Dubai's DAE to spend $1 billion for more aircraft

Dubai: The Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) will be spending around $1 billion to add a further 17 aircraft to its fleet. To this end, the company has signed deals with multiple counterparties, according to a statement.

Of the next-gen aircraft being acquired, 80% of these are manufactured by Airbus and the rest by Boeing. These 17 aircraft are on lease to 11 airlines in 10 countries.

 The aircraft are expected to 'reduce DAE’s weighted average passenger fleet age to 6.9 years'. On completion, DAE’s pro-forma fleet composition is expected to be 46% Airbus aircraft, 49% Boeing aircraft, and 5% ATR 72-600.

"This transaction also allows us to further deepen our relationship with our global base of airline customers, and we welcome three airline customers back to DAE," said Firoz Tarapore, CEO of DAE.

DAE Capital, the aircraft lessor, has an owned, managed, and committed fleet of around 500 Airbus, ATR, and Boeing aircraft with a value of $20 billion.

"Amid ongoing order book delivery delays, we are continuing to source attractive assets in the secondary market to meet our growth and portfolio management targets,” said Tarapore.

In 2024, the Dubai company confirmed a spend of $1.6 billion for 36 aircraft.