China's Avolon may increase orders for A330neo

Hong Kong

AVOLON, the aircraft-leasing company acquired by the parent of China's Hainan Airlines Co, is in talks with carriers keen to add Airbus Group SE's A330neo to their fleets and may increase orders for the new wide-body jet as Asian travel demand spikes.

"We've been in discussions with Airbus, as we place more, we may order more," chief executive officer Domhnal Slattery said in an interview in Hong Kong last week, without identifying the carriers he's engaging with.

China will become the "single-most important market" for plane-leasing companies over the next five years, with the A330neo suited for Asia as intra-continental and longer haul flights proliferate, Mr Slattery said. Avolon, bought by China's Bohai Financial Investment Holding Co for US$7.6 billion in January, has 15 of the new Airbus wi…