Air India on Thursday said it has signed a definitive sale and lease back agreement with Nasdaq-listed Willis Lease Finance Corporation for 34 CFM56-5B engines installed on its Airbus A320 family fleet.
The engines will be covered under Willis Lease's ConstantThrust, which will deliver significant reliability and cost savings over a traditional MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Operations) shop visit programme, the company said in a statement.
Under the sale side of the transaction, Willis Lease will purchase 34 engines from Air India, powering 13 Airbus A321 aircraft and four Airbus A320 aircraft, it said.
Through the programme, Willis Lease will provide replacement and standby spare engines, allowing the airline to avoid potentially costly and unpredictable shop visits on engines powering a transitioning aircraft fleet.
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"This transaction will allow Air India to derisk itself operationally, improve fleet reliability, reduce cost, and optimise cash flow," Air India CCO Nipun Aggarwal said.
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