Lessor AerCap has ordered an additional five Boeing 787-9s, growing its Dreamliner portfolio and orderbook to 125.

Dublin-based AerCap, already the largest 787 customer, announced the latest order July 19 at the Farnborough Airshow.

“This transaction is in line with our portfolio strategy of investing in the most in-demand new technology assets and will help us continue to support our airline customers meet their sustainability commitments,” AerCap CCO Peter Anderson said.

The order is a confidence booster both for the new widebody market generally and for the 787 specifically.

Demand for narrowbodies—especially new-generation, fuel-efficient, long-range variants—has been far higher than for widebodies in recent years, a trend that has escalated through the pandemic.

And Boeing has suspended 787 deliveries for well over a year as it works through production issues.

Boeing Commercial Airlines president and CEO Stan Deal said earlier this week the manufacturer was “very close” to resuming 787 deliveries.

And in an interview with ATW ahead of the show, he expressed confidence in the widebody market.

“We always predicted the narrowbody market would recover first [from the pandemic crisis]. That started happening—last year you saw terrific quarters by Boeing, and we're starting to see some widebody demand come home. We've said it would be a 2023/24 recovery for a widebody. I think that's still intact. You see airlines in North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East and India, all talking about international traffic recovery this year. That's great. Pacific Rim's lagging,” Deal said.

“But what I would say is that the first and foremost interest is on the 787. That will be, if you will, the heart of the market. The world has changed since 1969 when the 747 came out, which really served hubs well. We bet on a strategy as Boeing through the 80s and 90s that the world would fragment. People would want to get to the city pair that they wanted to travel versus going through a third point. That has happened in the world. So the 787 will be the heart. It will carry people where they want.”