A320ceo
CFM56-5B · IAE V2500
The market's most liquid segment — and the big winner of the GTF crisis: firm rates, serial extensions, a premium on fresh engines.
DRYACMITRADINGEXTENSIONS
A brokerage firm between airlines, lessors and OEMs, across every type that carries lessor liquidity and with real depth on Airbus metal: dry lease placements and remarketing, ACMI lift, trading, structured finance. Direct lines into three regions, and a first market read inside 48–72 hours. One side per transaction, success fee only.
of the global commercial fleet is lessor-owned — leasing is the market's default, not the exception.
A320-family backlog: years of waiting for new metal, and a durable premium on the secondary market.
A320neos parked at the peak of the GTF engine crisis (2024) — the supply shock that repriced the entire ceo market.
typical wait for neo delivery slots: available lift is sourced on the used market.
Two forces set today's market: lessors taking a growing share of the global fleet, and, on the Airbus core, the repricing driven by the GTF engine campaign.
The commercial aircraft market is a triangle: airlines short of lift and delivery slots, lessors short of credit-worthy lessees, OEMs whose backlog locks up new metal for years. Between the three: plenty of noise, few real mandates. We hold the middle — mandated, documented, one side per transaction.
No handoffs, no juniors on your file: the person who qualifies the requirement negotiates it and drives it to closing.
NCNDA as standard, a disclosed fee chain, one side represented per transaction — unless disclosed in writing to both. Everyone knows who acts for whom.
A first market read inside 48–72 hours — which holds because the groundwork is done: standing NCNDAs, counterparties already KYC-cleared, financiers already briefed. Data room from LOI, milestone reporting throughout.
Success fee only, agreed in writing before any work. Not signed and funded means not invoiced.
The market is short of neither aircraft, nor capital, nor demand — it is short of direct lines between airlines, lessors and OEMs. Holding that junction is the job. When a requirement lands we do not start a search; we work lines that are already open.
The exposure: lift now — covering GTF groundings and growth without waiting on 2028 slots.
What we bring: qualified access to off-market tails through the lessor and airline network; real availability and real rates inside 48–72 h; redelivery and reserves negotiated properly.
The exposure: a first aircraft and bank credibility — two walls you clear together, or not at all.
What we bring: a bankability verdict in week one, finance-lease or lease-purchase structuring, introductions to pre-qualified financiers — only once the file holds.
The exposure: remarketing mid-life ceos fast, without taking counterparty risk in MEA markets.
What we bring: pre-screened demand — KYC and sanctions already cleared —, FR/EN counterparts, complete files that shorten the path to LOI.
The exposure: clean deal flow that survives credit committee without burning analyst time.
What we bring: packaged files — data room, DD summary, term sheet —, verified sponsors, structures ready to paper.
The exposure: securing ceo feedstock — CFM56/V2500 airframes and cores — ahead of the field.
What we bring: early visibility on our disposal mandates, a documented call between flyable sale, green time and part-out.
Each structure allocates risk, capital and operational control differently. Structure comes before metal.
The lessee takes airframe and engines — nothing else — and carries crews, maintenance, insurance and full operational control under its own AOC. Typical terms run 2–12 years at a fixed monthly lease rate.
Where the deal is really won: the headline rate is only part of total cost. Redelivery conditions, the reserves regime and end-of-lease compensation frequently move the economics more than the rate itself.
The lessor operates under its own AOC and provides the full ACMI package. The lessee pays a block-hour rate against a guaranteed monthly minimum, and keeps fuel, charges, ground handling and crew per diem.
Typical use: seasonal peaks, launching routes ahead of firm deliveries, covering AOG capacity. It's the flexibility tool — and priced like one.
The lessor supplies the aircraft, the flight deck and the maintenance; the lessee staffs the cabin. A common bridge while an AOC ramps up, or where regulation mandates national cabin crew.
The point: a lower hourly rate than full ACMI, while keeping the lessor's flight-deck expertise on a type the lessee hasn't yet mastered.
Finance leases and lease-purchases move most residual-value risk to the lessee, with a purchase option or obligation at term. Sale & leaseback releases cash from owned metal. On new metal: delivery-position assignments and SLB at delivery.
