Airlines owned by Chinese conglomerate HNA Group have missed payments on leased aircraft, the chief executive of lessor Aergo Capital has told FlightGlobal.
Fred Browne says HNA has "stopped paying – via their owned airline subsidiaries – some lessors for leased jets for the past two to three months".
He adds: "We only have one aircraft exposed, but I know others have a lot more. If those lessors turn around and say 'No more' and pull those aircraft out, that could truly shake the market."
Other lessors have also told FlightGlobal that HNA-owned airlines missed payments, though at least one says that lease payments on some jets have now resumed.
On 29 November, S&P Global downgraded HNA's group credit rating from "B+" to "B", citing "significant debt maturities over the next several years" and “funding costs meaningfully higher than that of a year ago".
HNA has not responded to a request for comment.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
