Divesting aircraft on a fleet exit: to whom, in what order
A fleet decision — a new type ordered, a network restructured, a generation of aircraft reaching the end of its economic life — always leaves a question open: what to do with the outgoing airframes before they tie up capital for nothing.
What determines exit value
- Documentation completeness — a continuous maintenance history back to manufacture, current LLP records, often weighs more than the aircraft's calendar age.
- Engine status — an aircraft a few hundred hours from a major shop visit doesn't trade like one that just came out of one.
- The market window — a type still actively sought by lessors places differently from one already late in its general remarketing cycle.
The options, not in the same order for everyone
Flyable sale, sale & leaseback to free cash on an asset already owned, or arbitrage toward part-out when parts value exceeds flying value: the order in which to weigh these depends on the cash sought, the timeline, and the aircraft's actual condition — never a default preference.
An aircraft the whole market knows is looking for a taker loses negotiating power with every week that passes. Wide circulation of a disposal list produces the opposite of the intended effect.
Why discretion on the list matters
An airline divesting gains nothing from its exit list circulating publicly — or from being relayed through five unmandated intermediaries before reaching a real buyer, distorted at every hop. Information moves better inside a closed framework, with already-qualified counterparties, than in open circulation.
What we apply here
Written disposal mandate before any outreach, counterparties shortlisted against a real specification, never nominative disclosure of the aircraft until the buyer is qualified and under NCNDA. Confidentiality protects exit value as much as it protects the relationship.
A fleet decision leaving aircraft to place?
We structure the disposal — sale, SLB, or end-of-life arbitrage — after an honest assessment of what the aircraft is actually worth today.
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