Saudi Lessor AviLease Bets on Cargo Market with Airbus A350F Order

LE BOURGET: Saudi Arabia-based lessor AviLease is continuing its fast-track growth with an order for 50 Airbus aircraft that could increase to 77 and which includes the purchase of A350F freighters.

The order was announced Monday at the Paris Air Show and was the first major commercial airliner deal of the show. Initially, it’s for 10 A350Fs and 30 A320neos—a mix of A320s and A321s but no longer-range XLRs—but there are options for an additional 12 A350Fs and 25 A320neo family aircraft.

Headquartered in Riyadh, AviLease launched in 2022 but has already grown its fleet to almost 200 Airbus and Boeing aircraft. The AviLease staff now numbers 90 people and the company is leasing aircraft to 50 airlines across 30 countries, AviLease CEO Edward O’Byrne said at the signing ceremony in Paris.

Neither O’Byrne nor Airbus EVP commercial aircraft sales Benoît de Saint-Exupéry would comment on the new order value, but O’Byrne commented that AviLease had also seriously considered the Boeing 777F. “Frankly, it was a very close discussion because there were pros and cons on both sides,” he said. “It was close enough for this to be a battle for another day.”

While all A350s are powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, A320neos can be powered by CFM LEAPs or Pratt & Whitney GTFs. O’Byrne said no decision had been taken for now.

Asked about whether this was a good time to be ordering large numbers of freighters, given current geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty, O’Byrne replied that there was a “tremendous need” for cargo capacity in Saudi Arabia, while more generally the retirement of older freighters and lack of production of new aircraft meant there was a global market need.

The new Airbus aircraft will be delivered in the 2030-2033 timeframe, he said.

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