Ishka Insights: indispensable analysis and opinion

Trusted, expert assessment of the latest industry trends from the respected Ishka team, including regional analysis, airlines, lessors and critical emerging issues.

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The lessors looking to sell aircraft in H2 2025

Six lessors have confirmed to Ishka that they plan to sell aircraft portfolios in the second half of 2025. more

15/09/2025

Analysis: Lessons from the Air Lease acquisition 

The recent $28.2 billion acquisition of Air Lease Corporation by Sumitomo Corporation, SMBC Aviation Capital, Apollo, and Brookfield is one of the most significant recent mergers in the aircraft leasing space. more

12/09/2025

Briefing: Fewer aircraft retirements expected for 2025

Aircraft retirements in 2025 are expected to fall short of 2024 levels, according to Ishka estimates, reflecting limited replacement capacity as Boeing and Airbus continue to lag on deliveries. more

11/09/2025

PK AirFinance’s PKAIR 2025-2 ABS prices

PK AirFinance’s latest aviation loan ABS, PKAIR 2025-2, has priced. more

10/09/2025

DAE markets $610 million Navigator 2025-1 aircraft lease ABS

The dual tranche issuance is the third from the Navigator JV between DAE and PIMCO, following last year’s Navigator 2024-1 and 2021’s Navigator 2021-1. more

10/09/2025

‘Dozens’ of Spirit aircraft could hit the market as part of second Chapter 11

Lessors confide that “dozens” of A320ceos could hit the market as a result of the Spirit’s second foray into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. more

09/09/2025

GA Telesis Spirit SLB terminated as Spirit returns to Chapter 11

Spirit Airlines' $519 million sale-and-leaseback agreement with GA Telesis has been terminated, according to a bankruptcy court filing. more

08/09/2025

PK AirFinance markets $827 million loan ABS

Apollo-backed alt lender PK AirFinance is in the market with its second aviation loan ABS of the year, PKAIR 2025-2. more

05/09/2025

Remarketing Watch Data Sheet: September 2025

There are 288 aircraft being actively remarketed on sites tracked by Ishka as of 4th September. more

04/09/2025

Titan begins buying widebodies for second freighter fund

Titan Aviation Leasing (Titan) is understood to already be in the process of buying widebodies for its second freighter fund Titan Aircraft Investments II (TAI 2) whose successful closure was announced this week. more

04/09/2025

Air Lease to be acquired by Sumitomo-led group in $28bn transaction

Sumitomo, SMBC Aviation Capital, Apollo and Brookfield have agreed a deal to acquire Air Lease Corporation in an all-cash transaction. more

03/09/2025

Spirit returns to bankruptcy as restructuring efforts fall short

Spirit Airlines has entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings for the second time in 12 months, after its previous restructuring failed to prove sustainable. more

01/09/2025

Aircraft Buyers List August 25: Which aircraft are lessors targeting?

This is the 21st edition of Ishka’s aircraft buyers list, where Ishka summarises a list of potential and active buyers of leased aircraft on the secondary market. more

01/09/2025

Engine Buyers List August 25: Which engines are lessors targeting?

This is the 7th edition of Ishka’s Engine Buyers List, where Ishka profiles some of the most active commercial engine buyers in the secondary market. more

28/08/2025

Fewer deliveries push AFIC, Balthazar, and Itasca insurance premiums lower

Ishka research indicates that premiums for non-payment insurance (NPI) on new aircraft financings have lowered substantially over the past 12 months as insurance products compete to win mandates on a relatively small pool of available financings. more

27/08/2025

Cap Markets: CALC and ICBCIL only lessor debt issuers in August

A typically muted August saw just two lessor unsecured bond issuances for a total of $208 million raised for what was the lowest monthly total to date this year. more

26/08/2025

Q&A: Hanwha Aviation expands with LEAP engines and MRO

Hanwha Aviation has been active since its inception 14 months ago, acquiring roughly 40 narrowbody engines, including LEAP and GTF, and launching Hanwha AeroTechnix – an FAA, EASA, and UK CAA engine MRO based in Miami. Ishka catches up with Hanwha Aviation’s Chief Investment Officer, Ben Pughe-Morgan, to find out what the next 12 months might look like. more

25/08/2025

When will we see more C and E note issuance for aircraft lease ABS?