The hard gate: for a young operator, lenders want credible sponsors, 20–30% equity and secured reserves. We test bankability before the market ever sees the file.
| Item | Dry | Damp | Wet / ACMI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | Lessee | Lessor | Bailleur |
| Cabin crew | Preneur | Preneur | Bailleur |
| Maintenance | Preneur | Bailleur | Bailleur |
| Hull insurance | Preneur | Bailleur | Bailleur |
| AOC & operational control | Preneur | Bailleur | Bailleur |
| Fuel, charges, handling | Preneur | Preneur | Preneur |
A desk is only as good as its scope. Ours: every platform that makes the lessor market liquid — with particular depth across the Airbus range, engines included, because an aircraft is priced through its engines first.
The market's most liquid segment — and the big winner of the GTF crisis: firm rates, serial extensions, a premium on fresh engines.
New metal under constraint: scarce slots, firm values. We work delivery positions and sale & leaseback at delivery.
The lessors' widebody: a ceo market re-tightened by long-haul demand and delivery delays, with the neo ramping up. Dry placements, trading, and an active P2F cargo pipeline.
The long-haul flagship: a deep lessor base and solid residual values. Delivery positions, SLB at delivery, first secondary placements.
The liquid alternative to the ceo, supported by MAX ramp-up delays: firm NG values and rates — plus an active P2F cargo pipeline.
A nascent secondary market with a locked backlog: delivery positions, SLB at delivery, first used placements.
Also covered: A220 & E-Jets E2 (crossover), B777 & B787 (long-haul), CFM56 / V2500 / LEAP spare engines (green-time & exchanges). Beyond mainstream types: case by case.
The sequence is identical for one tail or a fleet — that consistency is what protects both sides of the table.
Principals identified, proof of funds or comfort letter, mandate scope and fee chain executed. No outreach before this.
Targeted outreach to lessors, airlines and, on new metal, OEM slot channels. Shortlist built on hard spec: MSN, vintage, engines, check status, LLPs, operator history.
Rate or price, deposit, conditions precedent, inspection and exclusivity timeline. A short document that locks the economics.
Full tech-records review, physical survey, engine borescopes, AD/SB status, LLP audit. If the data room can't prove it, it doesn't exist.
Lease or SPA, guarantees, insurance, registration, IDERA, tax. Funds flow through escrow only — never through our accounts.
Acceptance flight, delivery protocol, title transfer or lease commencement, registrations. The fee exists only here — signed and funded.
Indicative timeline for a standard dry-lease placement. Add 8–12 weeks of credit work for a financed acquisition — we say so on day one, not mid-deal.
Two same-vintage A320s can be millions of dollars apart on engine potential, LLP status and records quality alone. Our technical review goes where that value sits — and where the write-downs sit with it.
Unbroken documentary chain: airframe and engine logs, dirty fingerprints, back-to-birth traceability on critical parts.
Time since PRSV, EGT margin, borescope reports, shop-visit plan: the single biggest value driver on any used aircraft.
Cycles remaining per part, per module. A short stub life can cost more than a year of rent.
Position in the check cycle, C-check bridging, MPD compliance, MRO and operator history.
AD compliance, major service bulletin status, cabin and avionics standard.
Remaining potential on landing gear and APU, hard-time components, related provisions.
Structured airframe and cabin survey, engine ground run if required, findings log with rectification costing.
Chain of title, International Registry (Cape Town), mortgages, IDERA, no liens or arrests.
Registry base, EASA/FAA/GACA requirements for the target operator, registry transition plan.
| Structure | Asset | Indicative range | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dry lease | A320ceo, mid-life, 174–180Y | $190–240k / mo | Fixed monthly rate |
| Dry lease | A320neo, young vintage | $320–400k / mo | Fixed monthly rate |
| Wet lease / ACMI | A320ceo, 4 crew sets | $2,400–2,900 / BH | Min. guarantee 250–350 BH/mo |
| Acquisition | A320ceo 2015+, fresh engines | $26–34M | Per PRSV & LLP status |
| Dry lease | B737-800, mid-life, winglets | $170–220k / mo | Fixed monthly rate |
| Delivery SLB | New A320neo, at delivery | LRF 0.58–0.66% | % of purchase price / mo |
| Dry lease | A330-300, mid-life | $370–480k / mo | Fixed monthly rate |
Indicative ranges observed on the secondary market, for illustration only. Every transaction depends on exact spec, maintenance status, redelivery terms and market timing. These figures constitute neither an offer, nor a quote, nor investment advice.
