The continued conflict between Russia and Ukraine, combined with growing Chinese militarism around Taiwan, suggests that 2023 will be overshadowed by uncertainty in the aviation industry, according to the latest review and outlook for the sector by PwC.
In this environment, lenders, investors and rating agencies need to look beyond the near term to ensure that sufficient and affordable liquidity is available for deployment.
And with more lenders also taking environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into their funding decisions, it is perhaps surprising that the number of green financing transactions closing in 2022 in the sector remained in single digits.
As far as we know, this sustainability-linked loan is not only the first export credit agency-backed aircraft financing structure in the world, but also the first deal approved by an independent party
In January, Turkish low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines closed the first sustainability-linked, aircraft-secured term loan – guaranteed by UK Export Finance – for the financing of 10 new Airbus A321neo aircraft. The transaction was led by Societe Generale, acting as global arranger, sustainability structurer, facility agent and security trustee.
“We
