Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) has reached a NT$3.82 billion (US$123.7 million) syndicated loan agreement with 10 local banks to fund the purchase of Airbus 350-900 passenger jets, which would be used on Asian and US routes, the airline said yesterday.
The syndicated loan was 52 percent oversubscribed by the banks led by Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合庫銀行), the airline said.
The other banks are Hua Nan Commercial Bank (華南銀行), Taiwan Business Bank (台灣企銀), First Commercial Bank (第一銀行), Land Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行), Agricultural Bank of Taiwan (農業金庫), Bank of Taiwan (臺灣銀行), Chang Hwa Commercial Bank (彰化銀行), Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank (上海商業儲蓄銀行), and Bank of Kaohsiung (高雄銀行).
Photo courtesy of StarLux Airlines Co
Despite the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Starlux under the direction of chairman Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒) has secured the lenders’ support, Taiwan Cooperative Bank said in a statement.
It was the first syndicated loan for Starlux, after the airline conducted five capital injections to boost its paid-in capital to NT$18.11 billion since its establishment in 2018.
The airline plans to use the loan to purchase 18 Airbus 350-900 XWB jets, the first of which is to arrive next month, it said.
The wide-body jets would enter service on the carrier’s Asian routes in the first quarter of next year and start flying on its Taiwan-Los Angeles route from April next year, it said.
The airline would also take delivery of four Airbus 321neo jets and one Airbus 330neo aircraft by the end of this year, boosting its fleet size to 19, it added.
Chang said the airline would use the Airbus 350-900 jets on long-haul flights and expects services to North America to boost its international presence.
Starlux said that revenue in the first eight months of this year grew 130 percent year-on-year to NT$1.1 billion.
During the same period, passenger revenue rose 173 percent annually and cargo revenue rose 107 percent annually, it said.
The airline posted a net loss of NT$2.66 billion in the first half of this year, with accumulated losses reaching NT$9.59 billion since its establishment.
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