Leasing Company GECAS Orders Six Embraer 190s

GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), the commercial aircraft leasing and financing arm of General Electric Company, has ordered six Embraer 190s and optioned six more, with the right to convert any of its orders to the Embraer 195.

The manufacturer values the Embraer 190 firm orders at $256.8 million at list prices and the transaction will be included in Embraer’s fourth-quarter backlog. The value of the GECAS order could double, if the company exercises all its options.

Delivery of the aircraft to GECAS will begin in the fourth quarter of 2012.

The Embraer 190 is the second-largest of Embraer's four-aircraft family of E-Jet regional and mainline single-aisle aircraft. The 190 is by far the biggest-selling member of the family

This new contract expands on a GECAS order for two Embraer 190s announced in June during the Paris Air Show, which is included in Embraer’s third-quarter backlog.

GECAS presently has 93 E-Jets of all models on lease with 15 airlines around the world, and the eight additional aircraft it has ordered in 2011will increase its portfolio of Embraer E-Jets to 101 aircraft.

“It’s very gratifying for us to see GECAS further increasing its E-Jets portfolio,” says Paulo Cesar de Souza e Silva, president of Embraer’s Commercial Aviation division. “GECAS is a long-standing Embraer customer and partner, and has been playing an important role in the expansion of the E-Jets customer base through its extensive global network.”

“Our customers’ fleet needs continually change and it is important that we have a complete range of preferred aircraft to meet their evolving requirements,” says Norm Liu, president and CEO of GECAS. “We continue to see strong demand for Embraer’s E-Jets, as carriers of all types from around the world expand their point-to-point services. This order allows GECAS to help these carriers add to their fleets with the operational and financial flexibility of leasing. We have built a large base in the regional sector and we will continue to grow with these customers.”

GECAS, which is based in the U.S. and Ireland, has a fleet of more than 1,750 owned and managed aircraft in service with approximately 245 airlines in 75 countries. GECAS offers a wide range of aircraft types and financing options, including operating leases and secured debt financing, and also offers spare engine leasing, spare parts financing and management. GECAS has offices in 24 cities around the world.