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
