Southwest Airlines is raising more much needed funds with a sale and leaseback deal for 20 of its planes.
The airline, which only flies Boeing 737s, will bag about $815 million, it said in a regulatory filing.
Interestingly, half are 737 Max 8 aircraft, which are still grounded after more than a year.
In addition it is selling 10 Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
The filing didn’t name the buyers, citing only ‘Certain Counterparties.’
It also didn’t disclose the length of the lease agreements.
The filing said Southwest plans to use the proceeds for ‘general corporate purposes.’
Southwest has performed reasonably well compared to many of its US counterparts by limiting its losses during the Covid-19 pandemic, but has still seen its stock price shrink by more than half.
Last month it posted its first quarterly loss for nearly a decade and expects revenue for April and May to be down by up to 95% compared to a year ago.
It also hinted it may have to lay off some workers for the first time in its near 50-year history.
