Latin America’s First French Optimized Lease: Viva Aerobus & Natixis Unveil New Fleet Financing Deal

This financing marks a pioneering application of a French Optimised Lease (FOL) in Latin America, executed by Natixis CIB on April 22, 2025. The transaction involves financing two new Airbus A321neo aircraft for Viva Aerobus, using a blended structure combining a FOL and a commercial loan. [1][4] While the precise financial values were not disclosed, the structure itself reflects a concerted effort to reduce ownership costs and maximize tax and balance sheet efficiencies.

Viva Aerobus’s current fleet size is 94 aircraft, operating across nine bases on 184 routes, primarily in Mexico and the U.S. [1][4] This scale makes it an appealing candidate for advanced financing models, as economies of scale in financing, maintenance, and deployment are crucial for ultra-LCCs.

The roles taken by Natixis CIB in this deal are substantial: as mandated lead arranger, structuring agent, facility agent, security trustee, and lender. [1] Handling all these roles indicates Natixis’s confidence in managing the legal, security, and financial risks, even with cross-border complexity.

Compared with other recent fleet finance deals involving Viva Aerobus—for example,MUFG’s $52 million slot financing in mid-2025 supporting acquisition of two A321ceo aircraft, and a $154 million secured facility for A320ceos and engines in 2024—this Natixis deal adds a twist by using this French lease model, which potentially offers distinct tax, depreciation, and regulatory features. [2][5]

Strategic implications include: opportunities for other Latin American carriers to access French tax leasing advantages; competitive pressure on traditional lease and loan financing institutions; potential regulatory and tax treatments’ evolution in Mexico and Latin America; and growing importance of lenders like Natixis integrating cross-disciplinary legal, tax, and financial structuring capabilities.

Open questions remain: What are the precise financial terms (interest caps, periods, residual values)? How will Mexican and U.S. tax or regulatory authorities treat the FOL? What are the runway risks in re-registrations, repossession or long-term maintenance obligations? How will this structure compare in total cost of ownership versus outright purchase or standard leases over the lifetime of the aircraft?