Airbus Updates No.4696

 

Air Seychelles signs lease for two

A321XLRs

The first aircraft will be delivered in 2028. 

Air Seychelles is to lease a pair of Airbus A321XLRs from lessor SMBC Aviation Capital, as it looks to expand its fleet and network.

The two long-range narrowbodies are part of SMBC Aviation Capital’s existing orderbook, the lessor states. The first aircraft will be delivered to Air Seychelles in 2028.

“[The aircraft] is expected to play an important role in strengthening Seychelles’ position as a globally connected island destination by improving access to international markets and supporting the country’s tourism-driven economy,” the airline states.

Air Seychelles operates a pair of A320neos, as well as five De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter-400s.

Airline chief Sandy Benoiton says: “The addition of two Airbus A321XLR aircraft will provide us with the range and flexibility required to expand our network beyond our traditional regional footprint and connect Seychelles more directly with key international source markets.”

Airbus Updates No.4693

 

SMBC Aviation Capital orders 100 Airbus A320neo Family aircraft

Farnborough, United Kingdom, 20 July 2026 - SMBC Aviation Capital, a leading global aviation finance platform, has placed a firm order for an additional 65 A321neo and 35 A320neo aircraft. The agreement was finalised at the Farnborough International Airshow.

"This significant new order will give our airline customers access to a continuous delivery pipeline of the latest technology A320neo family aircraft into the mid-2030s," said Peter Barrett, CEO of SMBC Aviation Capital. "We are pleased to build on the deep partnership we have established with Airbus over the last 25 years, and this latest order reflects our confidence in the long-term demand for the A320neo family. Today's announcement reflects SMBC Aviation Capital’s long-term commitment to supporting our airline customers, positioning us as the leading global aviation finance platform, ready to meet their ever-evolving needs."

“Our partnership with SMBC Aviation Capital goes from strength to strength. We are honoured to stand with SMBC Aviation Capital as they place this order for additional A320neo family aircraft - the world’s most leased and most traded aircraft making it the benchmark for airlines, lessors and investors alike”, said Benoît de Saint-Exupéry, Airbus EVP Sales of the Commercial Aircraft business. “SMBC Aviation Capital’s investment reflects the global market appetite for the A320neo Family for the years to come as customers select the latest generation and most efficient aircraft to grow and renew fleets.”

SMBC Aviation Capital is already one of the largest customers for the A320 Family and together with its parent company Sumitomo Corporation, accounts for over 900 total commitments directly from Airbus for all Airbus aircraft types.

The A320 Family is the world’s most popular single-aisle aircraft, having won more than 20,200 orders globally. The Family includes the largest member, the A321neo, offering unparalleled range and performance. The Family offers at least 20% fuel savings and CO₂ reduction compared to previous generation single-aisle aircraft, while maximising passenger comfort with one of the widest single-aisle cabins in the sky.

Airbus Updates No.4368

 

United Airlines to dry-lease twenty Airbus A321neo

United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare) has signed a dry-lease contract with SMBC Aviation Capital for twenty A321-200NX.

The agreement was inked in April 2024 but the identity of the lessor was not disclosed at that time. SMBC said the aircraft would be drawn from its Airbus order book and deliver in 2026-2027.

SMBC has a portfolio of six owned A321-200Ns (and a further two managed), forty-one A321-200NX (and 35 managed), and two owned and managed A321-200NX(LR)s in terms of its A321neo fleet. Its existing order book with the manufacturer comprises a further 52 of the type, of which five are listed as A321-200NX(LR)s, according to the ch-aviation fleets module.

United Airlines currently leases twenty B737-8s from SMBC.

The US carrier operates fifteen A321-200NX and has a further 115 on a direct order from Airbus. In April, it said it would add a further thirty-five A321-200NX on leases, including the now-unveiled deal with SMBC. The carrier also has fifty A321-200NY(XLR)s on order.

Airbus Updates No.3712

 

Tunisair welcomes 1st A320neo

On 23 December, Tunisair welcomed its first A320neo. The aircraft, TS-IMX (10575) is the first of five A320neos the airline is leasing from SMBC Aviation Capital. The next ones are expected to arrive in Tunisia in April 2022, July 2022, September 2022 and April 2023.

Last October, we already reported that Tunisair was reorganising its fleet and standardise it around five A320neos, ten A320s and two A330-200s.

