ALAFCO ready to place fleet orders at Dubai Airshow

The leasing company - part owned by Kuwait Airways - is in the final stages of negotiation with European manufacturer Airbus.

According to the company's chairman Ahmed Al-Zabin, those talks are near conclusion and is confident that a major order could be placed during the region's largest aerospace event which takes place at Dubai Airport Expo November 13-17.

Al-Zabin was speaking at the Reuters Middle East Investment Summit in Kuwait and told delegates, "The first part of our plan was to reach a fleet of 50 aircraft, and we are almost there ... Now our plan is to reach 100 aircraft by 2018,"

ALAFCO currently has 27 Airbus and 21 Boeing aircraft in its fleet but at the Paris Air Show in June the company stepped in with a $2.7 billion order for 30 if the new A320 neo aircraft from Airbus.

With financial backing from the Kuwait Finance House (KFH) ALAFCO is working with a number of airlines in the region including Royal Jordanian, Turkish Airlines and Ethiopian.  According to Reuters, Al-Zabin, said the company would be posting record profits for the yearfrom "one-off gains" this year. It recorded a $39.2 million profit last year.

Alafco chairman Al-Zabin and Airbus' John Leahy hoping for a repeat performance at this year's Dubai Airshow