In an article published by FlightGlobal two sources reported that low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific is looking for sale-and-leaseback agreement for 17 A320ceo aircraft owned by the company.
Previously, the carrier was looking to lease-back only 14 of their 17 owned A320ceo aircraft, but later the number was increased to 17.
Airline also has 13 A320ceo that are leased from numerous leasing companies.
“It’s a liquidity exercise, yes – but it’s also residual value exercise because they have the [A320neo] delivery stream,” an undisclosed source told FlightGlobal.
The person also told that Cebu Pacific has decided not to grow its fleet during coronavirus crisis and chose to match deliveries with redeliveries.
Originally, the airline was expecting to welcome 37 A321neo aircraft between August 2020 and February 2026 with five A320neo aircraft being scheduled to arrive in 2024.
Sale-and-leaseback deals are not a new practice in the world of aviation, with Aeroflot performing a similar move for 3 of their 11 A350 aircraft.