Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) has completed the placement of 14 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft with two long-standing customers, Grupo Aeromexico and Icelandair. The order was initially placed with Boeing in March 2021. Let’s investigate further.

Incoming aircraft

In 2021, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise acquired 41 aircraft, increasing its overall fleet size to 425 units, including 30 MAX aircraft. It had 112 customers in 54 countries worldwide, the lessor announced.

It signed new agreements with Icelandair and Grupo Aeromexico during the year regarding long-term operating leases of new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft.

Icelandair is set to receive two MAX 8 aircraft, scheduled to be delivered from Boeing in spring 2022. This transaction will bring the total number of 737 MAX in the Icelandair fleet up to 14 aircraft for next summer.

In the meantime, Aeromexico negotiated to receive 12 aircraft with Dubai Aerospace. Deliveries began in October 2021, and all aircraft are scheduled to be delivered before the end of the first half of 2022.

Firoz Tarapore, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, said,

“We are very pleased to see the pace of recovery in air travel and the associated demand for these new technology, fuel-efficient aircraft. We thank Aeroméxico and Icelandair, both long-term customers of DAE, for their ongoing trust in DAE and wish them much success with their new fleet additions.”

Icelandair new aircraft

The Icelandic flag carrier currently has a fleet of 38 aircraft, according to ch-aviation’s database. That number includes six B737 MAX 8, three MAX 9, 16 B757-200, two B757-300, four B767-300ER, among other aircraft.

Nonetheless, in the last few months, the airline has seen favorable conditions in the commercial aircraft market. Additionally, due to “the continued ramp-up of our route network, we saw an opportunity and need to expand our fleet of Boeing 737 MAX,” said Bogi Nils Bogason, CEO of Icelandair Group.

He added,

“The aircraft has proved to perform even better than expected, both in terms of flight range and fuel-efficiency, which will also contribute to our efforts of reducing the carbon emissions from our operations.”

Besides the two MAX 8 units, Icelandair is also set to receive one MAX 9 and one B757-200 in the future, according to ch-aviation.

What about Aeromexico?

Aeromexico’s leasing order for 12 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft was first announced mid-last year. The Mexican carrier and Dubai Aerospace signed a letter of intent and entered a new lease agreement following the United States Bankruptcy Court authorization.

At that moment, the deal allowed Aeromexico to increase its future aircraft deliveries to 40 units.

Last year, Aeromexico executed a few changes regarding its orders with Boeing. First, it reduced its unfilled order for 54 B737 MAX aircraft to 20 MAX, four B737-800, and four B787 Dreamliners. The airline also rejected the leasing contracts of a few older planes, like the Embraer 170 fleet and most of the B737-700 fleet. Then it also signed its new deal with Dubai Aerospace Enterprise.

Currently, Aeromexico has a fleet of 128 aircraft, according to the airline. Aeromexico expects to close 2022 with a fleet of 151 planes, heavily increasing its seat capacity across the board. According to the airline’s plan, it should have 131 narrowbodies and 20 widebodies by the end of the year. The fleet size will remain fairly stable the next few years, increasing to 154 by 2025.

Have you traveled onboard Aeromexico’s or Icelandair’s B737 MAX fleet? How was the experience? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: https://simpleflying.com/dae-icelandair-aeromexico-737-max/