Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) has delivered the tenth and final Boeing 737-9 aircraft to United Airlines under a sale-and-leaseback agreement signed earlier in 2026, the Dubai-based aircraft lessor said on Wednesday.
The deliveries bring DAE’s total fleet on lease to the US carrier to 26 Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 family aircraft, the company said in a statement.
The transaction took three months from document execution to the final delivery. It is the second such mandate between the two companies. DAE completed an earlier 10-aircraft 737-9 sale-and-leaseback with United in November 2025, which took six months.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
The latest deal was executed in partnership with Equator and Mustang. DAE Capital, the group’s leasing arm, will act as servicer to the airline.
“Following the success of our mandate with United Airlines last year, we are delighted that the airline has once again trusted DAE to execute another expeditious transaction,” Chief Executive Officer Firoz Tarapore said.
“Through transactions such as this, we are able to expand our portfolio of next generation, fuel efficient aircraft while supporting the airline’s fleet growth,” he said.
In a sale-and-leaseback, a lessor buys aircraft from an airline and leases them back, allowing the carrier to free up capital while continuing to fly the jets.
DAE owns, manages or has committed to own or manage about 1,000 aircraft, including 367 Boeing jets, of which 206 are from the 737 MAX family, the company said. It puts the value of the DAE Capital fleet at $35 billion.
The group also runs DAE Engineering, a maintenance, repair and overhaul business based in Amman, Jordan. DAE serves more than 200 airline customers in over 80 countries.
