Meritas Capability Webinar - Restructuring Insolvent Airlines in the Americas: A Look at LATAM and Developments with AeroMexico and Avianca
In the context of security assignments, the judgment again emphasises the distinction between day-one assigned rights, on the one hand, and other rights and remedies exercisable only following an enforcement event, on the...more
The English High Court has found that termination payments under Japanese Operating Lease with Call Option (JOLCO) structures did not amount to unenforceable penalties....more
In Part I of this series, we explored the historical landscape that led to significant regulatory development in Indian aviation and the passage of the Protection of Interest in Aircraft Objects Bill, 2025. In Part II, we...more
On May 1, 2025, new legislation came into force in India called The Protection of Interests in Aircraft Objects Act 2025 (the “Act”). The new legislation arises out of the insolvency of Indian airline Go First, where lessors...more
In this first installment of a multipart series, we explore the historical landscape that has led to significant regulatory development in Indian aviation. Part II will discuss how The Protection of Interest in Aircraft...more
Though there are some similarities between financing an aircraft registered in the U.S. versus financing an aircraft registered abroad, in truth those similarities are vastly outweighed by the differences and complexities...more
GIFT City: A Gift for Aircraft Lessors? Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) was established in 2007 as India’s first operational smart city and an emerging global financial and IT services hub located in...more
Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) was established in 2007 as India’s first operational smart city and an emerging global financial and IT services hub located in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. GIFT City is a personal...more
For many of our clients, aircraft ownership is not only practical (having one aircraft on which to train for a pilot certificate can increase efficiencies, for example), but it can also be a business advantage. However,...more
The Cayman Islands is a globally recognised and highly regarded jurisdiction with a market leading aircraft registry in the Civil Aviation Authority of the Cayman Islands (the “CAACI”). The combination of a strong, stable and...more
2022 saw a gradual return of Japanese operating leases (JOLs) and Japanese operating leases with call options (JOLCOs) in the aviation sector. These products are essentially used to deploy Japanese equity, bringing back more...more
Through Council Regulation (EU) 2022/328 of February 25, 2022, the European Union introduced new sanctions relating to, among other things, Russian aggression in Ukraine...more
Key Points - - Insurance companies are bracing themselves for years of legal disputes over liability for total losses claimed by lessors to aircraft stranded in Russia as a result of sanctions over Russia's invasion of...more
Demand for Narrowbody Aircraft Exceeds the Available Supply- Outside of Asia, summer travel has seen a large recovery and this has coincided with a large uptick in demand for narrowbody aircraft by both airlines and...more
Key Points - - The rights of an aircraft lessor or lender financing the conversion of a passenger aircraft to a freighter aircraft will be specified in agreements between the borrower, financer and conversion facility. ...more
It’s hard to overstate the amount of turbulence experienced by the aviation finance market over the last three years. After a banner 2019, when asset-backed securitizations —a key source of capital for many aircraft...more
Key Points - - The use by Malaysia Airlines' subsidiary, MAB Leasing Ltd. (incorporated in Malaysia) ("MABL"), in 2021, of an English Scheme of Arrangement (a "Scheme") to compromise its aircraft lease obligations proved...more
Aircraft leasing companies are the backbone of modern commercial aviation. Lessors now account for an estimated 60 percent of new passenger jet deliveries, up from approximately 45 percent on the eve of the pandemic and just...more
The leasing of a commercial aircraft to an airline in a foreign jurisdiction presents risks to the lessor and its secured lender, including whether an aircraft may readily be repossessed if a lease event of default occurs....more
Key Points - The risk that prepetition lease payments made by a lessee that is a debtor in a US bankruptcy will be clawed back from an aircraft lessor can be reduced if: - the lease is a true lease rather than a...more
Like the rest of the world, air passenger transport in the Russian Federation and other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries experienced a serious impact at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet air traffic...more
Recent developments mean a delayed departure for LIBOR. The cessation of most U.S. dollar LIBOR tenors has been delayed until June 30, 2023. Aircraft financiers, borrowers and lessors should take advantage of the...more
This article is based on Merrick Benn’s keynote presentation to the National Aircraft Finance Association (NAFA) Webinar on Sept. 15, 2020. All organizations are subject to fraud risks—including when they buy or lease...more
The use of Export Credit Agency (ECA) financing in the aviation industry has ebbed and flowed over the years, and it is often during turbulent times that it has proved to be most popular. Given the current COVID-19 pandemic...more
A non-recourse leveraged lease presents issues of how much say an equity investor or sponsor — as opposed to the secured lender — should have against a defaulting lessee airline. There is no definitive template. Each...more