Emirates Airline raised US$4.62 billion (Dh16.95bn) in aircraft financing over the past two years, helping it persevere amid tight lending conditions following the global downturn.
The Dubai airline, the biggest international carrier by capacity, successfully lined up credit to finance 30 wide-bodied aircraft delivered during the period, the airline said.
Emirates and other Middle East airlines are becoming major players in international capital markets after ordering more than 300 aircraft since 2007, with deliveries scheduled throughout the decade.
The company recently disclosed it would need more than $28bn to finance its deliveries of Boeing and Airbus aircraft through 2017, nearly twice the amount it raised since 1996. Etihad, which plans to nearly triple its fleet within 10 years, will required $13.3bn from financial institutions, it recently said.
"Over next year and the year after, in fact over the next 10 years, there are large financing and treasury opportunities," said James Rigney, the carrier's chief financial officer, told bankers last month in London.
Last year Emirates lined up funding for its deliveries of eight new Airbus A380 superjumbos, the largest passenger aircraft. In addition, it received three ultra-long haul Boeing 777-300ERs, it said. The Dubai airline, with more than 100 routes to six continents, is the world's largest operator for both wide-bodied aircraft.
In 2009 Emirates's financing requirements were even greater, raising $2.7bn to receive 19 new aircraft, the airline said.
igale@thenational.ae
