London, May 25th 2021 – Falko Regional Aircraft Limited (“Falko”) announces the acquisition of one ATR72-600 from Avation PLC. The aircraft with MSN 1591 is on long-term lease to US-Bangla Airlines, having been delivered to the airline in March 2021. With this transaction, the number of regional aircraft in Falko's portfolio rises to 123, which includes a total of 14 ATR72s.
The aircraft purchase has been funded using equity from the Falko Regional Aircraft Opportunities Fund II (“Fund II”), a $650 million fund which closed in 2019, dedicated to investments in the regional aircraft sector. So far, Fund II has invested in over 40 Bombardier and Embraer regional jet aircraft, with this being the first ATR in the fund.
“I am extremely pleased to add US-Bangla to our expanding list of customers as well as acquiring our first ATR72-600, an aircraft type which is becoming increasingly important to Falko as we continue to grow our portfolio” states Mark Hughes, Chief Commercial Officer. “The ATR72 is the market leading large turboprop aircraft, and we have a strong pipeline of opportunities which should enable further ATR acquisitions in the near future.”