Andrew Doyle/ZURICH
Joint venture partners GATX Capital and Flightlease are looking to top up their combined narrowbody orderbook by mid-2001 with a follow-on deal for up to 60 Boeing or Airbus aircraft for placement with Qualiflyer Group member carriers.
"We are thinking about an order which could satisfy the needs of Swissair, Sabena and the French airlines," says Flightlease president and chief executive Hans Jörg Hunziker. A decision by the second quarter of next year "could be a reasonable timescale", he says, adding that deliveries would be spread over several years.
Flightlease parent SAirGroup is merging its French subsidiaries AOM, Air Liberté and Air Littoral to form a single carrier which will need to replace around 40 Boeing MD-80s over the next few years. Swissair and Sabena, meanwhile, may require extra aircraft for growth, according to Hunziker, together with SAirGroup Italian unit Volare and German charter carrier LTU, which is switching to an all-Airbus fleet.
Flightlease could also play a role in SAirGroup regional carrier Crossair's plans to replace its Boeing MD-80s, with a decision expected by mid-December.
Though Swissair is moving to an all-Airbus fleet and SAirGroup has previously stated its long-term intention of standardising the fleets of Qualiflyer Group airlines on the A320 family, Hunziker says the pending order remains an open competition between Airbus and Boeing. He notes that South African Airways, whose fleet is managed by Flightlease following the recent investment in the carrier by SAirGroup, is rolling over its short-haul fleet with 737-800s.
GATX Flightlease was formed in 1998 to manage the 300-strong combined aircraft portfolio of the two companies. The pair cemented their partnership in September last year by placing their first joint aircraft order with Airbus. The 12 A318s, 10 A320s, 10 A321s and six A330-200s covered by the deal are due to be delivered by 2006. Also on order are 10 Boeing 737-800s to be handed over during the next two years.
SAirGroup is positioning itself as a provider to third-party customers of "bundled services" with aircraft supplied by Flightlease, maintenance support by SR Technics and training services by Swissair Flight Training.
Source: Flight International
