AIRCRAFT LEASING AND FINANCE

Whether your airline is a start-up or established and growing it is vital to have a clear strategy for sourcing and financing aircraft. Having selected the aircraft type there are two options for sourcing new or used aircraft:

  1. Ownership
  2. Operating lease

COMMON CHALLENGES

Whether ordered new from the manufacturer or sourced from the used aircraft market, project managing the various expertises required to contract for an operating lease or finance an aircraft can be daunting when carried out for the first time. If in start-up phase or early stage of development it is common for an airline to not have the in-house knowledge and experience to handle many aspects of leasing and financing aircraft.

Athena Aviation can assist in making the right decisions. Having walked in your shoes we know how important it is to free you up to do the ‘day job’ whilst keeping you in control of your budget and the key decisions.

OUR APPROACH

We start by understanding your leasing and financing goals. We determine what help can be provided and have the flexibility, resources and experience to tailor a management support and advisory service to suit your objectives.

 

Whichever working arrangement is agreed we guarantee that the following will characterise our approach:

  • Hands-on - we will roll up our sleeves and get the job done
  • Transparent – we are working for you and so will be transparent in all we do
  • Integrity – we will not stay around longer than is necessary to deliver the agreed results
  • Value for money – at all times we will treat your airline’s budget as if it were our own

HOW WE CAN HELP

ATHENA AVIATION Partners and Associates understand the dilemmas faced when leasing or financing aircraft. If you aim to set up a leasing division for the management your most valuable assets we can also help you realise your goals. Our team includes former Finance and Engineering & Maintenance Directors who have previously executed the following as airline managers and project consultants:

  1. Project Management – initial set-up of a leasing company; Export Credit guarantee applications; set-up of a structured finance solution for leasing aircraft to the US; commercial debt finance leases using Cayman SPVs. 
  2. Decision Support – provision of analytical and decision support to procure aircraft direct from a manufacturer; negotiation of commercial terms on operating lease contracts. 
  3. Relationship Management – established supply contracts and managed on-going relationships with: Asset Managers; Remarketing Agents; Lawyers; Banks; Debt Advisors; Tax Advisors; Auditors; Manufacturers; ECAs. 
  4. Budget Management - we know when to use external experts and when to lean on internal resource to get value for money and stay within your budgetary constraints.

For further information, please contact Shakeel Adam.