AerSale has announced its acquisition of a fleet of 19 Boeing 747-400 series passenger aircraft powered by CF6-80C2B1F engines from Japan Air Lines (JAL).
"This purchase covers the remaining 747-400 passenger aircraft in JAL's fleet," says Nicolas Finazzo, AerSale's chief executive officer. "With this single transaction we have made a substantial financial commitment to AerSale's growth plan, enabling us to provide quality aircraft that have been impeccably maintained by a top-tier international airline. This is the second of several large scale multi-fleet acquisitions included in our 2010 business plan, with another announcement to follow soon."
AerSale says that most of the aircraft will continue to fly, either as passenger aircraft or as freighters but the company will be stripping off many of the 76 GE CF6-80C2B1F engines installed on wing in a bid to position AerSale to become the leading provider of aftermarket CF6-80C2 engines and material.
“This is welcomed news to our MRO customers who depend on AerSale as a reliable aftermarket source of inexpensive high quality OEM parts, as an alternative to new parts,” says Finazzo. “Their customers in turn benefit by lower shop visit costs, which ultimately extends the economic lives of maturing CF6-80C2 powered fleets."
AerSale's parent company, AerSale Holdings, recently completed a $250 million equity raise with an affiliate of private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners. AerSale Holdings states in a press releases that “this is the second of several large scale multi-fleet acquisitions included in our 2010 business plan, with another announcement to follow soon.”