Skip to content
AidData logo

Overview

ICBC Financial Leasing leases two Airbus A320neo aircraft to Air Corsica

Commitment Year•2019Country of Activity•FranceDirect Recipient Country of Incorporation•FranceSector•Transport And StorageFlow Type•Loan

Status

Project lifecycle

Completion

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
Nov 19, 2019
Start (planned)
Nov 30, 2019
Start (actual)
Dec 2, 2019
End (planned)
Dec 31, 2019
End (actual)
Dec 17, 2019

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

State-owned companies

  • Compagnie Aérienne Corse Méditerranée S.A.E.M. (Air Corsica)

Loan description

ICBC Financial Leasing leases two Airbus A320neo aircraft to Air Corsica

Interest type•Unknown

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

On November 19, 2019, 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 forward operating lease with Compagnie Aérienne Corse Méditerranée S.A.E.M. — the flag carrier airline of the French region of Corsica, trading as Air Corsica, that is majority-owned by the public sector Corsican Regional Authority and has Air France–KLM S.A. as a minority shareholder — for two new Airbus A320neo aircraft. The deal involved two Airbus A320neo aircraft, powered by CFM International LEAP-1A engines and configured in a single-class cabin layout for 186 passengers. The deal made Air Corsica France's first operator of the A320neo }. The first aircraft was expected to be delivered at the end of November 2019 and the second was expected to be delivered at the end of 2019. The first aircraft, MSN 9348, was delivered on or around December 2, 2019 with registration F-HXKB and named 'I Sanguinari'. The second aircraft, MSN 9392, was delivered on December 17, 2019 with registration F-HXKJ and named 'U Capi Corsu'. Financial close on the transaction was achieved on December 18, 2019. Media reports suggest a third A320neo aircraft may have been involved in a related deal for delivery in April 2020. No such delivery occurred; as of November 2023, Air Corsica only operated two A320neos, the two it had leased from ICBCFL.

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.