Fly Leasing’s €2bn sale to close in third quarter

Irish aircraft lessor Fly Leasing's €2 billion sale to private equity player Carlyle Group should in the third quarter of the year, Colm Barrington, the aviation company's chief executive, predicted on Thursday.

Dublin-headquartered Fly recently agreed a $2.36 billion (€2 billion) sale to Carlyle, which plans to merge it with an existing aviation finance business.

Mr Barrington said that the deal was “on track and is expected to close in the third quarter”.

He was speaking as Fly reported that it lost $3.4 million in the first three months of the year, against a $38 million profit during the same period in 2020, before Covid-19 restrictions grounded most airlines.

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Revenues fell 33 per cent to $81 million in the first quarter of 2021 from $121.5 million during the opening three months of last year.

Mr Barrington, a former Aer Lingus chairman, predicted that it would be well into next year before air travel returned towards 2019 levels.

He acknowledged that passenger numbers were growing on US and Chinese domestic flights.

“There are still large parts of the world where Covid-19 is surging and both domestic and international air traffic is at a virtual standstill due to continuing travel restrictions,” Mr Barrington added.