On June 27, Cathay Pacific Airways took delivery of a brand new Airbus A321NEO, under a sustainability-linked ‘JOLCO’ financing (Japanese Operating Lease with Call Option) arranged and provided by Crédit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank. This is the first sustainability-linked JOLCO provided to an airline in Asia-Pacific.
The Airbus A321NEO is a new-generation, highly fuel-efficient aircraft compared to previous generations of the type. The terms of the financing are linked to Cathay Pacific Airways achieving certain targets in respect of predefined sustainability-linked indicators. In this transaction, performance targets focus on the proportion of new generation aircraft in Cathay Pacific Airways’ group fleet and the gradual increase of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) use in the carrier’s fuel consumption.
Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank acted as global arranger and sustainability structurer, facility agent and security trustee and is a lender in the transaction.