Airlines are buying more and more older aircraft from lessors instead of just extending the lease contracts for a few more months or a year. AerCap is seeing this trend emerge as airlines have to wait longer for newly-built aircraft to be delivered. It is reflected in the number of sold aircraft in Q1, with AerCap selling 32 of them. AerCap: airlines are in for buying older aircraft.
“We are seeing more frequent requests from airlines to purchase older aircraft and engines to ensure that they have the capacity to meet the long-term demand they see for air travel,” said CEO Aengus Kelly during the earnings call on May 2. “This supports our view that airlines simply do not believe the production rates announced by the OEMs and they are planning accordingly.”
The trend is also seen for engines and was spotted by AerCap already some time ago, Kelly said: “We can see every week what is happening to the engine portfolio, when an engine is coming off wing, what is happening with MRO turn times. When turn times lengthen, there are fewer airplanes available and you know there is going to be scarcity. We could see that airlines wanted to buy more aircraft. We saw that trend coming about 1.5 years ago. We have actually just done a chunky placement for the middle of 2024.”
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