DUBLIN—(BUSINESS WIRE)— AerCap Holdings N.V. (“AerCap”) (NYSE: AER) today announced it has signed a lease agreement for twenty new aircraft with Chinese carrier, Loong Air. The signing ceremony took place in Hangzhou between AerCap Chief Executive Officer, Aengus Kelly and Loong Air Chairman, Liu Qihong. This agreement represents the largest deal ever signed by a lessor with a Chinese private airline.

Chief Executive Officer Aengus Kelly of AerCap commented, "AerCap is delighted to partner with Loong Air by providing twenty aircraft to facilitate their dynamic expansion plans. With the growth prospects of Hangzhou and an excellent management team, the future is very bright for Loong Air. We wish the airline every success and look forward to a long and prosperous business relationship.”

Chairman of Loong Air, Mr. Liu Qihong, commented, “Loong Air is pleased to cooperate with AerCap. After three years of development and accumulation, Loong Air has become part of the Chinese aviation industry’s backbone, with clear strength in its business fundamentals and significant development potential. Hangzhou is accelerating its pace of becoming an international metropolis. The Hangzhou airport’s number of passenger throughput exceeded 30 million during December 2016, making it the fifth largest airport nationwide and one of the busiest in the world. The airport’s plan to expand further provides historical development opportunity for Loong Air, consistent with our aim to become better, bigger and stronger. The cooperation with AerCap is supportive of the speedy growth of Loong Air, allowing us to better service the Zhejiang economy. Following this successful beginning, we will look into further development need of the Hangzhou airport, and the potential to introduce wide-body aircraft for mid-to-long-range international routes. I look forward to entering into more transactions with AerCap that will benefit both parties.”