Bank and a leading company in China’s leasing industry that has been engaged in aircraft, infrastructure, ship, commercial vehicle and construction machinery leasing and enjoys a Chinese sovereign credit rating. It took an important step in July 2016 to globalize and marketize its business – listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX STOCK CODE: 1606). www.CDBAviation.aero

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@CDBAviation is among the first #aircraftleasing companies to secure the placement of @airindiain’s A320neo aircraft since the carrier's new ownership by @TataCompanies