Could it be Emirates?
Early last year, mid-February to be precise, we reported that Emirates had ordered 40 A330-900s. This order also included 30 A350-900s. However, this exciting news never fully became a reality. Aero Telegraph reported that this February 2019 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was never converted into a firm order. This is because, in November, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury and Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum instead signed a firm purchase for 50 A350-900s during the Dubai Airshow. Emirates said this new deal replaced the February MoU. However, looking at this latest news, the number '40' seems to be the common thread in both stories. Could Emirates have had a change of heart towards the A330neo? We asked the airline - but we're not getting our hopes up that they would disclose that information to us (if it is them).Other possibilities
Not many airlines around the world are large enough to need 40 widebody aircraft like the A330-900neo. China has several major carriers capable of operating such a large number of aircraft - could it be China Eastern or Air China?
Or maybe the unidentified customer isn't a single airline, but rather, several airlines in the form of an airline group. The better-known airline groups include IAG and the Lufthansa Group. An order like this would offer the group the benefits of a large-order-discount whilst being able to split up the order among its portfolio of airlines.
Far less exciting is the prospect that one of the world's major aircraft leasing companies has placed the order. Aircraft lessors provide much-needed flexibility to airlines that either urgently need increased capacity, or only see a need for more capacity for a limited period of time. Some of the world's largest and most well-known leasing companies include AerCap, GECAS, Air Lease Corporation, and Nordic Aviation Capital.
Conclusion
There are few airlines in the world that would make such a large order of widebody aircraft. Unfortunately, we don't have enough details to make a highly educated guess. We'll just have to be on the lookout for new announcements and press releases about this.
We reached out to Airbus to see if they could provide any additional details. We'll update this article if anything else comes in.
Who do you think this undisclosed/unidentified customer is? Let us know who it might be by leaving a comment!