Tightening credit due to the global financial crisis has led some airlines to lease planes instead of buying them, a Singapore-based leasing firm said Wednesday. BOC Aviation said that since June, it has placed 19 new aircraft on long-term leases with five airlines around the world, including Air Berlin, Aeroflot, CSA Czech Airlines and Etihad Airways.
All the planes are from the efficient Airbus A320 family, it said in a statement. "Our recent lease placements are an affirmation that there is continuing demand for new and fuel-efficient narrowbody aircraft," said BOC Aviation managing director and chief executive Robert Martin.
"The current challenging financial and market environment have made it much more capital efficient for airlines to lease aircraft." BOC Aviation, which is wholly owned by the Bank of China and is one of the country's largest lenders, has 80 aircraft flying with airlines world-wide and its planes have an average age of four years.
On Tuesday European aircraft maker Airbus said it had secured an order to make 20 more A320s for BOC Aviation. The aviation industry is expected to be hard hit by the financial crisis, which has spilled into the real economy and forced people to cut back on their travel plans.
Apart from having to cope with slowing travel demand, airlines also must deal with volatility in foreign currencies which will impact hedging strategies, Peter Harbison, executive chairman of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation consultancy, said last month.
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