Airbus Updates No.3517

 

Colombia's Avianca Airlines returns last A321neo

Avianca Airbus A321-200© Avianca

24.08.2021 - 06:46 UTC

Avianca Airlines (AV, Bogotá) returned its last two A321-200Ns to lessor SMBC Aviation Capital having kept the aircraft in storage since March 2020.

ch-aviation research shows N759AV (msn 7770) and N761AV (msn 7847) were ferried from Bogotá and Medellín José Maria Córdova to Orlando Sanford on August 21, 2021. The former had been in storage at the Colombian capital uninterruptedly since the initial COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020. The latter had initially been stored in Medellin but was ferried to Fortaleza for maintenance on August 2 and returned to Colombia for one day on August 20, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows.

Avianca Holdings, the Colombian carrier's Panama-based parent, is a major A320neo Family customer. During two separate deals in 2012 and 2015, the holding ordered a total of 133 aircraft. However, facing financial hardship even before the pandemic, it gradually trimmed its outstanding commitment to 88 in January 2020. At that time, the group had already taken delivery of three A320-200Ns from its direct order with Airbus and a further seven via SMBC, as well as the pair of A321neo ordered directly by Avianca but subsequently sold and leased back from SMBC, according to the ch-aviation fleets history module. Since then, it has not added any more A320neo and said that no deliveries would happen before the end of 2024. The ten A320neo already delivered are split between the AOC of Avianca Airlines in Colombia (seven units) and Avianca Airlines El Salvador (three).

According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, besides the eighty-eight A320neo on direct order from Airbus, Avianca Airlines plans to add two second-hand ex-Interjet units of the type on lease from Aviation Capital Group, two ordered by Avianca Holdings but due to come on lease from Aviation Capital Group, and ten on lease from BOC Aviation. It does not have any A321neo on order either directly or from lessors.

Airbus Updates No.2936

 

easyJet continues sale/lease-backs drive with 10 Airbus A320s

easyJet Airbus A320-200© Airbus Industrie

23.11.2020 - 11:03 UTC

easyJet (U2, London Luton) has announced yet another sale and leaseback transaction, this time covering ten A320 family aircraft sold to SMBC Aviation Capital.

The British low-cost carrier said in its annual earnings release that the transaction generated total cash proceeds of USD368.8 million. It did not reveal the duration of the leaseback.

"Following this transaction, we retain ownership of 55% of the total fleet, with 37% unencumbered. We are not currently considering any further sale and leaseback transactions on the scale of those undertaken in recent months," easyJet said.

According to the ch-aviation fleets ownership module, prior to the transaction easyJet owned forty-six A319-100s, 132 A320-200s, thirty-one A320-200Ns, and seven A321-200NXs. Among its dry-leased aircraft, seven (one A319 and six A320neo) are owned by SMBC.

easyJet said it lost GBP1.08 billion pounds (USD1.43 billion) after tax in the year ended on September 30, 2020. Despite this result, Chief Executive Johan Lundgren said he was "immensely proud of the performance of the easyJet team in facing the challenges of 2020".

"We responded robustly and decisively, minimising losses, reducing cash burn and launching the largest Cost Out and restructuring programme in our history ‐ all while raising more than GBP3.1 billion (USD4.1 billion) in liquidity to date," Lundgren said.

easyJet's founder and largest shareholder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who remains vocally opposed to the current management's COVID-coping strategy, said the results were "financial jiggery-pokery" based on an "absurdly upbeat message and misleading numbers". He reiterated his opposition to easyJet's plans to continue its fleet renewal programme in the coming years, albeit at a slower pace.

"In my opinion, the scoundrels are now only running the business for the benefit of Airbus and not for the benefit of easyJet shareholders... Why does anyone want to buy more aircraft when 80% of the fleet (273 aircraft) is grounded as we speak?," Haji-Ioannou said.

Airbus Updates No.2060

SMBC Aviation Capital orders 65 A320neo Family aircraft

Leading aircraft lessor SMBC Aviation Capital has boosted its total order book for the A320neo Family to 181 aircraft after signing a firm order for an additional 65 A320neo Family aircraft (15 A321neo and 50 A320neo). The order was finalised in 2018 and included in the year-end order figures.

In addition, the agreement includes an upsizing of 15 A320neo from a pre-existing order to 15 of the largest member of the single-aisle Family – the A321neo – taking SMBC Aviation Capital’s total for the type to 30. With its unbeatable seat mile cost, longer range and wider cabin, the A321neo offers airlines the flexibility to expand their networks using wide-body cabin products on new longer-haul routes which were not previously possible with a single-aisle jetliner.

