Summary
- Avolon sold 14 aircraft in Q3 2023, a notable increase from the 3 sold in Q2.
- The aircraft leasing company also entered letters of intent for the sale of an additional 15 aircraft, potentially more than doubling its sales figure for the quarter.
- Avolon’s fleet consists of 568 aircraft, with another 329 on order, and its customer base grew to 147 airline customers operating in 65 countries in Q3 of 2023.
Earlier this morning, Dublin-headquartered aircraft leasing giant Avolon shared some key figures pertaining to its performance for the third quarter of 2023 with the world. Among the company’s various interesting metrics, it highlighted the fact that its aircraft sales for the quarter were comfortably in the teens.
14 sales and even more letters of intent
Overall, Avolon managed to sell 14 aircraft during the third quarter of 2023 which ran from July 1st to September 30th. As can often be the case in the mysterious world of commercial aircraft leasing, details on these sales are few and far between at the surface level, with neither the aircraft nor the customers specified.
Going forward, the company has the potential to more than double this figure, with Avolon noting that, in the third quarter, it “entered letters of intent for the sale of a further 15 aircraft.” Once again, the types and customers remain unknown.
Image: Boeing
The confirmed sales figure represented a considerable increase compared to Avolon’s second-quarter results. Indeed, between April 1st and June 30th, the company only sold three aircraft. However, separately from these confirmed sales, it did also manage to “execute sale agreements for a further 17 aircraft” during Q2.
Other key figures
While the sales are obviously good news for Avolon, the company is primarily in the business of leasing commercial aircraft. As such, it is unsurprising to see that it was much busier in this regard during the last quarter, with 43 lease transactions executed. According to Avolon, this impressive figure comprised a mixture of “new aircraft leases, follow-on leases and lease extensions.”
Further down the line, once a lease has been agreed, the aircraft that is the subject of the deal will eventually need to be delivered to its customer. Avolon interacted with seven different carriers in this capacity during the second quarter of 2023, in which time it delivered seven new aircraft as well as transitioning another four.
Photo: Jarek Kilian | Shutterstock
In terms of sale and leaseback deals, Avolon entered into letters of intent for a total of 16 aircraft in this regard during the last quarter. A final highlight, which took place at the start of September, was the fact that Avolon confirmed its order for 20 next-generation Airbus A330neo widebodies, as Simple Flying covered here.
A considerable fleet
It is no secret that Avolon is a huge player in the commercial aircraft leasing game, and this is reflected by the size of the fleet that it ended the third quarter with. This totaled an impressive 568 aircraft in terms of the planes that it owns and manages, with another 329 on order. Its customer base is also considerable, growing by one in the third quarter to “147 airline customers operating in 65 countries.”
What do you make of Avolon’s figures for the third quarter of 2023? What are your expectations for the Irish leasing giant’s Q4 performance? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!