(Bloomberg) -- Avia Solutions Group placed an order for as many as 80 Boeing Co. 737 Max jets as the aircraft charter operator prepares for growing demand for so-called wet leases during peak travel months.
The order, which includes firm commitment for 40 planes and purchase rights for another 40, will be delivered starting in 2030, Avia said in a statement. Dublin-based Avia said it’s buying the planes to meet continued strong demand for additional capacity from airlines.
Companies including Avia have seen a surge in demand as airlines struggle to ramp up capacity during their busiest months amid aircraft delivery delays and backed-up maintenance facilities struggling to get spare parts. Wet leasing allows airlines to lease aircraft along with pilots and cabin crew to operate them.
Aircraft with newer technology are in higher demand as airports start to charge less for cleaner and more efficient jets, Gediminas Ziemelis, the chairman of Avia Solutions Group, said in an interview. The order will also help replace the charter operator’s ageing fleet, he said.
“We need to increase our footprint and some of this fleet will come from acquisitions,” Ziemelis said.
Avia has a fleet of 220 aircraft that it operates using different operator certificates depending on the geography. Most of its aircraft are older-generation narrowbodies, based on data from tracker Planespotters. The company plans to have 700 aircraft in its fleet in 2030, the chairman said.
The order represents a commercial boost for Boeing, which has endured a tough year that included reduced output in the wake of an accident in January and then a strike that shut down most of production for about seven weeks.
--With assistance from Kate Duffy.
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