AerCap Holdings N.V. (“AerCap” or the “Company”) (NYSE:AER) has today announced that it has taken delivery of its first 737 MAX 8. The aircraft will be leased to China Southern Airlines, the first of 5 aircraft to go on lease to the airline from AerCap’s 737 MAX order book with Boeing.

AerCap has a total of 104 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft owned and on order, delivering through 2022.

AerCap and China Southern Airlines have recorded several firsts in recent years. In March 2018, AerCap made history when it delivered China Southern Airlines’ first A321neo, making the airline the first operator of the aircraft type in China. In 2016, AerCap delivered the first Pratt & Whitney powered A320neo into China, to China Southern Airlines.

“We are very pleased to deliver our first ever 737 MAX to our largest customer in Asia Pacific, China Southern, with whom we’ve had a relationship for 23 years,” said Aengus Kelly, Chief Executive Officer, AerCap, “We wish China Southern every success with their ongoing fleet modernization program.”

“We are delighted to deliver the first of many 737 MAXs to AerCap, one of the world’s leading lessors. The AerCap team has a great pulse on what top airlines like China Southern prefer to fly and we are honored that they have chosen the best-in-class 737 MAX,” said Ihssane Mounir, Senior Vice President of Commercial Sales & Marketing at The Boeing Company. “We are confident that AerCap and its customers will benefit from the 737 MAX’s superior fuel efficiency, range, reliability, and residual value, to name a few.”