Air Lease's chairman Steven Udvar-Hazy says preliminary discussions for a third Thunderbolt securitisation next year are already underway, hot on the heels of closing the second transaction earlier this month.
"We've already begun to plant the seeds internally about a TBOLT III portfolio in the second half of next year," Udvar-Hazy says on an earnings call today.
Chief executive John Plueger says the $450 million securitisation is a "landmark" transaction. "Thunderbolt II was more than a copycat of Thunderbolt I," he says, noting its new debt and equity structure and enhance transparency.
Plueger also says that Air Lease has created a "replicable avenue for the efficient sale of aircraft" as the company grows its fleet.
Air Lease, which today reported $398 million revenues for the quarter – a 4.4% increase of revenues year-over-year – will take delivery of 109 aircraft from 1 July through the end of 2019.
"Strategically, and perhaps most importantly, our Thunderbolt platform is a valuable tool to keep ALC's fleet young yet allow ALC to keep its hand in the valuable mid-life space as these aircraft age, and to maintain customer relationships," says Plueger.
While Udvar-Hazy says that aircraft purchased in the secondary market could be candidates for future Thunderbolt securitisations, the company does not have an intention to acquire aircraft merely to put into ABS deals.
"I don't think there's an intention to originate to distribute," says Greg Willis, chief financial officer, Air Lease.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
