Peach Aviation could place an order with Airbus in 2012 after taking delivery of the first of 10 new A320s on lease from GECAS.
The carrier will start operating next March with two aircraft. It received its first in Toulouse on 4 November and will take a second on 15 December, said Peach Aviation chief Shinichi Inoue. "This is only the beginning," said Inoue.
Airbus chief operating officer for customers John Leahy said Peach needs to reach a critical mass of about 50 aircraft to be cost effective. "Operating a larger fleet is essential for Peach and I would think this [order] could happen next year," he said.
"Over the past 10 years we have had a 50% market share worldwide, but in Japan our market share has been single digit.
"In the past, orders were based on personal relationships, but a young start-up carrier does not have a history of personal relationships."
Source: Flight International
