Air Lease Corporation (ALC) Chairman Steven Udvar-Hazy is still not convinced that the market really needs the passenger version of the Boeing 777X. The operating costs per seat of the big twin-jet are higher and the 787-10 is doing better. It is one of the reasons that lessors have yet to invest in the aircraft, Udvar-Hazy said on September 6 during the Deutsche Bank Finance & Leasing Conference.
Udvar-Hazy has been a big fan of the original triple seven and noted that during his spell with ILFC and ALC, he has ordered over 110 777-200ERs and -300ERs. “It is still a workhorse and has replaced many Airbus A380s flying.” But the 777X, either in the 777-9 and -8F freighter version, is still absent from ALC’s backlog as Udvar-Hazy thinks it is hard to justify the investment.
