Moody’s cited the airport’s improved financial position resulting from the airport’s acquisition of its parking assets and its new lease agreement with the airlines.
Moody’s Ratings announced that it has upgraded Philadelphia International Airport’s (PHL) Revenue Bonds to A1 from A2 with a stable outlook. The airport system has approximately $1.4 billion outstanding in revenue bonds.
This is the third major rating agency to publish an upgraded rating action for the Department of Aviation in the past year and a half. In August, Fitch Ratings, announced it was upgrading PHL-PNE to “A+,” which was less than a year since its last outlook change to positive. In June 2023, S&P also assigned an “A+”, moving the Airport’s rating up two notches.
Moody’s cited the airport’s improved financial position resulting from the airport’s acquisition of its parking assets and its new lease agreement with the airlines. The report also highlighted PHL’s strong market position for travel in the Philadelphia metropolitan region and hub airport for connecting traffic and transatlantic gateway by American Airlines Inc. The report anticipates that fiscal year 2025 enplanements are expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels as American Airlines continues to grow its service offerings at the airport.
“I want to applaud our Finance Team, led by CFO Tracy Borda, for its continued fiscal management and their ongoing work promoting the Department’s story to the ratings agencies showcasing how we proudly connect Philadelphia with the world,” said PHL CEO Atif Saeed. “We continue to work with our airline partners to bring additional service and new destinations to meet travel demand. We’re grateful to all our airline partners and other airport stakeholders who are part of our success.”
