Emirates signs aircraft financing deal with two Middle East banks

Airline Industry Information, Nov 22, 2004

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

Middle Eastern airline Emirates has signed a GBP62m deal with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) and the Gulf International Bank (GIB) to fund the acquisition of a new Airbus A340-500 aircraft.

The agreement is the first aircraft financing deal to be funded by two Middle Eastern banks. The new aircraft will be delivered by the end of November 2004 and is to be followed by a further three A340-500s completing an order of 10 from Emirates. The finance deal is structured as a Sterling operating lease over 12 years arranged and fully funded by NBAD and GIB.

A spokesperson for Emirates said that it was very pleased to have arranged the first aircraft financing deal between two major regional banks and it fits in with Emirates policy of opening up new and diverse sources of finance, reports AME Info.

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