Allegiant Travel Company obtained $412 million in financing commitments for seven Airbus A320 and four Boeing 737 MAX aircraft from BNP Paribas and Jackson Square Aviation, a commercial aircraft lessor. The deal combines banking and lessor capital to cover Allegiant’s aircraft financing needs into the Q2/24 while providing the airline with liquidity.
“We are delighted with BNP Paribas and Jackson Square’s creativity in providing what we believe is an efficient framework that affords us robust liquidity to support foundational investments in our fleet. This transaction taps into young A320 CEO aircraft and will also serve as the inaugural financing for our Boeing 737 MAX equipment,” Robert Neal, senior vice president and CFO at Allegiant, said.
Allegiant drew down $196 million of the financial on Sept. 29, and it draw the remainder commensurate with its initial 737 MAX deliveries.
“Our relationship with BNP Paribas, spanning more than a decade, has been instrumental in our growth as an ultra-low-cost leader. We are thrilled to welcome Jackson Square Aviation as a new partner as we make air travel more affordable and accessible to leisure travelers,” Neal said.
“We are delighted to provide Allegiant, a long-standing client of the bank, an innovative and first-of-its-kind financing solution which combines bank and lessor capital into one transaction. This transaction allows the airline to maximize value while having more structural flexibility to manage its aircraft fleet versus the more traditional aircraft financing alternatives,” Ankush Chowdhury, managing director and head of transportation banking and capital markets at BNP Paribas, said. “BNP Paribas is honored to partner with Jackson Square Aviation as we continue to innovate in the world of aviation finance with the goal of providing efficient and thoughtful financing solutions to our aviation clients.”
“It’s a great pleasure to have Allegiant as a new airline customer for Jackson Square Aviation, and we’re pleased to be working together with a long-standing banking partner, BNP Paribas,” Chris Dailey, president and chief commercial officer of Jackson Square Aviation, said. “Combining the strengths of JSA and BNP Paribas, we’re able to provide an efficient financing solution for Allegiant’s fleet of in-service Airbus A320s and next generation Boeing 737-8-200s, which we’re also excited to introduce as a first into our portfolio.”
Allegiant currently operates an all-Airbus fleet comprised of 127 Airbus A319s and A320s. Allegiant has agreed to purchase up to 130 Boeing 737-7 and 737-8-200 models in a multi-year deal.
