Jackson Square Aviation has delivered the first of three Airbus A320-232 aircraft to Wizz Air (Hungary) under a long-term operating lease.
“Wizz Air is an important customer in the high-growth region of Central and Eastern Europe,” said Chris Dailey, JSA’s VP of marketing responsible for the region. “We were able to structure a package for Wizz in 2010 which included PDP financing at a time when few lessors could step up to such a commitment. We have two more A320s delivering to Wizz Air in the coming months are thrilled to add these aircraft to our growing portfolio.”
József Váradi, chief executive officer of Wizz Air commented: “The deliveries of new Airbus A320s are further strengthening our market-leader position in Central and Eastern Europe. We are pleased to add JSA into our diversified financing portfolio.”
Jackson Square Aviation is a full-service aircraft leasing company based in San Francisco with offices in Seattle, London, Toulouse and Miami, with an Asian office opening later in 2011. JSA’s current fleet (owned and committed) includes nearly 70 aircraft valued in excess of $3 billion, originated via sale/leasebacks with many of the world’s leading airlines.
Led by the seasoned aircraft leasing trio of Richard Wiley, Toby Bright and Scott Weiss, the team has collectively acquired over $11 billion of aircraft, has purchased and/or remarketed over 400 aircraft, and has developed relationships with over 30 commercial lenders and investment banks across Europe, Asia and North America.
Wizz Air carried more than 10 million passengers in the last 12 months. The airline’s fleet currently consists of 35 Airbus A320 aircraft operating from 15 bases in Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Serbia and Lithuania.