Forum explores airplane leasing

An Airplane Leasing Forum attended by industry experts from Chinese airlines, banks and law firms was held in Xiamen, Fujian province on Dec 15.

They shared their experience in airplane asset management and explored ways of dealing with aircraft assets.

The number of civil aviation aircraft has increased rapidly in recent years. In order to avoid debt airlines are inclined to lease airplanes – an opportunity for the airplane leasing industry.

Zeng Yiwei, general accountant of Xiamen Air, said that airplane leasing is becoming more and more important for the further development of airlines and many policies related to it are under discussion in the Xiamen pilot free trade zone.

Duan Xiaoge, vice-president of Xiamen Airplane Leasing Co, said that the airplane industry is a high value-added one, requiring large financial investments.

Duan believes that financial leasing is the best way to solve the capital problem and it can also promote the development of related industries, such as sales, maintenance and logistics.

Financial leasing is an emerging industry integrating the actual financing of asset leases as well as trade and technology upgrading.

Some 52 airplanes worth $5.1 billion are currently leased to local and other airlines in the Xiamen pilot free trade zone.

Duan also said that airplane leasing is inseparable from aviation maintenance and second-hand airplane asset management.

She suggested that the airplane leasing industry in Xiamen should focus on second-hand airplane asset management using a professional platform.

The Xiamen pilot free trade zone has gathered 14 airplane maintenance companies from home and abroad and a one-stop airplane maintenance base has taken shape.

The coastal city in China will accelerate the development of the aviation industry in the near future to create an industrial chain worth billions of dollars that supports the development of large passenger aircraft in China.