Boeing Dreamliner

US-based leasing firm Air Lease (ALC) has ordered eight new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, which could be worth $1.8bn at list prices, marking ALC’s longest lead time for a lease placement so far.

ALC said that the new Dreamliners are scheduled to be delivered between 2017 and 2018 and are intended for lease to Vietnam Airlines.

The latest 787-9 order brings the total number of aircraft purchased by the firm to 12, which includes an aircraft order placed at the Paris Air Show in June 2011.

ALC is also expected to sign a major deal with Boeing to purchase 60 of the planned 737 MAX aircraft, which is already included in Boeing’s commitment list and could cost about $5.7bn.

Built with lightweight carbon-composite materials, Boeing claims that the 787-9 Dreamliner, a bigger version of the existing 787-8 aircraft, is capable of flying long-range routes and is 20% more fuel efficient when compared with similar aircraft.

The leasing firm has also purchased a B777-300ER aircraft from Macquarie Aviation, which will be leased on a long-term basis to its new customer Emirates airlines.

ALC president and chief operating officer, John Plueger, said: "These global lease placements demonstrate the growth of our wide-body business in Asia, the addition of Emirates to our customer base, our increasing level of business with KLM, as well as our further expansion into proven carriers in Southern Africa such as LAM."

ALC has leased an Airbus A330-200 aircraft to Netherland’s flag carrier KLM, an A330-300 aircraft to Sichuan Airlines and one Embraer 190 aircraft to LAM- Mozambique Airlines.

The airliner has also extended its lease of one A319 aircraft with Sichuan Airlines for four more years.

 

Image: ALC to lease eight new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners to Vietnam Airlines between 2017 and 2018. Photo: Boeing.