Plane manufacturer Bombardier’s bonds inched up after aircraft leasing company VistaJet revealed that there has been an increase in demand for business jets as corporates seek safer air travel. Malta based VistaJet leases its jets on an hourly basis and is set to buy 12 Global 7500 aircraft and 10 Challenger 350s aircraft over the next two years. The company also plans to upgrade its Challenger and Global aircraft fleet as there has been a surge of ~50% in corporate travel since July last year which resulted in an increase of 23% in its business in the first quarter compared to the previous year. Bombardier is the manufacturer of Challenger and Global Express business jets and stands to gain from the need for higher corporate travel as it is focussing on its business jet business after having sold its railway, commercial aircraft and aerostructures business. Walter Spracklin of RBC Capital said through a report that “We believe that Bombardier is ideally positioned to capitalize on this growing trend going forward,”. Meanwhile S&P Global has affirmed the CCC+ ratings of the company with a negative outlook based on the earning plans of the highly indebted company. The rating agency cautioned that the earnings recovery plan of the Montreal based aircraft manufacturer is ambitious and its leverage will remain high. After the sale of Bombardier Transportation to Alsrom in Jan, Bombardier has become a pure-play business jet aviation company and had revealed last month that its net debt stood at ~$4.7bn.
Bombardier Bonds Inch Higher as Corporates Seek Safer Air Travel
Bombardier’s 5.75% 2022s and 7.45% 2034s were up 2.17 and 3.41 points to trade at 104.17 and 103.41 respectively.
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