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Airbus has secured a major order from US-Irish aircraft lessor AerCap, which has put its name down for a further 100 jets from its next-generation family of A320neo narrowbody twinjets. The deal consists of both exercised options and new firm orders, with two different variants being purchased.
This is a strong vote of confidence in Airbus by one of the world’s largest aircraft leasing companies, underlined by the fact that the deal is the largest that it has ever signed with the multinational European planemaker for the A320neo family. Comments made by the CEO of AerCap appear to suggest that these aircraft will eventually be leased to a major US budget airline. Let’s take a closer look at the ins and outs of this exciting agreement.
100 More Aircraft
As confirmed in statements released earlier today by the two parties involved, AerCap has shaken hands with Airbus on a deal for 100 aircraft from its A320neo single-aisle family. Of these, 23 jets will be examples of the standard A320neo model, with the remaining 77 being stretched-fuselage A321neo aircraft. 45 of the aircraft being ordered come in the form of exercised options from previous deals, while the other 55 are new firm orders.
Benoît de Saint-Exupéry, who presently holds the position of Executive Vice President of Commercial Aircraft Sales at Airbus, explained that the manufacturer is “extremely grateful and proud to support AerCap’s vision in accelerating the global transition towards newer, modern aircraft.” This, he says, will foster “more efficient operations” in an era when the airline industry is under increasing pressure to run more sustainably. He went on to say:
“This order is the largest single direct order for the type ever placed by AerCap with Airbus, and is a powerful endorsement of the A320neo Family’s enduring value and market-leading performance.”
Deliveries Will Begin In Two Years’ Time
Comments made by Aengus Kelly, who currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of AerCap, appear to suggest that these aircraft will be bound for the US. Specifically, Kelly stated that “today’s transaction will drive long-term growth for AerCap through a portfolio of highly desirable, in-demand aircraft, while enabling Frontier Airlines to optimize its fleet.” Per ch-aviation, Frontier Airlines currently flies 92 A320neos and 61 A321neos.
Going forward, the US-based ultra-low-cost carrier also has a further 17 Airbus A320neos and 146 A321neos on order, with this preference for the larger model also reflected in the breakdown of the 100 next-generation narrowbody twinjet aircraft from the A320neo series that AerCap has ordered. Frontier is an all-Airbus operator, with this fleet uniformity unlocking various operational advantages, such as fleet flexibility and lower training costs.
As far as the timescales of this deal are concerned, AerCap will not have to wait all that long before it can begin taking delivery of the 100 Airbus A320neo family aircraft that it put its name down for today. Indeed, the firm explained in its corresponding statement today that “deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2028 and continue through 2034.” Needless to say, the booming popularity of the Airbus A320neo series isn’t going away.
This Is The World’s Largest Aircraft Lessor By Market Cap
AerCap is, by a considerable margin, the world’s largest aircraft leasing company and is the largest owner of commercial aircraft in the world.
AerCap’s Engine Lease Agreement
Jets from the Airbus A320neo family can be powered by two different engine types: the CFM International LEAP and the Pratt & Whitney PW1000G. The latter, also known as the GTF (for ‘Geared Turbofan’), has been in the news for all the wrong reasons of late, with reliability and maintenance issues causing aircraft groundings and operational disruption. This has also led to delivery delays, which have negatively impacted Airbus’s results.
As such, the CFM LEAP has become the engine of choice for most new A320neo series orders, and AerCap has also come down on this side of the fence with today’s announcement. Specifically, it says that it will “enter into long-term lease agreements with CFM for 48 LEAP-1A engines through its Shannon Engine Support [the leading provider of spare LEAP engines] joint venture with Safran Aircraft Engines.” These deliveries will start in Q2.
