Dubai Aerospace plans to expand portfolio to 450 jets in 2021

Dubai: Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, the Middle East's biggest plane-leasing firm, plans to expand its portfolio to 450 planes next year even after the coronavirus pandemic weighed down on the company's profit.

"If we do our job correctly in 2021," 450 is the minimum fleet size that DAE is targeting, Chief Executive Officer Firoz Tarapore said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. The state-owned company currently has 381 planes, and it has already committed to adding 31 jets valued at $1.1 billion.

The lessor could tap debt markets if conditions were favorable, Tarapore said, adding that its liquidity is "super strong" and can fund the expansion.

Profit for the nine months ended Sept. 30 declined by more than a third to $167.3 million compared with the same period last year.