Of the world’s top four owners of airliners, two are lessors: GECAS, with 1,732 planes, and ILFC, with 1,031, soar miles above Delta (800) and American Airlines (775).
Airlines lack cash to finance their big plans for fleet renewal, and they cannot borrow cheaply to buy new planes. Deals in which airlines sell part of their existing fleet to a lessor and rent it back are becoming more common
Aviation is becoming more like the hotel business: one type of firm specialises in owning the assets, while another operates them. But there is an important difference: a hotel owner cannot easily seize his premises back from a hotelier who skips the rent
Renting makes sense for small, young airlines that lack capital, for larger airlines trying out a new line of business for which they need different planes, or when manufacturers’ order books are full and the only way to get a plane is to rent it.
But big airlines are better off buying planes and keeping them for their full lifespan of 30 years or so. Like houses, buying is cheaper than renting in the long term.
Recently founded companies in high growth markets who cannot afford to buy their aircraft because of a lack of assets
Investors are also placing a premium on "lean" companies. The one with the lower assets will have actually a higher stock market value
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