China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings Limited (CALC) has welcomed two new Boeing 787 Dreamliner passenger jets to its fleet, both changed from previous orders for 737 Max aircraft.
The new aircraft were delivered to an Asian airline in December and this month and are described by the lessor as the first jets in its orderbook to be widebody.
The operator is likely to be Bamboo Airways, based on a 8 January Twitter post by Boeing Commercial Airplanes stating that CALC’s first 787-9 joined the carrier’s fleet “via lease”.
CALC’s chief executive, Mike Poon says: “A strong order book is the driving force behind CALC’s sustainable business growth. CALC maintains strong relationship with OEMs by placing continuous and consistent order.”
“Our first direct purchase of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner not only proves CALC’s notable capability in optimising our diversified fleet portfolio, but also further bolsters CALC’s asset management capability in handling the full life cycle of wide-body aircraft, sharpening CALC’s full value chain solutions and fleet upgrade capability.”
The order for the 787 aircraft was announced last November, as a supplemental agreement to two master purchase agreements signed in 2017 and 2018.
Under the earlier agreements, CALC had in its orderbook 100 737 Max aircraft scheduled for delivery by 2023. The supplemental agreement adds two 787s to its orderbook while reducing the number of 737 Max orders to 92.
