FTAI Aviation acquires 27 older Boeing 737s from WestJet

Canadian carrier said earlier this year it was accelerating the retirement of its 737-700s amid high fuel costs.
Aftermarket specialist and lessor FTAI Aviation has acquired 27 Boeing 737-700 aircraft from Canadian carrier WestJet in one of its “largest aircraft transactions to date”.

FTAI Aviation says it has bought the aircraft through its second investment vehicle, which specialises in buying older, on-lease Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 narrowbodies.

Ten of the aircraft it has bought from WestJet are off-lease and will have their CFM International CFM56-B engines removed to support FTAI’s aerospace products division, which supplies engines and modules to maintenance, repair and exchange customers.

The remaining 17 jets from the acquisition are on lease to WestJet and are part of a sale-and-leaseback deal.

“This 27-aircraft transaction is a strategic milestone that officially marks the start of our retirement of our 737-700 fleet,” says WestJet Group chief financial officer Mike Scott. “We’re pleased to partner with FTAI Aviation to make this happen, and we look forward to building on this relationship for future opportunities.”

As reported by FlightGlobal in June, WestJet is accelerating the retirement of its 737-700 aircraft in the face of high fuel costs. The carrier is replacing the older aircraft with 737 Max jets. It expects to take delivery of 17 Max 8s and a Max 10 in 2026.

WestJet has firm orders for 108 Max 8 and Max 10 aircraft.

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