News
Chorus leases Q400s to Philippine Airlines, acquires an ATR72 from Azul
Chorus Aviation, headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, reached lease agreements with Philippine Airlines (PAL) for three new Bombardier Q400 aircraft. The new Q400s are scheduled for delivery to Philippine Airlines in the third and fourth quarters of 2018 and will mark Chorus’ first leasing transaction in the Southeast Asia region.
September 19, 2018 By Wings Staff
Incorporated in September 2010 to focus on regional aviation needs, Chorus has been leasing its owned regional aircraft into Jazz’s Air Canada Express operation since 2009, and in 2017 established Chorus Aviation Capital to provide regional aircraft leases and support services. Chorus also owns Jazz Aviation and Voyageur Aviation.
“We are demonstrating our ability to originate our own deals directly with airlines and go after new, high-growth markets,” said Joe Randell, president and CEO of Chorus, pointing to the PAL deal.
Operating the country’s only full-service network airline, PAL, headquartered in Manila, celebrated its 77th anniversary this year as the first commercial airline in Asia and earned a 4-Star Global Airline certification from Skytrax. PAL’s fleet of 91 aircraft serve 33 destinations in the Philippines and over 45 destinations internationally.
In other news, Chorus acquired an ATR72-600 aircraft with an existing lease attached, which expands the company’s relationship with Azul Airlines of South America. “This ATR72-600 constitutes the third aircraft on lease to Azul Airlines and, together with other pending transactions that have been recently announced, brings Chorus’ total leased fleet to 70 aircraft,” said Steven Ridolfi, president of Chorus Aviation Capital.
Ridolfi continues to explain Chorus Aviation Capital has expanded its leasing business to include relationships with 11 well-established major regional airlines in 11 countries spanning six continents. “Its diversified fleet of quality regional aircraft consists of seven aircraft types from the top three manufacturers – ATR, Bombardier and Embraer.”
Azul is described as the largest airline in Brazil by number of cities served, offering 780 daily flights to 107 destinations. With an operating fleet of 118 aircraft and more than 10,000 crew members, the company had a network of 217 non-stop routes as of June 30, 2018.
