Saudi carrier Flynas agrees sale-leasebacks to fund 14 new jets

Saudi Arabian discount airline Flynas agreed so-called sale-leaseback deals that will fund the purchase of 14 Airbus SE narrow-body jets.

The accords with leasing firms CDB Aviation, CMB Financial Leasing and Avolon Holdings Ltd. cover part of a Flynas order for 120 Airbus A320neo aircraft, the carrier said in a statement Tuesday. It said the planes have a value of 6.6 billion riyals ($1.7 billion).

Under sale-leaseback terms an airline sells an aircraft before taking it back on a rental basis, with the mechanism used both to fund new purchases and raise cash from older jets. Deliveries of the 14 planes are scheduled this year and next, according to Flynas, which made the announcement at the Future of Aviation Forum in Riyadh.

Flynas said in March that it intends to order 250 more aircraft to become the largest low-cost carrier in the Middle East and support a major push to build tourism in Saudi Arabia. It has indicated previously that plans could include operations using wide-body aircraft.