Approval Of Lease Financing Arrangement Requested From Bankruptcy Court

The 130 Airbus A320 family airplanes that American Airlines has on order will be leased to the carrier, if a federal bankruptcy judge approves.

the order includes 65 A319's and 65 A321a, according to the engine supplier International Aircraft Engines (IAE). Flight Global reports that American and Airbus have requested that the planemaker carry the lease financing for the airplanes, but third party lessors might also be involved in the deal.

The financing deal through Airbus had been previously disclosed. American said in April it had financing agreements through the planemaker for 110 of the deliveries. Airbus said it was providing commitments for the "purchase of certain aircraft," but did not specify terms of the deal.

Airbus has also not included the 130 AA airplanes on its order backlog, which may mean that it plans to enter into a lease agreement rather than sell the planes to AA outright.

The third party lessors could include AerCAp, Avolon Aerospace Leasing, ILFC (International Lease Finance), GECAS (GE Capital Aviation Services), and others. The bankruptcy judge is expected hold a hearing on the plan Thursday in New York.

FMI: www.amrcaseinfo.com/hearings.php?