Safwan Kuzbari, president and chief executive of Novus Aviation Capital, has confirmed that the lessor is in early stage discussions with Boeing and Airbus for an order of at least 10 aircraft, either the A350 or 787/777x. Kuzbari says that the company is deciding whether it would buy multiple aircraft types, which would depend “on the terms of the conditions and time of the delivery”, he told Gulf News.
He has further warned shareholders that lease rates will continue to be pushed down by low interest low interest rates and strong Chinese and American competition.
“We cannot compete with the Chinese lessors,” Kuzbari said.
Novus plans to increase its portfolio from $2.7bn to $3.5bn by the end of the year. It also plans to double the capital of its funding vehicle with Airbus, DBJ and NordLB, Tamweel Aviation Finance (TAF), to $200 million through a subscription to be launched within the next month.