CDB Aviation and Wizz Air Agree Sale-Leaseback for Four New A321neos

DUBLIN – August 26, 2020 – CDB Aviation, a wholly owned Irish subsidiary of China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co., Limited (“CDB Leasing”), announced today the signing of a sale and leaseback agreement for a fleet of four new Airbus A321neo aircraft with the company’s current customer, Wizz Air Holdings Plc (“Wizz Air;” WIZZ.L), the largest Central and Eastern European low-cost carrier.

“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,” asserted CDB Aviation Chief Marketing Officer Peter Goodman.

Wizz Air, the largest Airbus customer of the A321neo variant, is expected to take deliveries of the four neos between the first and third quarters of 2021. Powered by Pratt & Whitney GTF engines and featuring the widest 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,” expounded Goodman, reiterating that the CDB Aviation team continues to be actively engaged in pursuing opportunities for aircraft transactions that enable “airlines to take up new market opportunities and navigate through the current environment.”

Jourik Hooghe, Executive Vice President & Group Chief Financial Officer of Wizz Air, said: "We are delighted today to be signing a deal with CDB Aviation. 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,” explained CDB Aviation Chief Executive Officer Patrick Hannigan. “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.”

Hannigan concluded: “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.”