Tui Group today confirmed a $90 million sale and leaseback deal for two new Boeing 737 Max-8 aircraft.
The agreement has been made with aircraft leasing firm BOC Aviation.
It comes amid industry projections that the 737 Max will gain approval for a return to service by the end of the year after the entire global fleet was grounded in March 2019 after two separate crashes which killed 346 people.
Tui expects the two new aircraft to be delivered during winter 2021-21 once re-certification by the European Aviation Safety Agency of the Boeing Max-8 has been achieved.
The agreement is in line with a newly agreed deferred re-fleeting programme between Tui and Boeing.
Tui added: “This new lease agreement with BOC Aviation is expected to be on standard commercial terms and will create a total lifetime lease obligation of around €88 million to commence by the end of full year 2021.”
While the details were kept under wraps, it covered compensation to cover a “significant portion” of the financial impact, as well as credits for future aircraft orders.
