AviLease CEO Ted O'Byrne flanked by Airbus sales chief Benoît de Saint-Exupéry at the first order announcement of the 2025 Paris Air Show.
LE BOURGET—Saudi Arabian aircraft lessor AviLease has placed its first direct order with Airbus.
The Riyadh-based leasing company signed up for 10 Airbus A350Fs and 30 A320neo family aircraft on the opening day of the Paris Air Show.
AviLease was launched in 2022 with a goal to become one of the world's 10 largest aircraft lessors by the end of the decade. AviLease CEO Ted O’Byrne said that following the acquisition of Standard Chartered's leasing business in 2023, the company is now two years ahead of where it had planned to be.
AviLease initially grew through sale-and-lease-back deals and portfolio trades. It then added around 120 owned and managed aircraft through the Standard Chartered transaction. In May the lessor placed its first direct order with a manufacturer, buying 20 737 MAX from Boeing.
“We now have a complete toolbox to deploy capital,” O’Byrne said June 16. The company manages a fleet of around 200 aircraft that are leased to 50 airlines.
The Airbus order includes options for a further 12 A350Fs and 35 A320neo family aircraft. The aircraft on firm order are to be delivered between 2030 and 2033. O’Byrne expects at least a part of the A350Fs to operate with Saudi airlines given the need for much greater cargo capacity in the local market. The A320neo-family order is made up of an undisclosed mix of A320neos and A321neos but AviLease said it does not include the A321XLR. AviLease has not selected an engine type for the narrowbodies yet.
O’Byrne said the prospects for large freighters are good because of a “huge retirement wave” in the freighter market and “a lack of production” as he shrugged off concerns about stalling global trade.
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