Airbus has signed a purchase agreement with Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based aircraft lessor Azorra for 22 Airbus A220 Family aircraft, including 20 A220-300s and two ACJ TwoTwenty corporate jets.
On Monday (January 10, 2022), Airbus announced that Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based aircraft lessor Azorra has signed a purchase agreement for 22 Airbus A220 Family aircraft including 20 A220-300s and two ACJ TwoTwenty aircraft. Azorra offers lease, financing and asset management solutions with a focus on executive, regional and mid-size ‘crossover’ aircraft. The company’s team is led by industry veterans with a shared history of success and has the financial backing of funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management L.P. In addition to their Fort Lauderdale headquarters, Azorra also has an office in Dublin, Ireland.
In Monday’s announcement, Azorra’s CEO, John Evans, said,
“The A220 is ideally suited for Azorra’s growing portfolio. We are excited to partner with Airbus on this popular, next generation aircraft. We look forward to offering its superior economics and environmental efficiency to our customers. We are also thrilled with the opportunity to expand Azorra’s executive jet leasing business with the new ACJ TwoTwenty. Azorra’s new partnership with Airbus and unique ability to offer fleet transition solutions for airlines and executive jet leases to business aviation customers are key differentiators that bring significant value to our customers.”
Also commenting on the new order, Airbus’ Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Airbus International, Christian Scherer, said,
“We warmly welcome Azorra as a new Airbus partner and salute this decision by a renowned player in the regional aviation space. We have seen a significant market appetite for the A220 Family from a growing and diverse customer base. The addition of Azorra’s capabilities in the regional airline segment is a welcome endorsement for the A220 versatility. This agreement will enhance Azorra’s portfolio strategy of investing in the most comfortable and modern technology aircraft in this segment while it will also enable us to offer A220 Family solutions to an increasingly wider spectrum of airlines.”
The Airbus A220 is the only clean sheet aircraft designed specifically for the 100-150 seat market and combines state-of-the-art aerodynamics, advanced materials and Pratt & Whitney’s latest-generation PW1500G GTF engines. The A220 is the quietest, cleanest and most eco-friendly aircraft in its class, delivering a 50 percent lower noise footprint and a 25 percent reduction in fuel burn compared to previous generation aircraft. Additionally, the aircraft provides approximately 50 percent lower NOx emissions compared the industry standard.
The ACJ TwoTwenty has a range of up to 5,600 nm (10,500 km) over 12 flight hours, with the ability to directly connect city pairs such as London and Los Angeles, Moscow and Jakarta, Tokyo and Dubai or Beijing and Melbourne. Indianapolis, Indiana (US) based Comlux, with its ACJ-approved completion center has been selected as the exclusive partner to outfit the cabins of the first 15 aircraft. The aircraft features 73m2/785 ft2 of floor space over six wide VIP living areas, allowing up to 19 passengers to work, share, dine and relax, and is at a price point of an ULR bizjet. Since being launched in late 2020, the aircraft has already won eight orders.
As of December 31, 2021, the Airbus A220 Family had accumulated 668 orders from 25 customers. Currently, approximately 190 A220s are in operation with 13 airlines on four continents.
Source: Airbus