Aircraft lessor Sirius Aviation Capital Holdings bought 10 narrow-body, mid-life jets from Singapore-based competitor BOC Aviation in the first five months of the year.
The acquisition was made through joint ventures with aviation investors Corrum Capital and HPS Investment Partners. The type of aircraft purchased was not disclosed.
The company's contribution to the deals was funded through a commitment by anchor investor Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners, a joint venture between Mubadala Investment Company and US investment company Falcon Edge.
“We are delighted to have grown our fleet to 10 aircraft during the worst year in the history of commercial aviation,” said Sirius Aviation chief executive Howard Millar.
“This is testimony to the strength of our business model, which is to acquire aircraft on lease to top-tier airline credits availing of the attractive returns available in mid-life, single-aisle aircraft leasing.”
The Covid-19 pandemic is the worst crisis to hit the aviation industry, with airlines, plane makers, lessors and other companies in the supply chain affected after demand for air travel fell last year.
Sirius began operations at the Abu Dhabi Global Market in March last year soon after the onset of the pandemic. The company aims to grow its fleet to more than 20 aircraft in the next 12 months and exceed 100 over the next three years.
“We look forward to working closely with our investors, shareholders and the ADGM team to deliver these ambitious targets,” said Mr Millar.
“We continue to see attractive investment opportunities in aviation as traffic volumes recover due to the global roll-out of vaccines.”
The International Air Transport Association expects the global outlook to brighten in the second half of the year. This year's passenger numbers are expected to be 52 per cent lower than they were in 2019.
However, they are set to rebound next year to 88 per cent of their pre-crisis levels before rising by 105 per cent from pre-pandemic levels in 2023.
In May, the Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, one of the world's biggest plane lessors, said it expects rapid vaccination campaigns to boost air travel growth.
Cash-strapped airlines have deferred payments to lessors, which have shored up funding and delayed taking deliveries from Boeing and Airbus due to the economic blow of the pandemic, after having expanded rapidly as the industry boomed in the few years before the onset of Covid-19.
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
