At the opening of the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport on Monday, June 16, Saudi Arabia confirmed its emergence as a major new player in global air transport. AviLease, the Saudi leasing company, kicked off the orders on Monday. Founded just three years ago, AviLease announced a major purchase from Airbus: a contract for 77 aircraft, including long-haul A350 cargo planes and medium-haul models from the A320 family.

Specifically, the Saudi lessor placed a firm order for 10 A350F cargo aircraft and 30 A320neo family planes. The company also secured options for 12 additional A350s and 25 more A320s. At list prices, AviLease would pay about $12 billion for this new acquisition; however, this figure is indicative, as prices are typically negotiated and can be discounted by as much as 50%.

In less than three years, as Benoît de Saint-Exupéry, vice president of sales at Airbus, noted, AviLease has built up a fleet of over 200 planes: "A very rapid growth," the Airbus executive observed. This was necessary, responded Edward O'Byrne, CEO of AviLease, to build "strong and vibrant ecosystems" in the Saudi kingdom. He added: "The Saudi aviation strategy calls for more than doubling the cargo and logistics infrastructure in the kingdom."

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