Other Companies Play It Safer When Considering How Many Airliners To Purchase For Placement

Aircraft leasing companies take very different approaches when considering how many airplanes to purchase for lease, according to executives of two major leasing companies.

At the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading conference held in Scottsdale, AZ, Henri Courpron, CEO of International Lease Finance Corp, and Steven Udvar-Hazy, head of Air Lease Corp., outlined their tactics for purchasing aircraft to lease. The Wall Street Journal quotes Udvar-Hazy as saying "we order 50% of the airplanes we think we can place." But he said that leasing companies need to be ready for an aging fleet which will see more older aircraft in the next seven to eight years than ever before.

Courpron, on the other hand, said that the big leasing companies "can't wait around for the market to be there and show up with your bag of money." He said speculation pays off when the leasing company is among the first to offer airplanes with the latest technology.

Courpron also said that planemakers tend to load up their order books with airplanes they know won't be delivered in an effort to drive up numbers. Udvar-Hazy said that mega-orders have different objectives. Some, like AMR's huge order, is focused on replacing aging airplanes, while others are more about airline growth.

FMI: www.ilfc.com, www.airleasecorp.com