The world’s aircraft leasing industry appears to have weathered the proverbial storm of the global recession and now looks well positioned to exploit aircraft placement opportunities in markets such as China, in particular. However, such opportunities won’t come without their challenges, according to some of the leasing company bosses who appeared at this spring’s International Society of Transport Aircraft Traders (ISTAT) conference.
Air Lease Corp. chief Steven Udvar-Hazy, for one, cited multiple projections for production of 100-seat and larger jets over the next five years of 5,000 units, 40 percent of which, he said, will involve operating leases representing $100 billion worth of financing. “Seven or eight of the operating lessors will have to do the heavy lifting to come up with $100 billion worth of aircraft financing…That’s the magnitude we’re facing as the top-tier lessors,” he said. In summary, the next five years will present tremendous opportunity for those lessors, said Hazy, but also a daunting challenge in terms of management, resources and access to capital markets.
