CIT Group Inc., global leader in transportation finance has firmly ordered 10 more A330 Family aircraft. This deal includes five A330s ordered previously and a new agreement for five additional A330s with the first commitment for the newly launched, longer-range A330. The deal was announced at the 2012 Farnborough International Air Show by C. Jeffrey Knittel, President of Transportation Finance at CIT and Fabrice Brégier, Airbus President and Chief Executive Officer. This brings the total number of A330s on order from CIT to 51.

"This order further expands our aircraft portfolio with one of the most popular widebody aircraft on the market today," said C. Jeffrey Knittel, President of CIT Transportation Finance. "CIT Aerospace is one of the largest lessors of A330s in the world and maintains one of the youngest, most fuel efficient fleets in the industry. This order will help us meet our customers' need for reliable aircraft and will provide them with the operating economics that they demand."

"When a leading leasing company like CIT, places a repeat order for our aircraft, we take that as a strong sign of customer satisfaction," said Fabrice Brégier, Airbus President and Chief Executive Officer. "The A330 is already the market's favourite long-range aircraft, but we don't stop there; we are continuously improving the A330 to widen its market coverage. We are offering from today a new 240 tonne weight variant which can fly up to 400 nautical miles further and carry nearly five tonnes more payload than today's model. We look forward to seeing CIT's customers benefit from the A330 Family's high revenue generating potential thanks to its winning combination of unbeatable economics and continuous innovations."

The A330 Family, which spans 250 to 300 seats, and includes Freighter, VIP, and Military Transport/Tanker variants, has now attracted some 1,200 orders and around 900 aircraft are flying with some 90 operators worldwide. Ever since the original version of the A330-300 entered service, the hallmark has been its very efficient operating economics. Thanks to the introduction of numerous product improvements, it still remains the most cost-efficient and capable aircraft in its class, and the family is achieving average dispatch reliability above 99 percent.

Contributed by Airbus S.A.S.