United and JetBlue have both taken the opportunity in the first quarter to refinance old debt and secure new lines of credit, while Air Canada has closed its long-touted EETC earlier this week. Earlier in the quarter both American Airlines and US Airways issued their own EETCs and more are expected in the coming months as airlines take advantage of the strong market to finance aircraft more cheaply.
All of these deals are analysed in detail in the forthcoming issue of Airline Economics, along with a detailed look at the health and prospects of the regional airlines market and a look at the threat to leasing in Ireland from the new centres of Malta and Singapore seeking to become centres for aircraft leasing thanks to their favourable tax regimes. Make sure you don’t miss your copy and subscribe to Airline Economics today. Please contact John at john@aviationnews-online for more information.
Meanwhile, US Congress has reached a bipartisan deal end the partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration, which left 4,000 FAA employees furloughed and brought more than 200 construction projects to a halt.
Under the agreement, the Senate will accept the House-approved, short-term extension that includes the cuts to subsidies for rural communities.
President Obama said in a statement: “I'm pleased that leaders in Congress are working together to break the impasse involving the FAA so that tens of thousands of construction workers and others can go back to work," he said. "We can't afford to let politics in Washington hamper our recovery, so this is an important step forward."