Dubai: Low-cost airline flydubai has signed with Pembroke, a subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank, to finance two Boeing 737-800NG aircraft.
The eight-year sale and leaseback agreement represents financing of $172 million in list prices and follows the request for proposal (RFP) issued by flydubai for its 2012 aircraft funding requirements.
The two new aircraft will enter the flydubai fleet in June and July, increasing the low-cost carrier's capacity, while supporting network growth across the GCC, Middle East, North Africa, Indian Sub-Continent, Asia, and Central and Eastern Europe.
flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith said, "The enthusiastic response to our RFP... is a positive start to our fourth year of operations. This is the first such agreement we have made with Standard Chartered's subsidiary, Pembroke. Our growing our fleet allows us to serve more passengers around the region."
Jonathan Morris, Chief Executive, Standard Chartered UAE, said: "The UAE is one of Standard Chartered's top five markets globally and we are committed to helping our clients expand their businesses in the UAE and globally."
In tandem with the growth of its route network, flydubai has also established one of the fastest-growing and youngest fleets in the region. It has pioneered state-of-the-art features such as the Boeing Sky Interior and the ‘Fiber-To-The-Screen' In-Flight Entertainment system by Lumexis, which offers passengers 500-hours of non-stop entertainment, including more than 150 movies, 160 TV programmes and 280 music albums. Once these latest aircraft are delivered, more than 70 per cent of flydubai's fleet will be equipped with IFE.
