Saudi Aircraft Leasing Company Launches In UK And Signs Up First Customer

The aviation industry’s newest aircraft leasing company AviLease secured its first deal on July 18, with a deal announced with Saudi airline FlyNas.

The agreement covers 12 new Airbus A320neo jets, which will be delivered in 2022 and 2023. The Saudi airline confirmed the outline of the deal on Twitter.

The agreement was announced on the same day as the formal launch of AviLease, timed to coincide with the start of the Farnborough Airshow in the UK.

Saudi Arabia’s government-owned Public Investment Fund (PIF) had announced it was setting up the leasing company in late June, with an aim to build up the business by buying aircraft and leasing them to airlines, as well as by making corporate portfolio and acquisitions.

AviLease’s chairman is Fahad Al-Saif, a senior managing director at PIF; its chief executive is Edward O’Byrne, a former co-head of aviation at private equity firm the Carlyle Group.

O’Byrne said the company had “global ambition” and pointed to the strong financial backing it has from PIF. As of the end of March 2022, PIF had some $620 billion of assets under management. To date, the fund has set up 54 companies.

National strategy

The authorities in Saudi Arabia are keen to develop their domestic aviation sector – having seen the success that neighbouring countries have had with airlines such as Emirates and Qatar Airlines.

Under a national aviation strategy launched in May, the country aims to attract 330 million airline passengers a year by 2030 and provide air connections to more than 250 destinations around the world.

Minister of Transport Saleh Al-Jasser said at the launch, at the Future Aviation Forum in Riyadh, that the aim was to attract $100 billion of investment in the aviation sector by 2030.

As part of the strategy, a new national airline is being planned. Little information on this project has emerged since Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said in June 2021 that he wanted to set up a new carrier, which will sit alongside the existing Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia). However, it is expected to be based in the capital Riyadh, while Saudia will remain with its hub in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.