Air India to Raise Rs 6150 Crore for Aircraft Refinancing

Air India is raising Rs 6150 crore in short-term loans to refinance foreign currency bridge loans taken to buy seven Boeing 787 and 777 aircraft.

Air India is looking to repay its aircraft debt towards six Boeing 787 Dreamliners and one Boeing 777, Aviators Buzz reported, Air India has floated a bid document for the same which says that the proceeds of the loan, which would carry a sovereign guarantee, would be utilised to refinance foreign currency bridge loans taken to buy seven Boeing 787 and 777 planes. It is also offering aircraft such as Boeing 787 and 777 as collateral for the loan, which will be repaid in a year, the report said.

Air India will raise the total amount in seven tranches, which would consist of three tranches of Rs 790 crore each, three tranches of Rs 925 crore each, and one tranche of Rs 1,005 crore, according to the tender document.

The interest rate payable by the national carrier will be linked to "MCLR/GSEC rates with reasonable spread as margin". The marginal cost of funds-based lending rate or MCLR is a tenor-linked internal benchmark. It is determined by the bank depending on the period left for the repayment of a loan. Typically, banks cannot lend at a rate lower than the MCLR of a particular maturity for all loans linked to that benchmark.