Transaer, the Irish charter airline, has concluded a £20 million (#25.4 million) contract with the tour operator Sunworld, industry sources said yesterday. The firm has also acquired two new Airbus jets as part of a deal with GE Capital, and is expected to buy a third aircraft.
Separately, the company announced yesterday it had been awarded its biggest contract to date, worth $51 million (#50 million), by Libyan Arab Airlines, the North African country's national carrier.
Transaer confirmed it had concluded a deal with GE Capital for the acquisition of two A300600Rs. It said it would become the first Irish airline to operate the new, 344-seat aircraft. One of the planes will be based in Dublin, where it will facilitate "an expansion of Transaer's range of products, including the possibility of long-haul service", the airline said.
The company is also expected to acquire a third plane, an Airbus 320, in Dublin as part of its expansion. Transaer has also been awarded a three-year contract with Sunworld, The Irish Times has learned. Industry sources say the contract is worth more than £20 million (#25.4 million).
Separately, the company announced it had signed a #50 million deal with Libyan Arab Airlines. The company said the agreement came into effect this month, and represented the first airline contract to be signed with Libya since the recent lifting of the UN air embargo.
Some 60 Transaer staff will be based in Libya to operate the service for the 2 1/2-year duration of the contract.
The company said it won the contract against stiff international competition from leasing firms and airlines. Transaer has already announced new contracts of more than #150 million since the start of 1999.
"The very nature of the charter business is that it is subject to seasonality," said Mr Willie O'Byrne, Transaer's managing director. "Transaer's business strategy has also been to create a year round business, and this contract, together with other recent developments, is helping us achieve this aim."