Fiji Airways says new A330-300 is leased to avoid deterioration in value once A330neo launches

Fiji Airways CEO Stefan Pichler said the carrier decided to lease its next fleet addition, an A330-300, due to a predicted deterioration in value once the A330neo enters service (Fiji Times, 16-Jan-2015). Mr Pichler explained: "Why lease? Because Airbus is going to launch a new series of A330s and if we bought an old one, we would have some risk on our books because the book value of the old one might deteriorate a bit further than if there was no new version. So to avoid this risk, we are leasing an A330-300 series, which is a step up from the current 200 series aircraft in the fleet." Mr Pichler said airline decided to purchase its three A330-200s in 2013 as, at the time, there was no hint the A330neo would be launched.