Kuwaiti lessor ALAFCO is cancelling a contract for Airbus A320neo twinjets, the company has disclosed to the emirate’s stock exchange.
ALAFCO has given few details about the decision, but says it has “reached an agreement” with Airbus to “terminate” the contract for the purchase order.
It ordered 50 A320neos in mid-2011, and topped up the agreement to 85 aircraft at the end of the same year. It subsequently converted 10 of the aircraft to A321neos.
ALAFCO started taking delivery of the re-engined jets in 2017.
According to Airbus’s backlog figures ALAFCO regrouped its overall order back to 85 A320neos last year and, by the end of October this year, it had taken delivery of 39 of them.
The lessor had confirmed in a third-quarter briefing in August that 46 A320neos remained on order, with deliveries scheduled for 2026 onwards.
ALAFCO has not given further information about the contract termination – including the overall number of aircraft involved – citing confidentiality clauses in its agreements with Airbus.
But it says that the decision will lead to a reduction in total future capital commitments.
Along with the single-aisle jets, ALAFCO ordered 12 A350-900s from Airbus, all of which have been delivered to the lessor.
ALAFCO has been undergoing an extensive restructuring, following an agreement to transfer 53 aircraft – as well as a Boeing 737 Max order – to Macquarie AirFinance.
