Kuwait's Aviation Lease and Finance Co (ALAFCO) has signed a letter of intent to buy seven Airbus A320-200 aircraft for a catalogue price of 420 million dollars, the company said on Sunday.

ALAFCO also signed a contract with Pakistan International Airlines to lease the seven planes for 10 years starting from the year of delivery in 2009, it said in a statement on the Kuwait Stock Exchange website.

Besides the new order, ALAFCO has in the past 16 months placed orders for 66 Boeings and Airbuses as part of a plan to increase its fleet to more than 80 planes.

The orders include 22 Boeing Dreamliners and six Boeing 737-800s.

The firm currently owns 18 planes and manages 15 others, and has long-term lease contracts with several carriers in the Middle East and elsewhere.