Willis Lease and Southwest Airlines Sign Five-Year Lease Support Agreement for Spare Engines

Willis Lease Finance Corporation

, the premier independent jet engine lessor in the commercial finance sector, announced it will be providing spare engines to support the Southwest Airlines

fleet of Boeing 737NG aircraft over the next five years. "With almost 700 aircraft in the Southwest fleet, including more than 500 NGs, our agreement with Willis Lease allows us to deliver reliable service to our customers every day. Willis Lease has both the engine capacity and technical expertise to provide the additional spare engines we need to keep our fleet in optimum flying condition," said Bill Tiffany, Vice President Supply Chain Management for Southwest Airlines. Under the terms of the agreement, Willis Lease will provide Southwest Airlines with CFM56-7B24 spare aircraft engines over the next five years. "We view this agreement with Southwest as an important partnership for Willis Lease and it demonstrates the depth of our ability to support a large carrier," said Charles F. Willis, Chairman and CEO. "This type of support agreement provides Boeing 737NG fleet operators with an important alternative to new spare purchases. Coupled with our worldwide lease pool and our supply chain capability, we believe Willis Lease is becoming the first choice for aftermarket support in a heavily competitive marketplace."