Aircraft lessor and financing company SMBC Aviation Capital has agreed to buy 100 Boeing 737 MAX jets, the two companies announced Monday.
SMBC, which is based in Dublin and majority-owned by Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, will take delivery of 60 737-10 aircraft and 40 737-8s. Financial details were not disclosed.
Boeing said the order will bring SMBC’s combined 737 MAX portfolio to 450 jets.
SMBC praised the MAX’s fuel efficiency and improved technology and said more of its airline and investor customers are looking to upgauge to the -10. This week’s order should help meet their growth plans well into the next decade, the firm noted.
“This transaction represents a significant milestone for SMBC Aviation Capital and will ensure our airline customers have access to a long-term pipeline of new technology aircraft,” SMBC CEO Peter Barrett said in a news release.
Boeing announced the deal with SMBC on the same day it booked separate 787 Dreamliner orders from Philippine Airlines and Riyadh Air.
