General Announcement::RESPONSE TO MEDIA SPECULATION

Issuer & Securities

Issuer/ Manager
AVATION CAPITAL S.A.
Securities
AVATIONCAP US$300M6.5%210515A - US05351CAA53 - 8ULB
AVATIONCAP US$300M6.5%210515R - USL56473AA67 - 8UMB
Stapled Security
No

Announcement Details

Announcement Title
General Announcement
Date &Time of Broadcast
29-Oct-2021 18:50:43
Status
New
Announcement Sub Title
RESPONSE TO MEDIA SPECULATION
Announcement Reference
SG211029OTHR5S6E
Submitted By (Co./ Ind. Name)
Duncan Scott
Designation
Group General Counsel
Description (Please provide a detailed description of the event in the box below)
Avation PLC (LSE: AVAP) the commercial passenger aircraft leasing company advises that there has been media speculation in relation to certain of the Company s leases. The Company wishes to clarify that, notwithstanding recent stories in the press, all the Company s leases remain in force and ongoing, save as otherwise announced.

During the period of the pandemic, the Company entered into a number of agreements with airlines to provide them with financial support. As the pandemic has progressed, some of these earlier lease amendment agreements with airlines were superseded and became obsolete. Where appropriate, the Company has taken steps to formally terminate these earlier lease amendment agreements in the context of negotiations with airlines for further COVID-19 financial support.

Where appropriate, the Company does use formal legal proceedings to protect its legal position. However, this has always been in the context of ongoing discussions with airlines in relation to reaching agreement on the settlement of COVID-19 related rental arrears. The Company is satisfied that it has, at this stage, received sufficient commitments from its airline customers to suspend further actions in respect to any material claims in active legal proceedings.

Executive Chairman Jeff Chatfield said "In the dialogue with our airline customers we have needed to strike a balance between supporting them and protecting the Company s revenues, which task has not been easy; we believe we have managed this balance appropriately. The Company has made substantial progress in leasing or selling the aircraft returned by Virgin Australia. Philippine Airlines is retaining our Boeing 777-300ER aircraft and is paying rents under the airline s plan of reorganization. With the remaining agreements in principle reached with our airline customers, the material COVID-19 challenges facing the Company have been navigated, enabling the Company to begin looking to recovery and growth."