Malaysian Airline System Berhad (MAS) has closed a multi-million dollar sale and leaseback transaction for two Airbus A330-300 aircraft with Pembroke Group – Standard Chartered Bank’s aircraft leasing, financing and lease management subsidiary. The financing facility for the aircraft has been arranged, underwritten and funded exclusively by Standard Chartered Bank.
The first aircraft was delivered on 4 April 2011, while the second arrived on 4 May 2011. MAS and Standard Chartered marked the successful delivery of the two aircrafts on 12 May 2011. The purchase and long-term lease for a 12-year period was structured to enable MAS flexibility in its fleet planning in tandem with the company’s own/lease strategy. This forms part of MAS’ renewal fleet programme comprising 15 Airbus A330-300 aircraft.
Mohd Azha bin Abdul Jalil, chief financial officer (CFO), MAS said: “We are delighted to partner Standard Chartered in our first A330-300 deliveries and are grateful to the bank for its ongoing commitment and relationship that has culminated in this successful milestone. We look forward to many more strategic partnerships with Standard Chartered, as we continue to reinforce MAS as one of the leading international airlines. In line with our lease/own strategy, out of six brand new aircraft that we have taken delivery since October 2010, four aircraft are directly owned by MAS.”