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Scale Becomes a Competitive Advantage in Aircraft Leasing

Aircraft lessors are expanding the ways they support airline customers. At ISTAT Asia, held 12-14 May in Bangkok, Thailand, leasing executives discussed how growing fleet requirements, evolving financing needs and continued investor interest are driving broader business models and reinforcing the value of scale.

Growth Creates New Opportunities

During a fireside chat, Barry Flannery, chief commercial officer of SMBC Aviation Capital, reflected on the company’s acquisition of Goshawk Aviation and its pending acquisition of Air Lease’s aircraft leasing platform. Rather than viewing those transactions simply as opportunities to increase fleet size, Flannery described them as ways to broaden the company’s capabilities, expand customer relationships and create a more diversified business capable of serving airlines throughout the full life cycle of their fleets.

As airline financing becomes more sophisticated, Flannery noted that customers increasingly expect lessors to provide more than operating leases alone. Airlines are seeking partners that can offer multiple financing solutions, manage complex portfolios and support growth through changing market conditions.

That broader perspective reflects the changing role of aircraft lessors across the aviation ecosystem. In addition to acquiring and leasing aircraft, many companies now participate in portfolio management, structured finance, asset trading and capital markets transactions, creating more comprehensive platforms for both airlines and investors.

Airlines Value Long-Term Partners

The importance of long-term relationships surfaced repeatedly during the conference.

The Global Lessor Leaders Panel brought together John Evans, CEO of Azorra; Paul Kent, chief commercial officer at BOC Aviation; Mike Poon, CEO of CALC Group; and Jonathan Skirrow, co-CEO of Lesha Aviation Capital, for a discussion of the evolving leasing landscape.

While each executive described different regional opportunities and investment strategies, all pointed to continued airline demand despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and aircraft delivery delays. Panelists agreed that airlines increasingly value lessors capable of providing stability, financial strength and flexibility throughout changing market conditions.

Rather than focusing solely on individual transactions, lessors discussed building long-term partnerships that extend across multiple fleet renewal cycles. Those relationships have become increasingly valuable as delayed aircraft deliveries require airlines to adapt financing structures, extend leases and make greater use of existing assets.

Looking Beyond the Current Cycle

Although much of the discussion acknowledged today’s operational challenges, executives consistently emphasized aviation’s long-term fundamentals.

Growing passenger demand, particularly across Asia, continues to support investment despite near-term uncertainty. Panelists noted that while supply chain constraints and geopolitical events may influence markets in the short term, aircraft remain long-lived assets requiring investment decisions measured over decades.

That long-term outlook has also attracted continued investor interest in aircraft leasing as an asset class. Larger, more diversified leasing platforms are increasingly positioned to access multiple sources of capital while offering investors greater scale and portfolio diversification.

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