Operating lessors hold a sizeable chunk of world fleet. The following survey is an attempt to provide a guide to the shape and size of the companies which make up the sector. There is little doubt about the key role that operating lessors have come to play in the world air transport industry. Many carriers could simply not survive without the leasing option. And the industry as a whole would struggle to adapt to market fluctuations without the cushion of leased aircraft in the system.

This survey, which runs on subsequent pages, aims to lay out the relative shape of the operating lease market, detailing the fleets owned and operated by 46 of the world's main lessors. Data for the tables have come from the London-based Airclaims consultancy, owner of the CASE Database that tracks the world's fleet. The headline figures themselves illustrate the importance of the leasing market, demonstrating that lessors account for a fleet of over 3,800 aircraft worth $74.5 billion. The bulk of that fleet - 2,800 aircraft - are passenger jet airliners, which represents around a quarter of the world fleet of western-built commercial jets in service today.

Comparisons between the scale of leasing companies are naturally fraught. A simple tally of the number of aircraft in each fleet can distort the true scale of the operation. Amass of small or ageing aircraft can swell fleet numbers without adding great value. For example, the BAe Asset Management arm, of what is now BAE Systems, holds a massive fleet of over 300 turboprops, but they are on average worth only $2 million each. By comparison, Singapore's SALE holds only 24 aircraft, but this predominantly widebody fleet is worth $56 million apiece, putting the company among the major players.

So each of the fleets has been given an estimate value, courtesy of the Airclaims database, to provide a clearer idea of relative size (see Top 40 ranking on this page). The fleet counts have also been divided in a few other ways to help aid comparison. There is an initial split between turboprops, single- and twin-aisle jet aircraft, as well as between old and new generation types, to give a rough guide as to the size and age of the equipment. A guide is also given between the main manufacturers: Airbus and Boeing.

In the manufacturer stakes, Boeing still retains its traditional edge, despite the inroads that Airbus has made in the market over the past decade. Reflecting a long-running confidence in its products, Boeing holds close to 52% of the global operating lessor fleet, with just over 2,000 aircraft. Airbus has a little under 14%, with the other manufacturers (many of which are now defunct) holding close to 35% by number.

It is striking from the survey just how many aircraft are still in the hands of the "other" manufacturers - a legacy of the traumas and failures of the last recession. The liabilities taken on the BAe146 regional jet and Jetstream turboprop lines famously came close to bankrupting what is now BAE Systems and the group still holds $2.3 billion of regional aircraft assets in its leasing business. Saab, ATR, Dornier and others join the list, with Airbus also high up the rankings at $1.7 billion.

Giants dominate

Yet the ranking, naturally, remains dominated by the two giants of world leasing: International Lease Finance (ILFC)and GE Capital Aircraft Services (GECAS). Both have fleets estimated to be worth close to $20 billion. Together they hold half of the value of the fleet listed in the survey and getting on for half of the jet aircraft.

Notably, ILFC has the newer more expensive fleet, with all but a handful listed as new generation types and around 40% are widebodies. Perhaps because of that, Airbus fares better here than across leasing as a whole, accounting for around a third of ILFC's aircraft - mainly from the A320 family.

While the two giants are dominant, there are another dozen leasing groups (excluding manufacturers) rising up the rankings with $1 billion or more in fleet assets. Among this tier there are some with ambitions to keep moving up the rankings, including SALE and Boullioun. But they still have some way to go before they get in touch with the big two giants of world leasing.

Top 40 lessors - by fleet value

Rank

Leasing Company

$ million

1

ILFC

19,133

2

GECAS

18,410

3

Flightlease

3,322

4

Ansett Worldwide

3,162

5

Babcock & Brown

2,741

6

Debis AirFinance

2,329

7

ORIX Aircraft Corp

1,744

8

Pegasus Capital Corp

1,730

9

BAe Asset Management

1,701

10

GATX Capital

1,688

11

Airbus Asset Management

1,670

12

SALE

1,344

13

Boullioun Aviation

1,228

14

The CIT Group

1,163

15

Saab Aircraft Leasing

1,098

16

Tombo Aviation

969

17

Finova Capital

968

18

UniCapital Air Group

862

19

Indigo Aviation AB

764

20

Pembroke Group

724

21

Itochu AirLease

704

22

BAe Asset Mgt - T/props

615

23

Triton Aviation Services

598

24

Sunrock Aircraft

589

25

Bavaria Fluggesellschaft

567

26

Deutsche Structured Finance

520

27

Aviation Capital Group

519

28

CIT Leasing

485

29

C-S Aviation Services

402

30

First Chicago Leasing

395

31

SAAB Aircraft Leasing

359

32

ATR Leasing

259

33

ING Lease

253

34

Raytheon Aircraft Credit

218

35

Potomac Capital Leasing Group

204

36

Aircraft Financing and Trading

196

37

Arkia Leasing

147

38

Dornier Aviation

126

39

International Air Leases

118

40

US Airways Leasing & Sales

117

Total Survey

74,496

 

 

Top 20 lessors - by jet fleet

Rank

Leasing company

No. aircraft

1

GECAS

825

2

ILFC

441

3

Pegasus Capital

165

4

BAe Asset Management

122

5

Ansett WorldWide

107

6

Babcock & Brown

106

7

Debis AirFinance

68

8

Flightlease

66

9

Triton Aviation Services

62

10

GATX Capital

55

11

Finova Capital

54

12

The CIT Group

50

13

ORIX Aircraft

49

14

Boullioun Aviation Services

47

15

Airbus Asset Management

45

16

C-S Aviation Services

44

17

UniCapital Air Group

43

18

Indigo Aviation

39

19

Aviation Capital Group

37

20

International Air Leases

32

Total survey

2,799

Source: Airline Business