Dubai Aerospace plans to expand portfolio to 450 jets in 2021

Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), the Middle East’s biggest plane-leasing firm, plans to expand its portfolio to 450 planes next year even after the coronavirus pandemic weighed down on the company’s profit.

“If we do our job correctly in 2021,” 450 is the minimum fleet size that DAE is targeting, chief executive officer Firoz Tarapore said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

The state-owned company currently has 381 planes, and it has already committed to adding 31 jets valued at $1.1bn.

The lessor could tap debt markets if conditions were favourable, Tarapore said, adding that its liquidity is “super strong” and can fund the expansion.

Profit for the nine months ended September 30 declined by more than a third to $167.3m compared with the same period last year.

CEO also said

• On buying the remaining stake in Jordan’s MRO Joramco: “I think that will really depend on our 20 per cent partner, which is the national airline”
• Company denies reports that it hired KPMG to assess SpiceJet’s health