Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC) to lease 10 Embraer E190s to South Africa’s largest privately owned regional airline SA Airlink

Billund, Denmark, 21-Jun-2017 — /EuropaWire/ — Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC) is pleased to announce that it has committed to lease ten Embraer E190s to SA Airlink (Airlink), South Africa’s largest privately owned regional airline. The transaction comprises the placement of two new aircraft from NACs existing Embraer order book; the remainder are from NACs current portfolio of E190s.

Two of the used aircraft, MSNs 19000193 and MSN 19000195 have delivered to the airline with the remainder expected to deliver through to January 2019. NAC is delighted to welcome Airlink as a new customer.

These aircraft are the first of its type to be introduced to South Africa. The addition of the E-Jet will enable Airlink to operate within the challenging environment of the region while managing capacity and providing for further growth.

“We are very proud to welcome Airlink as our newest customer,” said Martin Møller, Chairman of Nordic Aviation Capital. “NAC worked closely with Airlink to provide the right aircraft solution, customized for the airline to meet and exceed their performance targets. We are delighted to partner with the Airlink management team in their efforts to grow and modernize their fleet and look forward to building and strengthening our relationship with them in the future.”

Rodger Foster, CEO of Airlink, said, “Nordic Aviation Capital has provided Airlink with an alluring solution that has enabled our fleet modernization program without compromising viability. The E190 will not only succeed our Avro fleet, given its longer range and its highly impressive unique operational performance capabilities, it will also increase Airlink’s Intra-Africa network footprint bringing air access to further distant smaller destinations. Airlink has worked closely with the NAC team to achieve a mutually beneficial relationship centered on the E190, and we are particularly impressed at how the NAC team has addressed Airlink’s localized requirements. We are thrilled to be the first operator of the E190 in South Africa – this is a game changer for Airlink and our customers, and NAC is an intrinsic element of this exciting development.”

“NAC has been a great partner on the E-Jets program, building new business opportunities alongside Embraer. It’s really pleasing to see more aircraft being placed with Airlink,” said John Slattery, President and CEO, Embraer Commercial Aviation. “We are sure that the E-Jets fleet will be a huge step forward in Airlink’s success story. Together we are building a great partnership between NAC, Airlink and Embraer.”

About Nordic Aviation Capital

NAC is the industry’s leading regional aircraft lessor serving over 70 airline customers in 48 countries. The company provides aircraft to well-established carriers such as Aeroméxico, Air Canada, British Airways, LOT, Air Berlin, Azul, Garuda, Flybe, HOP!, air Baltic and Olympic Air as well as major regional carriers including Air Nostrum, Widerøe, Jet Time, Etihad Regional, Binter and Air KBZ. NAC’s current fleet of over 350 owned and 37 managed aircraft includes, ATR 42, ATR 72, Bombardier Dash 8, CRJ900, CRJ1000, CS300, E170, E175, E190 and E195. In addition, the group has a further 54 aircraft on firm order.

About SA Airlink

Airlink, SAA’s privately owned franchise partner, serves as a link between smaller destinations and SAA’s large city hubs. The airline carries more than one million five hundred thousand passengers on 46,000 flights within South and Southern Africa to over forty destinations in nine Southern African countries, including Zimbabwe, Zambia, Swaziland, Mozambique, Botswana, Madagascar, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Lesotho – with more routes in the pipeline.

About Embraer

Embraer are one of the largest aerospace companies in the world. With over 45 years in the aerospace business, they have operated in the design, development, manufacture, sale and after-sale support stages of aircraft for the commercial and executive aviation markets, as well as offering integrated solutions and systems for the defense and security industry. With offices and factories around the world and more than 5,000 aircraft sold on every continent, Embraer are market leaders in commercial jets with up to 120 seats.

SOURCE: NORDIC AVIATION CAPITAL

Media Contact

Søren M. Overgaard
Phone: +45 7651 1200
Email: marketing@nac.dk