“Demand for the latest technology aircraft has been strong both from our existing and new customers, hence our decision today to proceed with this order. In the current environment, airlines are seeking more fuel efficient aircraft. The make-up of our order book positions us very well for the future to deliver on those needs. We have a strong relationship with Airbus and we look forward to working with them to continue to deliver for our customers long into the future,” said Peter Barrett, CEO, SMBC Aviation Capital.

The order for 65 is in addition to an earlier agreement for six A320neo made in March, bringing the total number of A320neo Family ordered in 2018 to 71.

“As one of the world’s leading aircraft lessors, SMBC Aviation Capital’s repeat order demonstrates its financial astuteness in making wise investments in the A320neo Family. In 2018, the direct leasing market represented over 30% of our 800 worldwide deliveries – as much as Europe and the Americas combined,” said Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer.

The A320neo Family incorporates the very latest technologies including new generation engines, Sharklets and cabin efficiency enablers, which together deliver 20% fuel savings by 2020. With more than 6,500 orders received from over 100 customers since its launch in 2010, the A320neo Family has captured some 60 percent share of the market.

Airbus Updates No.1828

Russia's S7 Airlines secures six A320neo from SMBC

S7 Airlines Airbus A320-200neo © Airbus

4 hours ago

S7 Airlines (S7, Novosibirsk) has signed an agreement with SMBC Aviation Capital for the lease of six A320neo aircraft. According to a lessor statement, the Pratt & Whitney-powered aircraft will be sourced from its Airbus order book and will be placed with the Russian carrier from 2020.

SMBC Aviation Capital has worked with S7 Airlines since 2013. With this new deal, their cooperation will increase to thirteen leased aircraft.

According to the ch-aviation fleets module, S7 Airlines currently operates four A320neo of which three are leased from AerCap (and its Whitney Leasing unit) while the other one is leased from BOC Aviation.

Airbus Updates No.1180

SMBC Aviation Capital orders 115 A320 Family aircraft

Lessors strengthens portfolio with world’s fastest selling aircraft

15 JULY 2014 PRESS RELEASE

SMBC Aviation Capital, one of the world’s largest aircraft leasing companies, has signed a major firm order for 115 A320 Family aircraft (110 A320neo, five A320ceo). The contract was announced today at the Farnborough International Airshow 2014, by Peter Barrett, SMBC Aviation Capital, CEO, Fabrice Brégier, Airbus President & CEO and John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers.

This new order is the industry’s largest ever single firm order by a worldwide leasing company for single-aisle aircraft.  With these new planes, SMBC Aviation Capital’s total orders for Airbus aircraft rise to 206 A320 Family aircraft. SMBC Aviation Capital will announce its engines selection at a later date.

“This is a landmark order for SMBC Aviation Capital and indeed for the wider aircraft leasing industry, and I am delighted to be continuing the close and long-standing relationship that our business enjoys with Airbus”, said Peter Barrett, CEO, SMBC Aviation Capital. “The A320 family has played a crucial role in SMBC Aviation Capital’s success to-date, and this order should be taken as a clear sign both of our commitment to the new generation of single-aisle aircraft as well as our ambitious plans to grow our business. The A320neo programme is progressing well, and we believe that the timing and structure of the order that we have placed will complement the specific needs and requirements of our customer base. This order, together with the company’s global presence, operational expertise, robust shareholder structure and world-class team, mean that SMBC Aviation Capital is extremely well placed to continue delivering sustainable long-term growth.”

“Today’s announcement with SMBC Aviation Capital is another shining example of the excellent relationships Airbus has and is continuing to develop in Japan, where our supplier base is continually growing,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers. “When a leading leasing company like SMBC Aviation Capital places a significant order for more of our market leading A320 Family aircraft, it’s clear confirmation that the A320 Family, including our newest model, the A320neo, is the best solution for airlines that are looking to grow their business profitably and offer their customers the industry’s best travel experience on short to medium haul missions.”

The A320 Family is the world’s best-selling single aisle product line with more than 10,500 orders to date and over 6,100 aircraft delivered. Thanks to its wide cabin, all members of the A320 Family offer the industry’s best level of comfort in all classes and Airbus’ 18” wide seats in economy as standard.  The newest member of the A320 Family, the A320neo, incorporates new generation engines and Sharklets (wing tip devices) which together deliver 15 percent in fuel savings. At the end of June 2014, firm orders for the NEO reached over 2,800 aircraft from 55 customers, representing a 60 per cent market share in its category.