Buying or leasing? That’s the question

Leasing of aircraft has taken a jump. Yet airlines prefer to buy them outright too. Richard Schuurman looks at the trends.

Over the half a century of airliner leasing it has been a booming business. “In 1970 a half of one percent of the world’s fleet was leased. In 2017 this has grown to 39 percent and in 2018 to 41 percent”, says Boeing’s vice-president marketing commercial airplanes Randy Tinseth. “However, there are some regional differences. In the US 24 percent of all single-aisle aircraft is leased compared to 76 percent in Russia or even 80 percent in India. It reflects the financial situation of the airlines”.