Lease Firm May Buy $1 Billion of Boeing Jets
A Beverly Hills aircraft leasing company has signed a preliminary agreement to buy 21 airliners from Boeing Co. in a three-year deal worth an estimated $1 billion.
International Lease Finance Corp., which currently has more than 30 aircraft in its fleet, said it expects to complete the deal by mid-August. A Boeing spokesman in Seattle said that, if signed, it would be the largest single purchase of its jets so far this year. But, the spokesman cautioned, the company has not yet added the 21 airliners to its firm order list.
The tentative agreement calls for International Lease Finance Co., the nation’s largest airplane leasing firm, to buy 11 of Boeing’s 737-300 jetliners, three 767-200 ER (extended range) planes, four 767-300s and three 757-200s. The planes would be scheduled for delivery during a three-year period beginning in 1986. The agreement would allow International Lease Finance to change the mix of its order or increase the number of planes, according to officials of both companies.
The Boeing spokesman said that, although it represents only a small portion of the aerospace company’s average 250 aircraft sales a year, such an order would “help stabilize” its business and the economic benefits would be felt in California and Texas, where as much as half of each Boeing jet is manufactured, as well as its home state of Washington.
Louis L. Gonda, executive vice president of International Lease Finance, said the new order would be the company’s second large purchase from Boeing. In 1984, the company ordered 10 737-300s; most of the those, he said, have been delivered this year, with the remainder due in 1986.
Gonda said that negotiations are in progress for the lease of the 21 aircraft to airlines and that the first of those agreements will be announced after the Boeing deal is finalized.
Among the leasing company’s potential customers for the new planes is AirCal, the Orange County-based regional airline, which already has some Boeing 737-300 craft in its fleet. The 737-300s are among the new breed of quiet jets that have passed the tough noise standards at Orange County’s John Wayne Airport. Concerns about noise levels at many airports across the country have increased demand for such jets, and several airlines with service into Orange County are using or have ordered 737-300s.
International Lease Finance currently leases aircraft to domestic airlines, such as TWA, Western and Alaska Airlines, as well as to foreign companies, such as Varig of Brazil.
