Avolon ‘on track to grow fleet to 150’

Avolon, the Irish-owned aircraft leasing company, has said it remains on track to grow its fleet size to 150 aircraft over the next two years.

In its latest trading update, the Dublin-headquartered firm said it upped its aircraft portfolio to 103 planes in the first three months of the year and secured financing commitment — from the Export-Import Bank of the United States — for seven more aircraft, due for delivery this year.

The company secured commitments from three new lending banks during the period, bringing its lending group to 19 institutions.

Avolon’s total capital base now stands at $4.6bn (€3.5bn).

“We continue to deliver on the strategic milestones we established at the launch of the company. We continue to diversify our funding sources, grow our customer base and strengthen our team,” said chief executive Domhnal Slattery.

“We look forward to extending our franchise in 2012, continuing to grow our customer base and remain on track to reach our target fleet size of 150 aircraft by 2014,” he added.

The company’s client base now stands at 31 airlines across 20 countries. Its delivered fleet — it delivered nine aircraft during the first quarter of this year — now stands at 67 planes, valued at $3.2bn.