Business & Money | Friday 5 June, 2015 11:52 am |

Turkish Airlines has won two awards at Airfinance Journal’s Awards Night, which is considered to be the “Oscar” of the aviation finance.

Turkish Airlines has been awarded for “Tax Lease Deal of the Year 2014” and “Engine Deal of the Year 2014” by Airfinance Journal at the awards ceremony held in Miami. Airfinance Journal examines the financial structures of global airlines and reward the best financing structures in different categories.

As mentioned in the last edition of Airfinance Journal, Turkish Airlines has been awarded for “Tax Lease Deal of the Year 2014”, thanks to the innovative structure of first ever ECA (European Export Credit Agency) Guaranteed Italian Tax Lease for the financing of two Airbus A330-300 aircraft, which were delivered in 2014.

The structure, first of its kind, is Japanese Yen denominated, contrary to the United States Dollar dominated aviation finance sector. The structure benefits from a substantial reduction in the cost of financing via combining tax benefits, ECA guarantee and Japanese Yen-denomination. The structure, with an amount of USD 200 millions, was arranged by Societe Generale.

The winner of the “Engine Deal of the Year 2014” is an innovative United States Exim Bank guaranteed $ 40 million spare engine financing on behalf of Turkish Airlines.

The deal was structured for the financing of General Electric GE90115BL and General Electric CF6-80E1A3 engines, to be fitted, respectively, to Airbus A330-300 and Boeing B777-300ER aircrafts. This is the first time in Airbus’s 45-year history that United States Exim Bank has financed any US-manufactured aftermarket component on a non-US aircraft.

The deal was arranged by Mizuho Bank and Development Bank of Japan. The appeal of the deal for Turkish Airlines was that it helped mitigate its Japanese Yen forex exposure. Turkish Airlines is long in Japanese Yen and the cash flow structure being arranged in Japanese Yen allows Turkish Airlines to hedge its currency risk by matching its excess Japanese Yen revenues. This transaction has broadened the choices of applicable currencies for aviation financing, which has been consecutively dominated by US dollar.

Turkish Airlines has had successful and innovative financing models rewarded by Jane's Transport Finance, Global Transport Finance, Bonds & Loans and Airfinance Journal. Turkish Airlines has crowned its success with 10 international aircraft finance awards in the past 10 years for raising $ 10 billion US Dollars.


Previous Awards;
•2006 Jane’s Transport Finance Aircraft Debt Deal of the Year (Middle East)
•2008 Jane’s Transport Finance Aircraft Leasing Deal of the Year (Europe)
•2008 Airfinance Journal Europe Deal of the Year
•2011 Jane’s Transport Finance Aircraft Debt Deal of the Year (Europe)
•2012 Airfinance Journal Airline of the Year
•2013 Airfinance Journal Tax Lease Deal of the Year
•2013 Global Transport Finance Aircraft Leasing Deal of the Year (Europe)
•2014 Bonds and Loans Awards Structured Finance Deal of the Year (Turkey)
•2014 Airfinance Journal Tax Lease Deal of the Year
•2014 Airfinance Journal Engine Deal of the Year


Turkish Airlines, Inc.
Media Relations


About Turkish Airlines:
Established in 1933 with a fleet of five aircraft, Star Alliance member Turkish Airlines is a 4-star airline today with a fleet of 277 (passenger and cargo) aircraft flying to 274 destinations worldwide with 226 international and 48 domestic. According to Skytrax survey of 2014, Turkish Airlines was chosen "Europe's Best Airline" for the fourth and "Best Airline in Southern Europe" for the sixth consecutive time. Having won in 2010 the world's "Best Economy Catering Service" and in 2013 the world’s "Best Business Catering Service" awards, Turkish Airlines was this year awarded the world's "Best Business Catering Service" and “Best Business Class Lounge Dining” prizes in the Skytrax survey. More information about Turkish Airlines can be found on www.turkishairlines.com.

About Star Alliance:
The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognized by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award and Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI and United. The integration of Avianca Brasil is currently in progress. Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 18,500 daily flights to 1,321 airports in 193 countries For additional information visit www.staralliance.com and/or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube or LinkedIn.