Surf Air Mobility (SAM), a regional air travel company working to accelerate the adoption of green aviation, and Jetstream Aviation Capital, the global aircraft lessor focused exclusively on commercially-operated turboprop regional aircraft and engines, announced today an agreement regarding the principal terms of an arrangement to finance up to USD 450 million through a customized operating lease and sale structure that will fund the planned growth of SAM’s fleet of turboprop aircraft.
SAM announced in a press release it: “will have access to this financing facility over the next six years for both new and used Cessna Caravan and Pilatus PC-12 aircraft, subject, among other things, to the entry into separate binding sale and purchase agreements for each individual aircraft and a separate binding lease agreement for each individual aircraft.
“In addition, Jetstream has expressed its intent to commit to purchase up to 250 hybrid and fully-electric powertrains from SAM over the course of five years, subject to and post FAA certification, and the negotiation of pricing, terms and the minimum commitment and definitive documentation, demonstrating a meaningful commitment to SAM’s mission to electrify the regional air ecosystem. Each powertrain is expected to create one-time revenue at sale and multiyear recurring revenue streams as it is being used by the operator.
“SAM is seeking to build a regional air mobility ecosystem that will sustainably connect the world’s communities. SAM intends to accelerate the adoption of green flying by developing hybrid electric powertrain technology in order to reduce direct operating costs and emissions from regional air travel by offering original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”) and third-party operators the ability to order new or upgrade existing aircraft with hybrid electric powertrains.”
“We believe the customized aircraft leasing structure from Jetstream will provide us a capital efficient way to more rapidly expand our operations at the scale necessary for a future when electrified aircraft unlock the latent demand for convenient, affordable regional travel on new routes across the U.S.,” said Sudhin Shahani, founder of SAM.
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(Image: Surf Air Mobility)