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It
also canceled one Airbus A330neo widebody jet, the fifth it has
canceled since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, and deferred
the delivery of three A320neo aircraft until 2022.
The Dublin-based lessor said it has reduced it near-term
commitments by over 140 aircraft since the start of the year as
it grapples with the fall-out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The MAX has been grounded since March 2019 after two fatal
crashes in five months. However, Boeing and the U.S. Federal
Aviation Administration last week completed certification test
flights, a key milestone toward the plane's return to service.
Rival lessor BOC Aviation <2588.HK> last week said it had
canceled an order for 30 MAX jets while Norwegian Air canceled
orders for 92.
On the one hand such cancellations can help clear production
slots to deal with a large backlog of MAX deliveries, but they
also underscore uncertainty over underlying demand for the MAX,
analysts have said.
The cancellation of five A330neo from one of plane's launch
customers is also embarrassing for Airbus.
Avolon, in a financial update at the end of the second quarter,
said it still has in excess of $5 billion in liquidity. It said
it had reduced by one-third its capital commitments to the end
of 2021 and since the start of the year had cut by more than
half its 2020-23 capital commitments.
"These actions provide us with the capital strength to manage
through this market backdrop and to support our customers
through the recovery," Chief Executive Dómhnal Slattery said in
a statement.
"The months ahead will be difficult, but we have the experience
and balance sheet to manage through these headwinds," he added.
(Reporting by Conor Humphries, editing by Louise Heavens and
Chizu Nomiyama)
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