Stamford’s Aircastle repossesses planes

Leased aircraft taken from bankrupt Brazilian airline

STAMFORD — Aircraft-leasing firm Aircastle said Tuesday it had repossessed 10 Airbus A320-200 planes that it had leased to bankrupt Avianca Brasil, which filed for bankruptcy last December after falling behind on payments to lessors such as Aircastle.

The aircraft are moving to “committed long-term leases” with an undisclosed “major international carrier,” Aircastle officials said. The repossession had been delayed until this month because of a judge’s order, a postponement that Aircastle had opposed. The decision also required Avianca, Brazil’s fourthlargest airline, to resume making leasing payments.

“We are pleased to have reached an important milestone in the transition of these aircraft to a new global operator,” Aircastle CEO Mike Inglese said in a statement. “In line with our expectations that these highly in-demand modern aircraft would be quickly placed, we now anticipate that these aircraft will return to service on their new leases during the current quarter.”

Despite the repossession, Aircastle is not pulling out of the Brazilian market. It has committed to buying nearly $1 billion in “next-generation,” regional-jet aircraft made by Brazilian aerospace conglomerate Embraer.

For 2018, Aircastle’s revenues increased 5 percent, to about $890 million. Profits jumped by nearly 70 percent, to about $248 million.

In 2018, the firm acquired 39 aircraft, including 10 Airbus A320neo planes, for a total of $1.4 billion. It sold 14 planes last year, for a combined $339 million.

At the end of 2018, Aircastle owned 248 aircraft, with an average age of about nine years.

“Narrow-body aircraft remain in high demand globally, and we continue to benefit from the broad operator base and liquidity these aircraft afford,” Inglese said in February.

In October 2017, the company announced it had relocated its headquarters to 201 Tresser Blvd., from the First Stamford Place complex. In addition to its main offices in Stamford, it maintains centers in Dublin and Singapore.