Gulf Air takes four A320s on lease

Monday, 15 August 2011 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Gulf Air, the national airline of Bahrain, has signed a purchase and leaseback agreement for four new Airbus A320 aircraft from Japan-based MC Aviation Partners, the aircraft leasing and trading arm of Mitsubishi Corporation.

The first delivery was scheduled in July; the upcoming aircraft are scheduled for delivery in August, September and October.

“We are pleased to have completed this important transaction with MCAP and hope to build on this new partnership in the future,” said Gulf Air CEO Samer Majali.

“The deliveries of the four new aircraft, fully equipped with the latest inflight-entertainment system and modern livery, support Gulf Air’s growth and product enhancement strategy.”

“The addition of these new aircraft will further reduce the average age of our fleet, which is now at 6.2 years and by the year end we will have one of the youngest fleets in the region at just 5.4 years,” he added.

Tatsuo Sato, chief executive officer of MC Aviation Partners, said: ‘We are delighted to announce this transaction with Gulf Air and hope this transaction will be a start of a long and successful relationship between the two companies.”

“With the addition of these four aircraft, our self-owned and managing portfolio will exceed 80 aircraft. We are aggressively increasing our portfolio size and it is a pleasure to have a well-known airline with long history such as Gulf Air to join our list of lessees,” he added.