Irish Company Plans Record Aircraft Order

SHANNON, Ireland — GPA Group Ltd., one of the world’s largest aircraft leasing companies, said Wednesday that it will announce the largest aircraft order in history next week, saying it plans to order airplanes and engines worth between $11 billion and $20 billion.

The Ireland-based company’s chief operating officer, James M. King, said he is ordering a mix of airplane models manufactured by Boeing Co., McDonnell Douglas Corp. and Airbus Industrie, the European joint venture aircraft maker.

The planes will include wide-bodied and narrow-bodied planes and engines and will be the largest order ever, he said.

Details of the order and the companies lined up to lease the aircraft will be announced next Tuesday in London, Paris and New York, King said.

May Beat Delta Order

The order includes engines supplied by Rolls-Royce PLC, Pratt & Whitney, Britain’s General Electric Co., and CFMI, a joint venture of General Electric and SNECMA of France.

Analysts said the order is expected to exceed 200 planes and would be worth almost $20 billion.

Asked about these figures, King said: “While I cannot confirm a precise number to you, the suggestion is substantially correct. It’s in the region of 200 aircraft.”

He indicated that a figure somewhere between $11 billion and $20 billion would be nearer the total value of the order.

The largest previous order was by Delta Air Lines last September for 225 Boeing and McDonnell Douglas planes worth $10.5 billion.

GPA was set up 14 years ago by Irish entrepreneur Tony Ryan in an inconspicuous four-story building on the perimeter of Shannon airport in western Ireland. Ryan has an 8% stake of GPA valued at over $100 million.

The firm, whose owners include Air Canada, Prudential Insurance of Britain and the Mitsubishi Group of Japan, already has 350 new aircraft on order.

Ryan said the deal would leave the company three times larger than its nearest competitors in the aircraft leasing field.

Leasing concerns are accounting for an increasing share of the world’s aircraft orders, as airlines have relied more on leasing to give greater flexibility in their fast-changing business. Through the leasing route, airline companies fill short-term needs without costly investments in planes. About 20% of the world’s airline fleet is now leased.

The Engineer magazine reported that Rolls-Royce will supply engines for 50 Boeing 757s likely to be involved in the order.

British Aerospace will make the wings for the Airbus A330s and A320s, which may also be fitted with Rolls-Royce engines, the magazine said. GPA has already ordered 40 A320s.