BOC Aviation has entered a sale and leaseback transaction with low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines covering 15 Airbus A320neos. The aircraft are set for delivery in 2025-2026, according to the Singapore-based lessor. “We are excited to be working again with long-time customer Frontier, which is the largest A320neo operator in the United States,” says BOC Aviation CE Steven Townend. “This transaction leverages our strong available liquidity and builds on our solid existing pipeline of aircraft scheduled for delivery beyond 2024, as we expand both our revenue base and our fleet of latest generation aircraft.” Cirium fleets data indicates that Frontier Airlines has 197 A320neo family jets on order. According to BOC Aviation, the lessor owns, manages, and has orders for 680 aircraft. As of 30 June, it had leased aircraft to 93 airlines in 47 countries.<br/>
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Ryanair is not interested in slots due to be ceded by ITA Airways following its integration with Lufthansa, the Irish low-cost airline's CEO said in an interview published on Friday. Eddie Wilson told Italian daily La Stampa that slots on offer as part of concessions agreed with EU antitrust regulators for the deal "have constraints, are not at the right times, or are too expensive." Lufthansa is due to buy 41% of state-owned ITA, the successor to bankrupt Alitalia, with a view of acquiring full control at a later stage. The European Commission gave conditional approval to the operation in July, after Lufthansa and Italy agreed to cede Italian short-haul routes to one or two rivals. The German airline had said it was in talks with Easyjet and Spanish low-cost carrier Volotea.<br/>
Virgin Atlantic has announced it will extend the suspension of its flights to Israel after a “security and safety assessment”, as hostilities in the Middle East escalated overnight. The airline will resume its daily flight in both directions between Heathrow and Tel Aviv from September 25. It had been one of many carriers which suspended flights to Israel in October last year, after the start of the country’s conflict with Hamas. Wizz Air and British Airways resumed operations to the country in March and April, respectively. Flights operated by Virgin Atlantic had been due to restart on September 5. The delay comes after the Israeli military said it had launched “pre-emptive” strikes against the militant group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon on Sunday.<br/>