DRESDEN, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CDB Aviation, a wholly owned Irish subsidiary of China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co., Limited (“CDB Leasing”), today took delivery of the first freighter aircraft in the lessor’s history, an A330-300 passenger-to-freighter (“A330 P2F”).
The aircraft was converted by Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH (“EFW”) and is the first of two A330 P2Fs leased to the lessor’s launch customer, Mexico-based cargo carrier, mas. The carrier is expected to take delivery of the second aircraft in May.
“This is an important and historic day for CDB Aviation as we see the fruit of two years of intense work and collaboration, culminating in the delivery of our very first A330 P2F since we made the strategic entry into freighter aircraft leasing,” asserted Patrick Hannigan, CDB Aviation’s Chief Executive Officer. “We are grateful to the mas team for trusting CDB Aviation to be a partner in supporting their innovative fleet strategy and for being our very first A330P2F customer.”
Luis Sierra, mas’ Chief Executive Officer, remarked: “We feel honored that CDB Aviation trusted mas to be its first A330 P2F customer. For us, operating the -300 variant will open amazing opportunities in regional markets where there is a need for highly reliable aircraft, providing enough volume. Working together on this process was amazing, and we are already looking at ways to do more business with the CDB Aviation team.”
“We are glad about the in-time, in-quality re-delivery of the first A330P2F to our customer CDB Aviation. With this first of many more to come conversions we proved meeting customer expectations in these very challenging times,” commented Jordi Boto, Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH‘s Chief Executive Officer.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, beliefs or opinions, including with respect to CDB Aviation’s business, financial condition, results of operations or plans. CDB Aviation cautions readers that no forward-looking statement is a guarantee of future performance and that actual results or other financial condition or performance measures could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements sometimes use words such as “may”, “will”, “seek”, “continue”, “aim”, “anticipate”, “target”, “projected”, “expect”, “estimate”, “intend”, “plan”, “goal”, “believe”, “achieve” or other terminology or words of similar or analogous meaning. These statements are based on the current beliefs and expectations of CDB Aviation's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results and we do not assume any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, we do not undertake any obligation to, and will not, update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
About mas
Aerotransportes Mas de Carga, SA de CV (formerly MasAir Cargo Airline and now dba as mas), is a cargo airline based in Mexico City that has been operating cargo aircraft since 1992, operating a fleet of Boeing 767s and Airbus330s. As an IATA member, mas holds IOSA, ISAGO, TCO-EASA and IATA CEIV Pharma certifications. Since December 2018, mas has launched an ambitious expansion plan under a new ownership and management structure, with Discovery Americas, a leading private equity fund in Mexico, as majority shareholder. mas has a scheduled and charter network spanning the Americas and is now expanding its new ACMI division with additional cargo aircraft. www.masair.com
About CDB Aviation
CDB Aviation is a wholly owned Irish subsidiary of China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co., Limited (“CDB Leasing”), a 36-year-old Chinese leasing company that is backed mainly by the China Development Bank. CDB Aviation is rated Investment Grade by Moody’s (A2), S&P Global (A), and Fitch (A+). China Development Bank is under the direct jurisdiction of the State Council of China and is the world’s largest development finance institution. It is also the largest Chinese bank for foreign investment and financing cooperation, long-term lending and bond issuance, enjoying Chinese sovereign credit rating.
CDB Leasing is the only leasing arm of the China Development Bank and a leading company in China’s leasing industry that has been engaged in aircraft, infrastructure, ship, commercial vehicle and construction machinery leasing and enjoys a Chinese sovereign credit rating. It took an important step in July 2016 to globalize and marketize its business – listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX STOCK CODE: 1606). www.CDBAviation.aero
