Avia Solutions Group Orders Boeing 737 MAX 8 Jets

(Reuters) – Avia Solutions Group, which leases aircraft and provides related services, has ordered 40 Boeing (NYSE:BA) 737 MAX 8 jets, with an option to order 40 additional jets. The companies announced this in a joint statement on Tuesday.

The 40 jets are valued at approximately $2.17 billion, according to calculations based on estimated delivery prices from Cirium Ascend.

Avia Solutions, which holds 11 air operator certificates, anticipates the delivery of 737 MAX jets to commence in 2030.

Production delays by aircraft manufacturers have increased airlines' demand for leased planes, aimed at meeting a surge in travel demand. The need to service older planes, as well as for additional pilots and crew members, has also benefited Avia, which offers aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance services.

Avia expects to grow its fleet to 600 aircraft by 2027, up from the current 220, as stated by Chairman Gediminas Ziemelis in a previous interview with Reuters.

This order for Boeing occurs amid the company's ongoing quality crisis, following a January mid-air panel blowout and a recent strike by machinists, which paused most jet production, deepening financial woes for the manufacturer. The machinists concluded their strike earlier this month.