News
Lessors report brisk business
October 12th 2018
Dublin-headquartered air aircraft lessor, AerCap Holdings N.V., signed lease agreements for nine wide bodies and 53 narrow bodies for the third quarter to September 30. Read More »
In September, AerCap accepted its maiden B737 MAX 8, the first of five to join the fleet of Asia’s largest carrier, China Southern Airlines. AerCap has 104 B737 MAXs owned and on order.
AerCap and China Southern have recorded several firsts in recent years. In March, AerCap delivered China Southern’s first A321neo, making the airline the first operator of the type in China. In 2016, AerCap delivered the first Pratt & Whitney-powered A320neo into China, also to China Southern.
AerCap has a strong foothold on the Mainland. In August, the lessor delivered the first of three A350-900s to Sichuan Airlines. In the third quarter, AerCap purchased six A320neo Family aircraft, two A350s, two B737 MAX 8s and two B787-9s.
It executed sale transactions for four A320 Family aircraft, two A330s, an A340, a B737NG, a B757, two B767-300ERs, a B777-200ER and a B777-300 in the same three months. It also signed financing transactions for US$750 million during the quarter. The lessor will publish its third quarter financial results on October 30.
Avolon, also headquartered in Dublin, signed 39 lease transactions during the third quarter and delivered 14 aircraft to eight customers to September 30, with two transitions. It sold 16 aircraft, including four to Jade Aviation, its recently formed joint venture with Cinda.
As of September 30, Avolon had an owned and managed fleet of 571 aircraft, a slight increase on the 567 aircraft the lessor had on its books a year ago. Avolon has outstanding orders and commitments for 319 aircraft. The leasing company said its portfolio utilization in the third quarter was 100%.
The lessor, which is majority owned by Bohai Capital, confirmed ORIX Aviation Systems had bought 30% of the lessor from Bohai Capital for US$2.2 billion. The deal was announced in August and should be finalised by year end.
In Singapore, BOC Aviation this week announced the placement of three new A320CEO with Saudi Arabian flag carrier, Saudi Arabian Airlines. All three jets are scheduled for delivery in 2018 and will be operated by the airline’s low-cost subsidiary, flyadeal.
“We are pleased to add Saudia as a new customer and to work with its exciting low-cost unit, flyadeal, as it continues its rapid expansion,” said BOC Aviation managing director and CEO, Robert Martin.
“flyadeal commenced flying a year ago with the focus of providing low airfares in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The strong and positive response we have seen is key to our fleet growth and network expansion. We are pleased to be working with BOC Aviation to add three new A320CEOs to our fleet, bringing our total commitment to eleven new A320CEO aircraft - a great achievement for our first year of operation,” said flyadeal CEO, Con Korfiatis.
