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Willis Lease Finance seeks 30 unencumbered turboprops

Willis Lease Finance has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) concerning its planned acquisition of 30 unencumbered, off-lease turboprops - DHC-8-Q400s, ATR42-500s, or ATR72-500s.

The Florida-based lessor and services provider focused on leasing engines said that it would expect the aircraft to deliver by the end of the second quarter of 2021. However, preferably it would receive them already by the end of January 2021. The lessor prefers offers for airframes only, although airframes with engines are also acceptable. The aircraft would preferably, although not necessarily, be younger than 20 years of age and have more than two years remaining until the next heavy maintenance check. Willis Lease Finance said that it would favour bids for aircraft with unserviceable engines.

Bidders have until December 18, 2020, to submit their offers to the lessor. Every offer must include asking price by aircraft, airframe and engine specifications, maintenance information, and other documents. Willis Lease Finance said that it would consider a variety of factors when making a choice, including the price, technical specifications, delivery timeline, and...

Romania's Tarom needs $224mn more in state aid

Cash-strapped Romanian state-owned carrier Tarom (RO, Bucharest Otopeni) is to ask for another RON924 leu million/EUR191 million (USD224.5 million) in state aid to finance 50% of its five-year restructuring programme.

Romania's Bursa newspaper reports the airline’s board approved a memorandum to this effect, which was on the agenda at a government meeting on November 5, 2020.

The restructuring plan - the other half of which the airline would finance from own resources - included fleet renewal; commercial optimisation, including route reviews, auxiliary revenue generation, and pricing strategies; and generating additional revenue through ancillary services.

The restructuring plan and request for state aid would be submitted to the European Commission for approval.

The Commission on October 5 already announced it had approved a loan guarantee of up to EUR19.3 million (USD22.7 million) for Tarom. The measure aimed to compensate the airline for losses caused by the COVID-19 outbreak in the period between March 16, 2020, and June 30, 2020, when it had to cancel most of its scheduled flights resulting in major losses in turnover....