Indian LCC IndiGo has signed a $2.6-billion deal with China’s ICBC Financial Leasing Company for the sale and lease-back of 30 A320s. These aircraft will be delivered to the carrier starting in 2015.
The announcement comes on the day Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in India, where the two countries signed trade and investment deals worth billions of dollars.
“IndiGo already has a relationship with ICBC and this new effort to further explore the collaboration will cement the relationship for the longer term. Through this MoU, ICBC will provide IndiGo financial solutions for the introduction of A320 and the other family of aircraft to the fleet in the form of sale and lease back or financial lease or commercial lending,” a company statement said.
The deal with ICBC is to finance part of IndiGo’s 150 A320neo order that was placed in 2011 along with 30 A320ceo.