While many lessors focus on narrowbody jet aircraft or also medium-sized widebodies, Singapore-based lessor Avation has a portfolio ranging from ATRs to a 777-300ER.
There is a particular focus on the ATRs, which was expanded at the Singapore Airshow with the lessor converting two ATR72-600 purchase rights into firm orders, its 44th and 45th orders for the ATR.
Avation executive chairman Jeff Chatfield said it has 25 ATR options and anticipates not only eventually exercising all of them but also further extending its order book.
Also at the airshow, Avation disclosed it will place two ATR72-600s with Bangladesh’s largest private airline, US-Bangla Airlines.
US-Bangla already operates six ATRs and the additional two will be used for growth, expanding its ATR fleet to eight. The airline uses the ATRs to connect regional domestic markets with political and financial capital Dhaka.
The aircraft also help feed US-Bangla’s international flights.
The two aircraft Avation is placing with US-Bangla will be delivered before June 2020, ATR CEO Stefano Bortoli said.
The aircraft are from a previous order. “We’re not ordering them today,” Chatfield said. Avation is also acquiring a further two purchase rights to replace the two rights it exercised.
While the deal brings Avation’s ATR purchases to 45, it has re-sold ATRs over the years. Today it manages 28 ATRs, split between 22 -600s and six -500s, and has a further six on order, according to its website.
The 28 ATRs comprise 57% of its in-service fleet, but Chatfield noted the ATRs equate to one-third of its portfolio by value – which is still significantly larger than most lessors.
Denmark’s Nordic Aviation Capital owns the world’s largest fleet of turboprop aircraft.
