Barcelona, 28 July 2020: Volotea has signed a syndicated loan of 150 million euros with eight financial institutions led by Banco Santander and composed of CaixaBank, Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO), Bankinter, Liberbank, BBVA, Ibercaja and the Institut Català de Finances (ICF). The loan is secured by Spain's Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO).

Volotea has signed a € 150-million syndicated five-year loan that will help the airline to meet its financial and operational needs after three months of hibernation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to Banco Santander, Caixa Bank, ICO, Bankinter, Liberbank, BBVA, Ibercaja and the Institut Català de Finances (ICF) are taking part in this syndication. This loan is also backed by Spain's Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) and has been granted within the State Aid Temporary Framework adopted by the European Commission on 19 March 2020 to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic. This funding is similar to the financial support received recently by other Spanish airlines.

This syndicated loan will cover Volotea's financial and operational cash needs.

Volotea has been profitable for the last five years, has one of the most flexible strategies in the market, has one of the most efficient fixed- variable cost ratio in the sector, and has carried on reducing its fixed costs as it pursues ongoing improvements to enhance its competitiveness. Moreover, the company will review its targets to improve its cost base for the next 2-3 years even further, adapting to the current scenario of weak demand, in order to increase its competitiveness.

This loan also strengthens Volotea in connection with the agreement signed last March with IAG whereby, in the context of Iberia's acquisition of Air Europa, Volotea would operate certain routes and slots of these airlines. Volotea would thus significantly reinforce its growth, with the opening of 2 to 4 new bases and with an increase of its connectivity, becoming one of the main five airlines operating in Spain.

Following three months of inactivity due to the pandemic, Volotea restarted operations on 16 June by launching 40 new routes (including 15 exclusive routes) across all the European countries in which it has a base. In Spain, Volotea has introduced 15 new connections, has doubled the number of aircraft at its Asturias and Bilbao bases, and has broadened the scope of its operations adding two new airports: Santiago de Compostela and Granada.

Carlos Muñoz, founder and CEO of Volotea, said, "I would like to thank all the banks involved,  and I especially appreciate the support of ICO, ICF and the Ministry of Transport to carry out this operation, which is critical for the future of our company. The syndicated loan with eight financial institutions, Volotea’s closest banking partners, obtained after several months of negotiations, shows the confidence in the recovery capacity of Volotea, a company with an outstanding ability to grow and whose enormous flexibility is allowing it to face this hard crisis in the best possible conditions.”

ABOUT VOLOTEA (PRE COVID-19 FIGURES)

Volotea is one of the fastest-growing independent airlines in Europe, increasing year-on-year its fleet, routes served and seats offered. Since 2012, Volotea has carried more than 25 million passengers across Europe. The airline expects between 8.5 and 9.0 million passengers in 2020.

For 2020, Volotea is adding six aircraft Airbus 319s and 62 new routes to offer a line-up of 354 short-haul city-pairs among 96 medium and small-sized airports in 15 countries at very competitive prices.

Volotea operates its network with 39 aircraft, 25 Airbus A319s and 14 Boeing 717s, based in 16 European mid-sized capitals: Venice, Nantes, Bordeaux, Palermo, Strasbourg, Asturias, Verona, Toulouse, Genoa, Bilbao, Marseille, Athens, Cagliari, Lyon, Naples and Hamburg.

Volotea’s Hamburg base has been opened to operate Airbus’ shuttle service, recently awarded. Bases in Lyon and Naples are to be launched in 2020.

To enable its growth, Volotea has opened recruitment processes to cover over 200 employment positions in France, Italy, Spain, Greece and Germany. In 2020 Volotea will count with 1,500 employees.

More info at www.volotea.com