Irish leasing company AWAS has been disclosed as the purchaser of 15 current-generation A320-family jets from Airbus.
The European planemaker said on Thursday the Dublin-based lessor had placed an order for 12 A320ceo and three A321ceo aircraft, with a combined catalogue value of $1.5 billion (€1.3bn).
Two industry sources said the deal had already appeared in the planemaker’s monthly order data in May, when the name of the buyer remained undisclosed.
Airbus declined to comment.
The purchase, under new AWAS chief executive David Siegel, appears to mark a change of emphasis at the leasing firm, which has generally been cautious in recent years about buying directly from manufacturers, citing long waiting times for jets.
It has tended instead to buy from other lessors or through sale-and-leaseback deals with airlines.
Last month, however, AWAS cancelled a direct order for two A350-900 aircraft, according to Airbus data.
AWAS was not immediately available for comment.
