. The first Airbus A380 has been dismantled and will be sold as spare parts as a new lessee or buyer could not be found following expiry of the 10-year lease in October 2017. For investors, this is likely to mean a modest end to their investment, according to research by Scope Analysis.
After the 10-year lease with Singapore Airlines expired, shareholders in DS 129, the A380 fund launched in 2007 by Dr. Peters, had three options: lease, sale or part-out. Given that the first two options proved to be unsuccessful, the aircraft will be sold in parts
The engines have been leased to manufacturer Rolls Royce, so liquidity and scheduled debt repayments are secure for the time being. Nevertheless, in a report on the options open to management of the A380 fund, Scope points out that this provided no cost-covering and therefore is not a long-term solution because of debt service yet to be performed on the bank loans.
The decision to part-out means the engine lease agreement with Rolls Royce will be extended until the end of 2020 under existing conditions, after which they will be sold. The rest of the A380’s components are expected to be sold by the end of 2020.
