ILFC orders aircraft from Airbus and Boeing
08-Mar-2011 International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), a wholly owned subsidiary of American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG), today announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding for the purchase of 100 A320neo family aircraft from Airbus and a purchase agreement for 33 737-800 aircraft from Boeing.
These decisions follow a year in which ILFC regained access to substantial liquidity with initiatives that led to $14 billion in financings and aircraft sales followed by a $2 billion revolving unsecured line of credit from eleven banks. For the year ended December 31, 2010, the company recorded strong revenues and cash flow from operations, positioning ILFC for future growth.
The purchase agreement with Boeing will secure near-term access to the popular 737-800 aircraft with deliveries beginning in 2012. The memorandum of understanding with Airbus includes 75 A320neo and 25 A321neo, 60 of which will be powered by the Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1100G engine beginning in 2016. This new agreement with Airbus will replace ILFC's prior commitment for ten A380s.
ILFC Chief Executive Officer Henri Courpron commented, "These orders rebalance ILFC's order book and allow us to continue to offer the most technologically advanced single-aisle aircraft to our customers. They perfectly complement our existing widebody orders for the 787 and A350 aircraft."
ILFC Chief Financial Officer Fred Cromer continued, "We are pleased that the liquidity initiatives completed over the last twelve months have put ILFC in a position to take on these orders for new aircraft."