US lessor Air Lease has referred to uncertainty in the cargo markets as it confirmed its cancellation of orders for the Airbus A350 freighter.
It had been a launch customer for the A350F in late 2021, with an order for seven. But in July all seven were removed from Airbus backlog.
Air Lease chief executive John Plueger, speaking during a second-quarter briefing, referred to delays in the programme.
The lessor had expected to take two in 2026 and another two in 2027, with the remaining three delivered at a later date. But Airbus has since pushed back service entry to the second half of 2027.
“Contractually, the majority of our A350F aircraft were more than a year late,” said Plueger.
But while the delay had been part of the rationale for cancelling the order, Plueger also points to wariness among operators regarding dedicated cargo aircraft commitments, given the turbulent tariff environment.
“Where I do think there has been an impact…from tariffs has been in the cargo markets,” he said. “I think the freighter markets have had a little bit more fluctuation…in the tariff era, as I would call it.”
Air Lease is not a major supplier of freighters to customers, but this situation was “one of the things that we thought about” when considering the A350F cancellation," he stated.
“There has been a little bit of tempering but primarily, it’s been on the cargo side. Our sense is there has been a little bit of caution on the cargo markets but really not the passenger aircraft demand.”
Plueger stressed that Air Lease still believes the A350F is a “terrific freighter”, but there is sustained “positive momentum” in the market for passenger aircraft.
“Since we made that order…we simply decided to stick with new passenger airliners versus venturing into new freighters,” he said, adding that the decision will free more than $1bn in commitments which can be allocated alternative capital expenditure avenues.
Plueger stated that, more broadly, the lessor is a “very disciplined” buyer of aircraft.
“We still do not view pricing of new aircraft orders to be attractive,” he said, emphasising that the company is “entirely focused on doing what’s best for our shareholders”.
Air Lease had commitments for 241 Airbus and Boeing jets at the half-year point, with deliveries running through to 2031.
These include 10 Boeing 787s and 64 737 Max jets, plus 130 A320neo-family aircraft – among them 13 A321LRs and 49 A321XLRs – along with 36 A220s and a single A330neo.
Plueger says the lessor’s orderbook is “100% placed” through 2026, with only a “modest” number of placements remaining for 2027.
