TrueNoord (a regional aircraft lessor headquartered in Amsterdam), has bought 2 Embraer E195s which were on lease from Azul Brazilian Airlines (a Brazilian airline) to Portugalia (a Portugese regional carrier that is a subsidiary of TAP Portugal). The acquisition of the aircraft was financed by some very impressive companies, including Soc Gen and the Royal Bank of Canada. With the addition of these 2 aircraft to its fleet, TrueNoord now possesses 50 regional aircraft. Garry Topp, the Sales Director for TrueNoord in the Americas has announced that this was‘ a complex transaction carried out during the COVID-19 crisis. It was conceived, negotiated and executed by people working remotely on all sides. There was a real commitment to get it done and everyone involved showed great creativity, patience, discipline and teamwork to achieve success’.
The past few months have also been active for Azul, as it has recently purchased Two Flex (a Brazilian regional carrier) and renamed it Azul Conecta, therefore making it one of its subsidiaries. Azul is doing well during these difficult times, unlike LATAM and Avianca, who, even though the biggest airlines in South America, are being hit hardly by this economic crisis. Embraer (a Brazilian aircraft manufacturer) has had to cut 900 jobs (4.5% of its global workforce [that’s nothing these days]) and, along with many other commercial airplane manufacturers, dealt with a 50% decrease in aircraft deliveries during the 1st half of the year. South America apparently has strict lockdown and quarantine rules (that’s what most newspapers say, I don’t know if it’s true), which makes the aviation industry succomb even more to financial and economical mismanagement on a higher level. These are sad times for the aviation industry, but there are things to look forward to, like electric planes (no taxes on that, I hope) and a large number of start-ups and projects roaring into action. Have a nice Wednesday in CET. 9th of September 2020.
Aeronews24 