There has been a noticeable absence of subordinated debt issuance in recent aircraft lease ABS transactions. more

22/08/2025

Airlines told to issue earlier RFPs if they want JOLCOs, SMBC closes GAEL II fund

Ishka hears that some Japanese arrangers are asking for airlines to issue some RFPs up to a year in advance of delivery amid increased competition and deliveries. more

21/08/2025

Interview: Libra Group’s SLI set to take on new-tech propulsion leasing

Space Leasing International (SLI) CEO Praveen Vetrivel tells Ishka SAVi what has motivated the Libra Group subsidiary to become the first lessor to place a direct order for BETA Technologies’ ALIA CX300 CTOL aircraft. more

20/08/2025

Challenge Airlines on its leasing needs, a look at Castlelake’s new lending arm

Ishka catches up with Challenge Group’s CFO, Daniel Ganem, and chief investment officer Michael Koish about their financing and leasing needs, and how market values are shaping up for 767s, and older 747s and 777s. more

19/08/2025

Transaction update: Tariff concerns push countries towards Boeing orders, new debt financing facilities launched

Ishka's Transaction Update is a report series looking at the key trends, recent deal flow, and key announcements within aviation and aircraft leasing. more

18/08/2025

Loan Datasheet: ORIX closes three loans, Hanwha secures syndicated facility, EasyJet enters $1.7bn RCF

The latest Ishka loan datasheet examines recent loans for commercial aircraft lessors and airlines, and the dynamics impacting aircraft lenders. more

15/08/2025

Chart of the week: A330 and 777 values stable, airlines seek longer lease extensions 

The chart of the week looks at recent trends between the A330-300 and B777-300ER as more airlines seek lease extensions on their widebodies. more

14/08/2025

The 20 airlines which make up 60% of the total value of Airbus and Boeing's disclosed order book

Airbus and Boeing aircraft on order by disclosed, non-leasing customers worldwide sit at around $929.7 billion by Ishka current market values as of the midpoint of 2025 more

13/08/2025

Sky Airlines put ‘On Watch’ ahead of repayment deadline, VietJet runs out of legal runway

This edition of On Watch provides updates on Sky Airlines, VietJet, Garuda Indonesia, Turkish Airlines and Air Europa. more

11/08/2025

Indian tax tribunal ruling offers relief to lessors

The Delhi Bench of India’s Income Tax Appellate Tribunal has ruled in favour of Irish lessors, rejecting the Indian tax authority’s attempt to recharacterise operating leases as finance leases. more

08/08/2025

Lessor unsecured debt issuance bounces back to $2.7 billion in July

Leasing unsecured debt issuance rose to its highest level in four months in July after a muted second quarter. more

07/08/2025

Air Lease Q2 2025: ‘We still do not view pricing of new aircraft orders to be attractive’

Air Lease indicated that the company has no immediate plans for new aircraft orders during its recent Q2 2025 earnings call with current pricing deemed unattractive. more

06/08/2025

Asset managers survey:  Average unlevered returns contract by around 1 percentage point for older aircraft

A survey of asset managers conducted by Ishka reveal that average unlevered returns for previous tech aircraft assets have contracted further, dropping by 84bps in the last nine months. more

05/08/2025

Briefing: Why shipping JOLCO investors are coming back to aircraft deals

Japanese investors are returning to aviation JOLCOs after environmental legislative changes, first introduced in 2023, have curbed the attractiveness of ship financings for some Japanese tax investors. more

01/08/2025

AerCap Q2 2025: Sale-leaseback deals “are beginning to present themselves”

The improving aircraft supply environment is beginning to open the sale-leaseback channel for AerCap, CEO Aengus Kelly told the lessor’s Q2 2025 earnings call. more

31/07/2025

Tariff Tracker: Relief for Embraer as aircraft exempted from new 50% Brazil duties

