Air New Zealand (ANZ) has dropped plans to lease five Airbus A320s from GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) after selecting the International Aero Engines (IAE) V2500 turbofan to power its new Airbus fleet. The US lessor was apparently unwilling to supply aircraft with the V2500.
The airline last week revealed its selection of the V2500 to power 15 A320-family aircraft it is acquiring from next September, plus up to 20 more if it exercises purchase rights. Its choice of the engine is linked to an agreement by IAE shareholder Pratt & Whitney to invest in the expansion of the Christchurch Engine Centre - a joint venture between the US manufacturer and ANZ.
ANZ has placed firm orders with Airbus for five A320s, and had planned to lease at least five from GECAS. However, due to the airline's desire to equip its fleet with a single engine type, it has switched to International Lease Finance (ILFC) and Lombard Aviation Capital. GECAS sister company GE Aircraft Engines is a 50% shareholder in CFM International, and its entire A320-family order backlog is CFM56-powered. ANZ will lease five from ILFC and five from Lombard. It has options to take 10 more from ILFC.
Source: Flight International
