Paris: Aircraft leasing giant AerCap placed an order worth $8.1 billion at list prices for 30 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners at the Paris Airshow, in a vote of confidence for long-haul aircraft amid declining orders for many wide-body models.
The world’s largest independent leasing company is also the largest owner of 787s, with 122 in its portfolio including those bought directly from Boeing and those acquired from airlines in sale-and-leaseback transactions.
AerCap Chief Executive Aengus Kelly called the 787 the “premier wide-body” and said the aircraft would serve parts of the world where traffic is growing fast, such as Asia.
AerCap did not, however, join a number of other leasing companies in placing an immediate order for Boeing’s new single-aisle model, the 737 MAX 10, launched earlier on Monday.
“We think the MAX 10 will be a very good aeroplane and we are talking to our friends at Boeing,” Kelly said.
At an industry conference earlier this year, Kelly voiced concerns that the five members of the 737 MAX family might “cannibalise each other” and said he was cautious about demand for models other than the best-selling 737 MAX 8.
AerCap is the second-largest lessor of 737 MAX jetliners.
