Singapore Technologies Aerospace (STAe) plans to acquire a leasing fleet of up to 20 aircraft over the next five years as part of a wider effort to expand the commercial side of its business.
STAe, together with its parent holding company Singapore Technologies, has already established a joint-venture leasing company, ST Aviation Resources (STAR). According to STAe deputy president Gary Yeo, the value of STAR's aircraft portfolio is expected to grow to $500 million.
It plans to purchase and lease new aircraft to airlines and to provide lease financing for existing jet airliners already on order. As an initial step, STAR has already taken a 15% interest in the lease of a Boeing 747-400F to Asiana Airlines by a consortium led by Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise (SALE).
Yeo says that STAR is intended to complement, rather than compete head-on with, the Singapore Airlines/Boullion Aviation Services joint venture. "Where there are areas we can get together [with SALE], we will," he adds.
STAR will focus mainly on leasing narrowbody aircraft, such as the Airbus A320 and the next-generation Boeing 737-600/700/800, as well as "selected widebody jets". The company is particularly interested in the Boeing 767-300 and has already entered into discussions with the manufacturer.
STAe hopes to use STAR to provide additional work for its other commercial-aviation operations, such as ST Aviation Services (SASCO) and UK-based Airline Rotables. "Its not just aircraft leasing, but a total package we're looking at-with this kind of business we can add to our core capabilities," explains Yeo.
STAR represents part of STAe's wider corporate goal of reducing over the next three years its dependence on defence activities , which now account for some 60% of its business. "The plan is to move towards a 70:30 mix between commercial and military," says Yeo.
To increase its commercial capacity, STAe recently converted an existing military hangar at Paya Lebar AB to give SASCO a third 747-sized maintenance bay in Singapore. It is now looking to expand further its US-based maintenance and overhaul subsidiary company, Mobile Aerospace Engineering (MAe).
STAe is considering whether to build a new hangar in Mobile to add to the four bays now in MAe use "-or acquire a new site in the USA", says Yeo. With recent large 747 heavy-maintenance contracts from United Airlines and Northwest Airlines, both SASCO and MAE are now at full capacity.
Source: Flight International
