sale and lease-back on purchase of a new aircraft is not an uncommon way to finance them. I wouldn't read anything into this
I would. In this instance, it reeks of a company that is well aware of it's hopeless forward cash position.
VB was locked into aircraft purchases that just can not be supported in terms of finance repayments in this depression like market with plummetting yields. I suspect it was either sale and lease back now to delay the inevitable or close the doors immediately.
abc1 - Have a closer look at the last
VB and Rio reports. You are comparing apples with oranges.