Lessor SMBC orders 14 additional 737 MAX jets from Boeing
05/25/2021 7:18
DUBLIN (Reuters) -Aircraft leasing firm SMBC Aviation Capital has agreed to buy an additional 14 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft with a low-cost carrier configuration, with deliveries due to begin later this year, it said on Tuesday.
The company, a major Boeing customer, had previously disclosed firm orders for 89 MAX jets and a commitment to a fleet of 133.
But last year during the grounding of the MAX and at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic it deferred delivery of 68 of those jets by four years until 2025-2027 and indicated it had not ruled out cancellations.
By Reuters Staff
1 Min Read
DUBLIN, May 25 (Reuters) - Consolidation of the global aircraft leasing industry is likely to be accelerated by COVID-19, the head of one of the world’s five largest lessors, SMBC Aviation Capital, said in an interview on Tuesday.
“You were always going to see increasing levels of consolidation and. I believe it is likely that the events of the last 18 months are likely to probably accelerate that a bit,” Chief Executive Peter Barrett said.
Barrett, who estimated the leasing industry owns over 40% of the global passenger fleet, said that if any opportunities “present value and fit into our strategy, we’ll certainly have a look at them.” (Reporting by Conor Humphries, editing by Louise Heavens)
Aerospace & DefenseLessor SMBC orders 14 additional 737 MAX jets from Boeing
Reuters
2 minute read
A Boeing 737 MAX airplane lands after a test flight at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, U.S. June 29, 2020. REUTERS/Karen Ducey
Aircraft leasing firm SMBC Aviation Capital has agreed to buy an additional 14 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft with a low-cost carrier configuration, with deliveries due to begin later this year, it said on Tuesday.
The company, a major Boeing customer, had previously disclosed firm orders for 89 MAX jets and a commitment to a fleet of 133.
But last year during the grounding of the MAX and at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic it deferred delivery of 68 of those jets by four years until 2025-2027 and indicated it had not ruled out cancellations.
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By Conor Humphries and Tim Hepher
The prediction comes in the wake of last year’s $30 billion mega-deal to combine the world’s two largest aircraft leasing companies when AerCap agreed to buy the leasing business of General Electric.
“You were always going to see increasing levels of consolidation and… I believe it is likely that the events of the last 18 months are likely to probably accelerate that a bit,” said SMBC Chief Executive Peter Barrett, one of the world’s five largest lessors.
Barrett said SMBC was likely to receive offers to take part in any consolidation as one of the best capitalised firms in the industry and that if any opportunities “present value and fit into our strategy, we’ll certainly have a look at them.”