Lessor BOC Aviation to buy 120 Airbus, Boeing jets to grow fleet

March 31 (Reuters) - One of the world's largest aircraft leasing companies, BOC Aviation ( BCVVF ), will purchase 120 single-aisle planes from Airbus and Boeing ( BA ), it said on Monday, as it seeks to grow its fleet to 1,000 by the end of the decade.

Singapore-based BOC Aviation ( BCVVF ), majority-owned by Bank of China, ordered 70 A320neo family aircraft from Airbus and 50 737 MAX 8 jets from Boeing ( BA ).

The deal underscores growing demand for narrowbody aircraft as more people travel by air, particularly on low-cost airlines that prefer new-generation single-aisle jets.

The value of the deal was not disclosed, but the Airbus order would be worth about $3.78 billion and the Boeing ( BA ) order about $2.72 billion based on estimated delivery prices from aviation data provider Cirium Ascend.

Around 85% of BOC's owned, managed and on order fleet was narrow-body planes as of the end of December, company statements show.

Despite the strong demand for planes, airlines have been hit by new aircraft delivery delays due to labour strikes, regulatory scrutiny and supply chain bottlenecks. This has benefited lessors like BOC by driving up demand for leased aircraft.

BOC this month reported a record net profit of $924 million for 2024, up 21% from 2023.

The Boeing ( BA ) deliveries are expected through to 2031 and the Airbus deliveries through to 2032, BOC said.

"With this transaction, we have commitments to purchase over 140 of these (Boeing 737-8) aircraft, which is the largest Boeing ( BA ) orderbook position in our history," BOC Aviation ( BCVVF ) CEO Steven Townend said in a statement about the Boeing ( BA ) deal.

It will also lift BOC's Airbus orderbook to around 200 planes, Townend said in a separate statement about the Airbus deal.

BOC plans to grow its fleet to 1,000 planes by 2030, Townend told Singapore's The Business Times last September. As of the end of 2024, it owned and managed 467 aircraft and had 232 on order. (Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru and Lisa Barrington in Seoul; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Jamie Freed)