International Registry of aircraft assets to go live

Dublin, Ireland – February 27, 2006, Global registry to safeguard lending rights, and provide substantial savings for the world’s airlines and governments

Aviareto, a joint venture between SITA and the Irish Government, today announced the International Registry of Mobile Assets (‘the Registry’) will go live and be open for registrations on March 1st.

Aircraft financing institutions will be able to register their financial interest in airframes, aircraft engines and helicopters, providing them lien security in the ratifying countries of the Cape Town Convention, an international treaty on financing and leasing aircraft, which establishes an international legal framework for the enforcement of financial rights. According to a recent study [1] on the economic benefits of the Cape Town Convention and the Registry to the aviation industry by New York University, this move could save airlines and governments billions of dollars over five years as a result of a number of key economic benefits including:

* Access to more favorable international financing rates
* Access to secured financing
* Improvement of sovereign debt ratings
* Improvement of airline corporate debt ratings

Martin Cullen, Minister for Transport in Ireland said, “This is a big win for Irish aviation. The fact that an Irish company was chosen to operate the International Registry will further enhance Ireland’s strong reputation in international aviation. I am delighted to have SITA, with its huge international experience, as our partner in Aviareto. Running such an important Registry will be a challenging task but Aviareto has built a fine foundation in a short space of time and I have no doubt that it will be a great success"

Hans-Peter Kohlhammer, SITA CEO and Director General said “The Registry is of huge value to airlines because it will increase airlines’ profitability by reducing debt repayments. It is the latest example of SITA’s role as a driver of cost reductions for the Air Transport Industry. It also testifies to what governments can achieve for our industry through close international cooperation.”

Kevin Power, Managing Director of Aviareto, stated that “For the first time interests in aircraft equipment involving transactions in Cape Town Treaty Contracting States is accessible electronically in one place. This information is vital to the world’s airlines, financers, leasing companies, manufacturers and governments.”

Professor Ingo Walter of the Stern School of Business, New York University and Professor of International Management at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France stated that “Assets registered from countries having ratified the Convention will enjoy all its financial benefits and legal protection – benefits that we estimate could exceed $US10 billion in total savings over the period for which aircraft delivery forecasts are available We also predict that many countries, in particular developing counties, will see an improvement in their sovereign ratings. The implications of that development would be significant because it would potentially reduce perceived sovereign risk general debt servicing costs and/or free-up borrowing capacity for other purposes. We also believe that airlines, for their part, would benefit through reduced cost of capital and share price performance.”

James L. Lambright, Chairman and President (acting) of the Export-Import Bank of The United States, said “The Cape Town Treaty and the International Registry results in greater predictability for aircraft financiers by significantly reducing the legal risks associated with cross-border, asset-backed aircraft financings. Airlines located in countries that have ratified and fully implemented the Treaty can anticipate increased availability of commercial aircraft financing, and more attractive aircraft financing terms. Ex-IM Bank’s current policy of reducing its risk premium by one-third for aircraft financings with airlines based in countries that ratify and implement the Cape Town Treaty is one example of how the Treaty has reduced the cost of cross-border aircraft financings. For some airlines, the benefits of the Cape Town Treaty could actually facilitate aircraft financings that may not otherwise be available.”

Interested parties can go to http://www.aviareto.aero/ to learn more about this exciting community initiative and to https://www.internationalregistry.aero/ to register assets.

[1] Taken from an independent study by New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, published February 22nd, 2005. Authors: Anthony Saunders, Anand Srinivasan and Ingo Walter.
About the International Registry of Mobile Assets

The Registry provides a central repository – an electronic database – that will record sales and financial interests in mobile assets (airframes, aircraft engines and helicopters), establishing priority of interest in such holdings. As a result, the risk of lending can be better assessed allowing financial institutions involved in aircraft object transactions to reduce the interest rates they currently charge.
About Aviareto

Aviareto, a joint venture between SITA and Irish Government interests, has a contract with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the Supervisory Authority of the International Registry, to establish and operate the International Registry of Mobile Assets for the benefit of users. The company draws on the joint strengths of SITA and the Irish aviation industry. As part of the implementation process for The Cape Town Convention, the Secretary General of ICAO had issued a global public tender in January 2004 for an organization to establish, and act as Registrar for, the International Registry of Mobile Assets. Aviareto, based in Dublin, was selected for the undertaking.

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