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DAE plans to boost aircraft orders to 250

DUBAI — DAE Capital, the aircraft leasing and financing division of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), which has placed orders for more than 200 aircraft over the past seven months, said it was in talks to buy 50 more aircraft valued at $2.5 billion.

DAE is reportedly looking to buy single-and twin-aisle planes over the next 18 months to further expand its leasing business. The new aircraft under consideration include Boeing Company's 777s and Airbus A330s, Bob Genise, Chief Executive Officer of DAE Capital, was quoted by Reuters as saying.

However, an Airbus spokesman told Khaleej Times, he could not comment on the talks.

In November 2007, DAE signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to buy 100 aircraft from Airbus valued at $13.5 billion. The order was for 70 A320 Family and 30 A350 XWB Family aircraft. Later in January this year, the Dubai-based company signed an agreement with Boeing for the purchase of 100 airplanes valued at $10.9 billion at average list prices. In 2007, DAE bought $1.5 billion of aircraft from Emirates and GE Commercial Aviation Services, a unit of GE. It paid $1 billion for 20 planes from GECAS and $500 million for eight A330s from Emirates.

"Despite the rise in jet fuel prices, there are pockets of strong performance," the agency quoted Genise.

DAE, which in September dropped a $1.8 billion bid for New Zealand's Auckland airport, plans to strengthen aircraft leasing business to tap growing demand for planes and air travel around the world, especially Asia.

DAE Capital, one of six divisions in the DAE organisation, offers clients a synergised cluster of aerospace services. It seeks to emerge as global leader in the aircraft leasing market.

Deliveries of the 100 Airbus aircraft will start in 2013 and conclude in 2022. These aircraft will play a crucial role in helping airlines meet demand for additional capacities in the GCC and the Middle East, as the regional growth is more than double the global average.

The deal with Boeing includes 70 737 Next-Generation aircraft and 30 wide-body planes split between 787s, 777s and 747s. Delivery of the aircraft will start in 2010 and continue into 2018, with roughly a quarter of the planes set to be used in the Middle East market, DAE said.