A new executive order, signed by President Trump, exempts aircraft, aircraft parts and their components from the new 50% tariffs being introduced on most Brazilian goods. more

31/07/2025

Over half of Embraer backlog destined for US customers

A substantial number of Embraer orders are for US customers - and therefore at risk from increased US tariffs on Brazil. more

30/07/2025

Tariff Tracker: Embraer left exposed as US-EU strike aviation trade deal

Embraer risks being left isolated in the tariff fallout as the United States and European Union agree on a new trade deal framework that will preserve "zero-for-zero" tariffs for Airbus and Boeing. more

30/07/2025

Boeing orders form part of new US tariff deals

Recent tariff deals made by the US administration have seemingly been a boost for Boeing. more

28/07/2025

Remarketing Watch Data Sheet: July 2025

The number of aircraft being actively remarketed on sites tracked by Ishka rose in July, though still remains below historic levels. more

25/07/2025

JetZero CEO: ‘Lots of aircraft leasing interest’ for blended wing aircraft

JetZero CEO and co-founder Tom O’Leary tells Ishka SAVi about its blended wing aircraft programme’s funding trajectory, the financial contribution of its prospective customers, and interest by aircraft lessors. more

24/07/2025

Have we reached peak pricing for previous-tech engines?

Engine lessor CEOs speaking at Ishka’s Dublin conference argued that values and lease rates for previous generation engines had reached a natural peak. more

23/07/2025

Q2 engine prices and lease rates: V2500 lease rates dip, but 5Bs strengthen

Lease rates for V2500-A5 Select engines have broadly dropped in the second quarter of 2025, according to Ishka research, but prices for previous-generation narrowbody aircraft engines (CFM56-5Bs, CFM56-7Bs, and V2500s) have remained stable compared to the previous quarter. more

22/07/2025

Will Indian carriers soon be able to access the JOLCO market?

JOLCO arrangers, aviation financiers and lawyers debate whether the implementation of the CTC in India could lead to a first Indian JOLCO. more

21/07/2025

Pricing: Castlelake’s $614.8 million ABS CLAS 2025-2 

Castlelake’s latest aircraft lease ABS, CLAS 2025-1, has priced, achieving a yield of 5.528% on its class A notes and a yield of 6.387% on its class B notes. more

21/07/2025

Quick Take: CTC protections at risk as India revises aircraft legislation

India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation has released new draft legislation, which threatens to undermine the protections introduced under the Cape Town Convention. more

17/07/2025

Castlelake markets $614.8 million aircraft lease ABS

US fund manager and leasing firm Castlelake is back in the market with its second aircraft lease ABS of the year, CLAS 2025-2. more

16/07/2025

Average aviation alt lender spreads drop below 300bp for the first time

Aviation alternative lender margins tightened further in Q2 2025 according to Ishka research, with the average spread of regular deal flow now at 295bps over SOFR – marking the first time that margins have dropped below 300bps since Ishka began its quarterly survey in 2023. more

16/07/2025

OEM backlogs: India and US make up a third of non-leasing orders

Ishka takes a look at the Airbus and Boeing backlog as of 30th June 2025. more

15/07/2025

Engine Buyers List July 25: Which engines are lessors targeting?

This is the 6th edition of Ishka’s Engine Buyers List, where Ishka summarises a list of some of the most active commercial engine buyers in the secondary market. more

14/07/2025

Azorra and Avolon kick off H2 unsecured debt issuance 

Two lessors have come to market with unsecured issuances in the first few weeks of July, issuing a total of $1.2 billion. more

10/07/2025

Lessors Q2 trading update, Rolls seeks UK support for UltraFan, Scandinavian Airlines's Embraer order

Ishka's Transaction Update is a report series looking at essential trends, recent deal flow, and key announcements within aviation and aircraft leasing... more

10/07/2025

Q2 Bank survey: Can margins get much lower?

Risk-adjusted margins on new aircraft loans and warehouse facilities have tightened further in the last three months, according to Ishka research, as lenders state the limited number of new aircraft deliveries is creating intense competition. more

10/07/2025