AerCap Orders 15 More Boeing 787 Dreamliners at Farnborough

On July 21, 2026, at the Farnborough International Airshow, leasing giant AerCap placed a firm order for 15 more Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. Boeing said the deal takes the world’s largest 787 owner toward a portfolio of roughly 140 of the widebody jets.

The order

The 15 aircraft are the 787-9 variant, powered by GE Aerospace GEnx-1B engines, with deliveries running through 2033. According to Boeing, the agreement also carries substitution rights that let AerCap switch orders to the larger 787-10 if its airline customers want the extra capacity.

AerCap chief executive Aengus Kelly said the type “has consistently demonstrated strong operating economics and exceptional performance across a wide range of route networks.” Stephanie Pope, president and chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said Boeing looked forward to supporting AerCap and its customers “as they open and sustain new long-haul routes.”

The order was one of several Boeing widebody commitments unveiled during the show, following a busy opening reported in our coverage of Boeing’s Farnborough day one and a run of fresh 787 demand that included a Philippine Airlines widebody order.

Why a leasing company orders airliners

AerCap does not fly passengers. It buys aircraft and leases them to airlines around the world, which is why a lessor order looks different from an airline order even though both add to Boeing’s backlog.

Big lessors order jets speculatively, without a specific airline attached to every frame. They are effectively buying scarce delivery slots years in advance, then placing the finished aircraft with carriers that need capacity but do not want to commit their own balance sheets to a decade-long order.

The model has grown to dominate the industry. Leasing companies now own or manage roughly half of the world’s commercial fleet, and a single order from a top lessor like AerCap can shape a manufacturer’s production plans as much as a mid-size airline’s.

That is where the substitution rights matter. Because the 787-9 and the stretched 787-10 share the same family, AerCap can wait to see which size its customers demand before locking in each delivery. It is a hedge against changing route economics, not a second order.

For Boeing, the timing helps. The 787 line has a long order backlog and constrained output, so a lessor willing to take frames through 2033 gives the manufacturer a stable, creditworthy customer for slots deep into the next decade. For AerCap, it is a bet that long-haul demand keeps favoring efficient twins.