In aviation, a non-compliant deal isn't worth zero — it's worth less than zero. Four gates before any outreach.
Principals and their ultimate beneficial owners identified, source of funds verified on every acquisition. Anonymous mandates are declined.
Every counterparty and every aircraft (MSN, ownership history) screened against UN, EU and OFAC lists — at intake and pre-closing.
US content in engines and avionics (EAR), destination restrictions and licence triggers analysed before any introduction.
Deposits and purchase monies move through specialised aviation escrow agents only. Client funds never touch our accounts.
Files that fail these gates are declined — whatever the ticket. That is what protects our counterparties, our lenders, and the value of our signature.
Indicative scopes, presented as exactly that: every live mandate carries its own engagement letter and its own timetable.
Airline side: sourcing 1–4 tails on spec. Lessor side: remarketing tails at lease expiry. Term-sheet negotiation, execution through delivery — the core of the trade, and tighter than ever since the GTF campaign.
Mid-life metal from lessors or airline sellers, for growing operators: bankability screening, finance-lease or lease-purchase structuring, and execution through funding.
Exiting aircraft at end of service: flyable sale vs short SLB vs part-out, engine green-time monetisation, redelivery management.
Three forces shaping the leasing market in 2026 — and how we advise our principals.
Accelerated PW1100G inspections parked hundreds of neos and pushed demand onto ceo metal: firming lease rates, widespread extensions, a durable premium on CFM56 and V2500 aircraft with fresh potentials. Well-documented ceos remain a position of strength for several seasons yet. Same mechanics on the Boeing side: MAX ramp-up delays keep 737NG values and rates firm.
Read-through: sourcing & pricingAcross a 6-year lease, well vs poorly negotiated redelivery terms frequently swing more than a year of rent: required check status, engine potentials, LLP compensation. We model that exit cost at term-sheet stage — not when it lands as an invoice.
Read-through: lease negotiationNamed sponsors, 20–30% equity, secured maintenance reserves, a credible AOC path: Middle East and European lenders fund good files readily — and only good files. Our first job is telling a principal, honestly, whether they're bankable and on what terms.
Read-through: structuringSuccess fee only: a percentage of the transaction, agreed in writing before any work, payable at closing — signed and funded. Never both sides of one deal without written disclosure to both. No hidden retainers, no file fees.
Because in this market, information — who's selling, what's available, who has appetite — is the merchandise. The NCNDA protects principals as much as us: contacts move inside a framework, the fee chain stays clean, and nobody gets circumvented.
We don't claim a track record we don't have — be wary of anyone who does. What we do put up: a process auditable at every gate, compliance stricter than market practice, success-only fees, and senior people who know deal mechanics cold — engines, records, structures. Judge on the work: our first qualification memo is free and carries our name.
Order of magnitude: 12–16 weeks for a dry-lease placement, 8–16 weeks for a disposal, 3–6 months for a financed acquisition. You get a milestone calendar in the engagement letter, and slippage flagged when it happens — not after.
Yes — on one condition: bankability. Named sponsors, real equity, credible AOC progress. If a file won't survive a credit committee, we say so in week one. Harder to hear in week one, far cheaper than finding out in week twenty.
Every liquid lessor-market type: the A320 (ceo & neo) and B737 (NG & MAX) families, A330, A350, B777 and B787 widebodies, and the A220 / E-Jet crossover segment. Our particular depth is Airbus — that's where our lessor network, engine intelligence (CFM56, V2500, LEAP, GTF, Trent) and value history run deepest. Outside those platforms: case by case — and we say no when we're not the right desk.
Never. Deposits, rates and purchase monies move via specialised escrow agents or directly between the parties' banks. We broker and structure — we don't hold money.
Because that speed comes from groundwork already done, not from a sales promise. Framework NCNDAs are already signed with our partners, counterparties are already through KYC and sanctions screening, and we know our financier panel's criteria. When your requirement lands we do not start a search; we work lines that are already open. The speed applies to the first market read, never to due diligence, which takes the time it takes.
Describe the aircraft, the structure you have in mind and the timeline. Within two business days you get a qualified answer: an execution route, or the reasons this one is not for us.