After the announcement of a new agreement between the two aviation businesses by Air Leasing Corporation, Air France will increase its fleet by three new Airbus A350-900 widebody aircraft.
Air Leasing Corporation, a Los Angeles-based company, said on March 6, 2023 that the Airbus long-term lease placements will begin in the second quarter of 2024, when the aircraft is delivered.
“This strategic lease placement of three new A350-900s is another important step in the long-haul fleet modernization of Air France,” said Steven Udvar-Házy, executive chairman of Air Lease Corporation. “The Air France-KLM Group is our largest European airline leasing customer, encompassing not only Air France and KLM, but also includes Transavia Netherlands and Transavia France.”
Also, on long-term leases, Air Lease Corporation will provide the Air-France-KLM Group with nine new Airbus A321neo aircraft between late 2023 and 2026 as well as five Boeing 737s for Transavia in the first half of this year.
After the airline reported its consolidated 2022 full-year results, which showed a combined revenue of €26.4B and a net income of €0.7B, Air France-KLM Group announced its fleet expansion a few weeks later.
The load factor is at 84%, and capacity is back to 85% of what it was in 2019, the final year before COVID.
