Diane de Bustamante

I am a senior associate in the Paris-based Finance Team.

My practice focuses on aviation finance and leasing, where I have an extensive experience in structuring, documenting and negotiating transactions on French and English law, as well as cross-border aspects of the transactions.

I advise primarily airlines, lessors and lenders on their transactions. I assist clients with their complex tax structures such as green financing, JOLCOs, Insurance product financing (Balthazar and Piiq) and title retention agreements as part of SLBs.

Working closely and building lasting relationship with our clients has allowed me to work on new topics and innovative financings/products such as sustainable lending, Balthazar and PIQ-type financings.

My goal is to act as a one-stop shop for our clients in aviation-related, corporate, finance and tax matters.

• Assisting Air France on the structuring and negotiation of the terms of its first 'green' financing for its twelfth Airbus A350-900 delivery. The financing was an innovative hybrid of debt, the rate of interest of which varies in accordance with environmental milestones set for the airline (a sustainability-linked loan), coupled with a payment default insurance policy (a classic Balthazar). The result is an historic first not just for Air France, but for the industry: this is the first green-linked term loan enhanced with a payment default insurance product. Air Finance Journal 2022 - Environmental/ESG leadership Deal of the Year
• Advising Air France in its financing with a group of syndicated lenders comprising Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Development Bank of Japan Inc. and La Banque Postale in the first ever sustainability-linked aircraft non-payment insurance ("ANPI") supported JOLCO financing of an A350 aircraft which was named 'Global Lease Deal of the Year' at the Airline Economics Aviation 100 Global Leaders Deals of the Year Awards 2023
• Assisting Transavia France on its leasing transaction with a broad range of lessors including Aercap, Avolon, JSA, SMBC and Orix.
• Assisting Air France, the leading airline in France and in Europe, on a sale and leaseback of the first aircraft making the first long-haul flight on sustainable fuel.
• Assisting an African airline in respect of their purchase agreement for the acquisition of several new generation aircraft.