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Overview

ICBC Leasing leases one Airbus A319 aircraft to Air Berlin

Commitment Year•2013Country of Activity•GermanyDirect Recipient Country of Incorporation•GermanySector•Transport And StorageFlow Type•Loan

Status

Project lifecycle

Completion

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
Oct 8, 2013
Start (actual)
Oct 8, 2013
End (actual)
Oct 8, 2013

Stakeholders

Organizations involved in projects and activities supported by financial and in-kind transfers from Chinese government and state-owned entities

Ultimate beneficial owners

At least 25% host country ownership

Funding agencies

State-owned companies

  • ICBC Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. (ICBCFL) (ICBC Leasing)

Receiving agencies

Private Sector

  • Air Berlin PLC & Co. Luftverkehrs KG

Loan description

ICBC Leasing leases one Airbus A319 aircraft to Air Berlin

Interest type•Unknown

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

Prior to October 8, 2013, ICBC Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. (ICBCFL) — a Chinese state-owned leasing company and wholly-owned subsidiary of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) — entered into a lease agreement with — a German airline, Germany's second largest, headquartered in Berlin — for one vintage Airbus A319 aircraft. The aircraft, which had been previously operated by Air Berlin's Austrian low-cost subsidiary NIKI Luftfahrt GmbH, was delivered to Air Berlin on October 8, 2013 on registration D-ABGN and ICAO24 code 3C48EE. On February 20, 2015, the aircraft was delivered to NIKI on registration OE-LNA and ICAO24 code 4407C2. On January 18, 2017, it returned to service on Air Berlin. On February 19, 2017, Air Berlin delivered the aircraft on sublease to German-low cost airline and Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings GmbH. On August 15, 2017, Air Berlin filed for insolvency after its key shareholder Etihad Airways announced it would no longer support the airliner after years of losses. In November 2017, ICBC Leasing put the aircraft into storage. Then, on May 17, 2019, ICBC Leasing delivered the aircraft on lease to Eurowings (Record ID#102230).

Staff comments

1. A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee (user) to pay the lessor (owner) for use of an asset. The lessor is the legal owner of the asset, while the lessee obtains the right to use the asset in return for regular rental payments. Under a capital lease (a financial arrangement where the lessee/borrower uses an asset and pays regular installments plus interest to the lender/lessor), rental payments are usually classified as interest and obligation payments, similarly to a mortgage (with the interest calculated each rental period on the outstanding obligation balance). AidData codes capital leases as loans.