Irish-based aircraft leasing giant SMBC Aviation Capital, the world's third largest aircraft lessor, has ordered an additional 10 737 Max 8 passenger jets from Boeing.
This is in addition to an order placed for 80 737 Max jets last year in a deal worth around $8.5 billion (€6.8bn)at list prices.
Irish airline Ryanair has also previously announced substantial orders for the 737 MAX, which are due to go into production towards the end of the decade. The new jets are reported to be 14 per cent more fuel-efficient than today's most efficient Next-Generation 737s - and 20 per cent better than the original Next-Generation 737s when they first entered service.
The 737 MAX 8 has a list price of $104 million, but airlines typically negotiate discounts when buying in bulk.
SMBC Aviation Capital chief executive Peter Barrett said the aircraft was set to play a key role in the group's growing business in the years to come.
“We’re seeing good customer interest in the 737 Max and so we decided to top up the original order,” he said, after the company made the announcement at the Paris Air Show.
The lessor also announced an order for CFM International’s Leap-1B engines to power the additional aircraft in a deal valued at $270 million. This follows an order it placed late last year for 160 Leap-1B engines.
In addition, SMBC said it had chosen CFM’s Leap-1A engine to power the 30 new Airbusneo aicraft and Pratt and Whitney’s PW1100G-JM engine tfor another 30 Airbus A320neo planes.
SMBC Aviation Capital has a modern fleet of over 370 owned and managed aircraft valued at more than $10.5 billion. The leasing company has 95 airline customers and over 42 investors in more than 40 countries around the world. It is headquartered in Dublin and has offices in Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, New York, Amsterdam, Toulouse and Seattle.
SMBC is owned by a consortium of the Sumitomo Financial Group and the Sumitomo Corporation, two the biggest companies in Japan.
Latest accounts filed for SMBC show it earned revenues of $771 million in 2014, an 18.5 per cent increase on the previous year.
Mr Barrett said the aircraft leasing market was in good shape at the moment.
“The aircraft industry generally is seeing growth as economies get back on track and people start to travel more. We’re seeing increased growth in both emerging markets and in developed markets such as the US,” he said.
“Overall it has been an excellent year for the business and we can see strong growth prospects for aircraft leasing, which is obviously good news for Ireland as it continues to hold a dominant position in the sector with many of the most significant lessors having a strong presence here.
