Credit-squeezed Carriers Increasingly Turn To Leasing
Tougher access to credit among airlines has made leasing increasingly popular as they seek to replace aging aircraft with more fuel-efficient models. [Photo: ILFC/Lars Christensen / Shutterstock]
Tougher access to credit among airlines has made leasing increasingly popular as they seek to replace aging aircraft with more fuel-efficient models. [Photo: ILFC/Lars Christensen / Shutterstock]

Fuel efficiency and its effect on the useful life of aging aircraft is a dominant factor in the thinking of aircraft leasing companies, which are increasingly helping credit-squeezed carriers to refresh their fleets. Their presence in the market for airliner acquisition has continued to grow in the last two decades, with operating leases now thought to account for almost 40 percent of total deals today. Boeing notes that the new commercial aircraft market was $77 billion in 2011 and forecasts it will be $95 billion this year and $106 billion next year.