Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC), a leading lessor of commercial jet engines, today announced the signing of a North American engine sharing agreement with American Airlines (NYSE:AMR), Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) and WestJet (TSX:WJA) covering CFM56-7B engines used to power Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft. The North American pool will start with these three member airlines, representing over 450 aircraft to be serviced by the pool.
"I believe engine sharing pools will ultimately change the way all engines are leased in the future. The North American engine sharing arrangement streamlines and automates the often cumbersome and expensive process more commonly used for engine leasing. Engines can literally be rented in a matter of minutes, complete with data packages and final contract documents produced and signed," said Charles F. Willis, President and CEO. "We have worked with the management teams of these airlines for over five years to reach agreement on the details of this pooling arrangement, and we believe it will provide significant benefits to all parties."
Each member of the pool brings a key component of the cooperative arrangement: Southwest, which has firm orders, options or purchase rights for an additional 317 aircraft over the next six years for its exclusively 737 fleet, has the potential to be a major consumer of leased engines in the pool. Both WestJet and American Airlines will make engines available to the pool and will lease from it. American Airlines, which operates a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility for itself and others, may require leased engines for that portion of its operations as well. In addition to the engines contributed by the airline members, Willis Lease is the exclusive supplier of additional engines to these pools as the fleets mature.
"Pooling has the potential of reducing our costs for spares while providing better logistical support for engine changes throughout our North American operation and improving our MRO customer support," said Kenneth E. Zick, Maintenance Marketing Manager for American Airlines at www.mroaa.com.
"We believe the cooperative approach intrinsic in this engine pooling program makes sense for us. It provides significant advantages in terms of managing capital assets and improving maintenance logistics and efficiency. It will be particularly useful in mitigating operational risk by providing access to a broad inventory of engines we otherwise wouldn't have," said Kelly Mattoon, Director of Heavy Maintenance for WestJet.
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"I believe engine sharing pools will ultimately change the way all engines are leased in the future. The North American engine sharing arrangement streamlines and automates the often cumbersome and expensive process more commonly used for engine leasing. Engines can literally be rented in a matter of minutes, complete with data packages and final contract documents produced and signed," said Charles F. Willis, President and CEO. "We have worked with the management teams of these airlines for over five years to reach agreement on the details of this pooling arrangement, and we believe it will provide significant benefits to all parties."
Each member of the pool brings a key component of the cooperative arrangement: Southwest, which has firm orders, options or purchase rights for an additional 317 aircraft over the next six years for its exclusively 737 fleet, has the potential to be a major consumer of leased engines in the pool. Both WestJet and American Airlines will make engines available to the pool and will lease from it. American Airlines, which operates a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility for itself and others, may require leased engines for that portion of its operations as well. In addition to the engines contributed by the airline members, Willis Lease is the exclusive supplier of additional engines to these pools as the fleets mature.
"Pooling has the potential of reducing our costs for spares while providing better logistical support for engine changes throughout our North American operation and improving our MRO customer support," said Kenneth E. Zick, Maintenance Marketing Manager for American Airlines at www.mroaa.com.
"We believe the cooperative approach intrinsic in this engine pooling program makes sense for us. It provides significant advantages in terms of managing capital assets and improving maintenance logistics and efficiency. It will be particularly useful in mitigating operational risk by providing access to a broad inventory of engines we otherwise wouldn't have," said Kelly Mattoon, Director of Heavy Maintenance for WestJet.
http://www.epicos.com/epicos/portal/media-...;showfull=false
