Impressive: 99% Of BOC Aviation’s Fleet Is Leased Out

Singapore-based aircraft lessor BOC Aviation continues to grow its fleet. It does not lack customers, with 99% of its owned fleet currently leased out. Despite a continued downturn for long-haul travel, the company has secured lease agreements for the six widebody aircraft currently not operating and will soon be back to near 100% of fleet utilization.

Soon all widebodies will be up and flying again

It may not have been much of a seller’s market for airplanes this year. Airbus only saw one new order last month. However, Boeing did outpace its European rival with 22 new orders, suggesting demand could be on the mend. And some aircraft lessors are doing remarkably well. BOC Aviation, formerly named Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise, currently has only nine out of 420 aircraft off lease.

BOC Aviation owns and manages an impressive fleet of aircraft. It has over 100 Airbus A320ceos, over 80 A320neos, close to 20 A330s – current engine and new engine options, as well as nine A350s. From the Boeing catalog, the lessor has close to 90 from the 737 NG family, 40 737 MAXs, 25 Triple Sevens, and 21 787s. It also dabbles in the cargo market with six freighters.

At the moment, BOC Aviation says in its third-quarter report, only one of its managed single-aisle aircraft is off-lease, and two of the ones it owns. While six dual-aisle aircraft (owned) are also not currently with an operator, signed leases are in place, and they will soon be flying again.

Fleet quickly growing younger

During the third quarter of 2021, the Singapore-based lessor took delivery of nine aircraft while selling two. It signed 27 lease commitments and had a customer base of 88 operators in 38 countries across its owned and managed portfolios. BOC Aviation’s entire portfolio has an average age of 3.8 years.

Meanwhile, the company has another 113 aircraft on order. These are comprised of 44 of the A320neo family, 45 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, three 777s, and 21 787 Dreamliners. However, BOC Aviation is not copying its competitors’ foray into the budding cargo market and has only one new freighter on order.

A little over a year ago, BOC Aviation’s MAX orderbook looked a little different. The lessor cut its MAX order by a third in June 2020. This was thought to be related to the global downturn in demand for aircraft rather than the troubles the type has faced over the last couple of years.

Doing well despite the crisis

While most of the aviation industry has been showing abysmal figures since the beginning of the crisis, BOC Aviation has constituted a significant exception. In fact, according to Reuters, the lessor had 100% of its fleet on lease at the height of the crisis in May 2020 after striking three-month partial payment deferral deals with many of its customers. Despite the concessions, in March this year, the leasing giant shared that its revenue stood at $2.054 billion – up 4% year on year.

Source: https://simpleflying.com/boc-aviation-fleet-leased-out/