Bahamasair (UP, Nassau International) is looking to acquire a B737, capable of seating between 138 and 144 passengers, for use in improving its dispatch reliability as well as charter offerings.
According to The Tribune-Herald newspaper, the country's Minister for Tourism and Aviation, Dionisio D’Aguilar said the incoming aircraft, believed to be a B737-700, would be funded through the transfer of collateral assets and would not be borne by the fiscus.
“The airline, in conjunction with its lenders, will seek to acquire the additional aircraft through the transfer of collateral assets," he said in a statement. "The banks are currently holding cash collateral on the company’s USD120 million loan and have indicated that they would be willing to allow the airline to replace the cash collateral with an additional aircraft as collateral.”
The state-owned carrier currently operates three 120-seater B737-500s alongside three ATR42-600s and three ATR72-600s. The Boeing jets are currently deployed on local trunk routes as well as services to Antigua & Barbuda, Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago, St. Lucia, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and various points in the US states of Florida, Illinois, Georgia, and Texas.
