Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) has “substantially completed” an agreement with American Airlines to deliver 18 new Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft.
The purchase and leaseback agreement was originally signed back in the third quarter of 2020, with the first plane delivered in December last year.
Firoz Tarapore, chief executive officer of DAE, said: “This transaction reflects our agility, our balance sheet strength, our underwriting capability, our ability to assist one of our long-term customers and our belief in the product strength of the 737 Max 8 aircraft.”
The Max was grounded in March 2019 after two crashes that together killed 346 people.
However, it was given clearance to return to service after completing all necessary tests by the US Federal Aviation Administration, the European Aviation Safety Agency and other civil aviation authorities around the world. In the Middle East it has been given clearance by authorities in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, among others.
Airlines in the US and Brazil began to restart commercial flights with the Max late last year. And last month, TUI became the first company in Europe to begin flying passenger services with the 737 Max.
Tarapore added: “We are delighted to see an increasing number of global aviation regulators return the Max to the skies.”
Firoz Tarapore, chief executive officer of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE).
Last month DAE revealed profits for last year of $584 million, down over 26 percent from the $791.7m reported in 2019.
The Middle East’s largest plane lessor currently boasts a fleet of 374 aircraft, which consists of 298 owned, 66 managed and 10 committed aircraft.
Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of commercial sales and marketing of The Boeing Company, added: “DAE is putting their purchasing strategy and growth plan in action and helping operators during this challenging time in our industry.”
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