Air Lease Corporation Announces Air France A350-900 Placement

DALLAS – Today, Air Lease Corporation (ALC) announced long-term lease placements for three new Airbus A350-900 aircraft with Air France (AF). The French flag carrier is expected to receive the aircraft in the second quarter of 2024 from Air Lease Corporation’s order book with Airbus.

In November 2022, AF received its 20th Airbus A350-900 aircraft and was expected to receive 21 more through 2025. The airline had initially placed an order for 38 Airbus A350s to replace its Airbus A380 fleet, and in January 2023, the airline ordered three additional A350s.

The French flag carrier uses its A350 fleet to serve destinations across North and South America, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Montreal, Mexico City, and Sao Paulo, among others. The Airbus A350 has 324 seats consisting of 34 seats in Business class, 24 seats in the premium economy cabin, and 266 in the economy cabin.

Air Lease Corporation is one of the largest global aircraft leasing companies and leases aircraft to airlines across the globe. It currently has over 900 aircraft that are leased to over 117 airlines across 62 countries. The fleet comprises 417 owned aircraft, 85 managed aircraft, and 398 new aircraft on order from Boeing and Airbus which are expected to be delivered through 2028. 

In the fourth quarter of 2022, ALC received 16 new aircraft. These included two Airbus A220-300s, five Airbus A321neos, two Airbus A330-900s, three Boeing 737-800s, three Boeing 737-900s, and one Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

Comments from Air Lease Corporation

Steven Udvar-Házy, the Executive Chairman of Air Lease Corporation, commented, “This strategic lease placement of three new A350-900s is another important step in the long-haul fleet modernization of Air France.”

He added, “The Air France-KLM Group is our largest European airline leasing customer, encompassing not only Air France and KLM, but also includes Transavia Netherlands and Transavia France. ALC also has nine new Airbus A321neo aircraft delivering to the Group between late 2023 and 2026, and five Boeing 737s delivering to Transavia during the first half of this year, all on long-term leases.”

Featured image: Air France F-HTYH Airbus A350-900. Photo: Alberto Cucini/Airways