ILFC and SriLankan Airlines Sign 12-Year Lease Agreement for Three A350-900s
07-Oct-2013 International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), a wholly owned subsidiary of American International Group, Inc. AIG +0.08% , announced today it has signed a 12-year lease agreement with SriLankan Airlines (SriLankan), the national carrier of Sri Lanka, for three A350-900 aircraft. The aircraft will support the airline's long-haul fleet renewal.
"ILFC values our strong and important relationship with SriLankan," said ILFC Chief Executive Officer Henri Courpron. "We look forward to contributing to SriLankan's fleet renewal and its continued success. We believe these aircraft will provide valuable flexibility and efficient performance for the airline's long-haul operations."
"This would be the first time the A350 family aircraft will enter our fleet, and it marks a significant step towards the growth of the airline," said SriLankan Chief Executive Officer Kapila Chandrasena. "SriLankan has placed direct orders for four additional A350-900 aircraft with Airbus, and we believe that this new generation, fuel-efficient aircraft will play a leading role in the airline's long-haul operations in time to come. We are indeed pleased that ILFC will be providing us with the first three aircraft, and look forward to building on the strong ties we have established with ILFC."
The A350-900s are powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-84 and are part of an operating lease agreement, which has an anticipated delivery timeline between July and September 2016. ILFC currently has two A330-200s and one A340-300 on lease with SriLankan.