Lessors order Airbus planes

Tue Jul 15, 2008 6:18pm BST

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FARNBOROUGH (Reuters) - European planemaker Airbus announced firm orders for aircraft worth $14.4 billion (7.18 billion pounds) at list prices from leasing companies at the Farnborough Airshow on Tuesday.

DAE Capital, the aircraft leasing and financing division of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, firmed up the purchase of 30 Airbus A350-900s and 70 A320s after signing a memorandum of understanding for the $12.6 billion deal last November.

"DAE Capital aims to become a leading lessor based in the Middle East," Airbus said in a statement.

U.S. lessor Aviation Capital Group, a unit of Pacific LifeCorp, signed a firm contract to buy 23 Airbus A320-family single-aisle aircraft to take its fleet to 148 A320 planes.

Airbus sales chief John Leahy said Airbus planned to announce more orders on Wednesday.

(Reporting by James Regan)

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