ALAFCO, the Kuwait-based international Aviation Lease and Finance Company, has signed an agreement for 30 Airbus A320neo aircraft. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed at the 49th Paris airshow in Le Bourget. It follows the placing of an earlier firm order for six A350-900 aircraft.

ALAFCO already ordered 26 A320s of which 25 have been delivered. Including this order, it shall then take ALAFCO’s total order for Airbus single aisle aircraft to 56.

“The A320neo is proving to be a very popular aircraft due to its economics and low fuel burn,” said Abulqasim Abdulghaffar Redha, ALAFCO Executive Vice President. “We anticipate strong demand from leasing customers and we look forward to helping them meet their requirements.”

“We’re taking neo orders from all corners of the world, from both airlines and leasing companies because we’ve hit a sweet spot in the market. An aircraft which offers a 15% reduction in fuel burn is proving to be irresistible,” said John Leahy, Chief Operating Officer Customers.

Over 7,000 A320 Family aircraft have already been ordered and more than 4,700 delivered to more than 330 customers and operators worldwide reaffirming its position as the world’s best-selling single-aisle aircraft family. The A320neo has over 95 percent airframe commonality making it an easy fit into existing fleets while offering up to 500 nautical miles (950 kilometres) more range or two tonnes more payload at a given range.

The A320neo is a new engine option for the A320 Family entering into service from 2015 and incorporates latest generation engines and large "Sharklet" wing tip devices, which together will deliver 15 percent in fuel savings. This reduction in fuel burn is equivalent to 1.4m litres of fuel – the consumption of 1,000 mid size cars.  This saves 3,600 tonnes of C02 per aircraft per year, the amount of C02 absorbed by 240,000 mature trees. The A320neo NOx emissions are 50% below CAEP/6 and this aircraft also has considerably smaller noise footprint.

Source: Press Release (Airbus)