CDB Aviation, a wholly-owned Irish subsidiary of China Development Bank Financial Leasing (CDB Leasing), signed a sale and leaseback agreement for a fleet of four new Airbus A321neo aircraft with Wizz Air, which is a current CDB Aviation customer and a low-cost carrier in central and eastern Europe.

“The unrelenting drive to stimulate new markets demonstrates Wizz Air’s strategic efforts to aid the region’s nascent air travel recovery, while opportunely positioning its platform for the resumption of growth,” Peter Goodman, chief marketing officer for CDB Aviation, said.

Wizz Air is expected to take deliveries of the four aircraft between the first and third quarters of 2021. Powered by Pratt & Whitney GTF engines and featuring a single-aisle cabin with 239 seats in a single class configuration, the aircraft will bolster the airline’s all-Airbus fleet serving short-haul operations.

“We are delighted to have collaborated with the Wizz Air team on this latest transaction in the sale and leaseback channel,” Goodman said, noting that CDB remains engaged in pursuing opportunities for aircraft transactions that enable “airlines to take up new market opportunities and navigate through the current environment.”

“We are delighted today to be signing a deal with CDB Aviation,” Jourik Hooghe, executive vice president and group CFO of Wizz Air, said. “The four new Airbus A321neo aircraft allow us to continue to fly the greenest and most efficient aircraft currently available. In these unprecedented times, this investment into our fleet reinforces our goal to stay one of the most efficient and most productive airlines in Europe and emerge from the COVID-19 crisis as a structural winner.”

“Today’s operating environment is fraught with significant challenges facing both the airlines and lessors,” Patrick Hannigan, CEO of CDB Aviation, said. “With a degree of resourcefulness and a commitment to working together, we will collectively ensure the industry is on the right track to sustained recovery.

“This transaction reflects our team’s vigorous efforts, backed by our shareholder’s unique financial position and resources, to work alongside the airlines across all key markets to deliver bespoke financings that effectively support their strategic pathways to restoring their networks and long-term profitability through the ensuing recovery.”