Air Lease Corporation (ALC), the Los Angeles based aircraft leasing company has opted to expand its single-aisle and wide-body fleet portfolio with modern, eco-efficient Airbus aircraft. ALC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the 49th Le Bourget Airshow for 50 A320neo Family aircraft including 14 options. The agreement was signed today by Steven F. Udvar-Hazy, ALC Chairman and John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers. ALC also announced orders for the acquisition of eleven A330 Family aircraft and one A321.

“This new order enables ALC to continue to offer its customers the most fuel efficient aircraft in the short and medium to long haul segments. The A320neo Family represents the industry’s new single-aisle benchmark and we look forward to seeing our customers benefitting from the cost savings it promises to deliver,” said Steven Udvar-Hazy, ALC’s CEO. “The A330 Family offers excellent economics in the mid-size widebody category today making it the ideal aircraft, right now and therefore an absolute must for the growth of ALCs portfolio”.

“We are delighted to see ALC continue to expand its portfolio with a new order for Airbus single-aisle and wide-body aircraft, a testimony to the integrated, eco-efficient aircraft family we offer across all market segments,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers. “The modern and efficient A320 and the A330 Families are and will continue to be the cornerstone of airline fleets worldwide as they offer an excellent return on investment thanks to their outstanding operational reliability and low operating costs.”

The A320neo is a new engine option for the A320 Family entering into service from 2015 and incorporates latest generation engines and large “Sharklet” wing tip devices, which together will deliver 15 percent in fuel savings. This reduction in fuel burn is equivalent to 1.4m litres of fuel – the consumption of 1,000 mid size cars. This saves 3,600 tonnes of C02 per aircraft per year, the amount of C02 absorbed by 240,000 mature trees. The A320neo NOx emissions are 50% below CAEP/6 and this aircraft also has considerably smaller noise footprint.

ALC has previously ordered a total of 51 A320 Family aircraft (30 A320s, 21 A321s) from Airbus of which four A320s have been delivered. With this new order, ALC’s cumulative orders and commitments for new Airbus aircraft will reach almost 100 (52 A320 Family, 36 A320neo Family and eleven A330 Family aircraft).

Airbus press release