DALLAS — BOC Aviation recently disclosed its operational transactions for the quarter ending September 30, 2024. 

The aircraft leasing company, headquartered in Singapore with offices in Dublin, London, New York, and Tianjinit, maintains a fleet of 693 aircraft owned, administered, or on order. 

The 430-owned aircraft fleet had an average aircraft age of 5.0 years and an average remaining lease term of 7.8 years, weighted by net book value. Additionally, the company reported having an order book of 231 aircraft and a managed fleet of 32 aircraft.

BOC Aviation plans to grow from its current 680 aircraft to 1,000 by 2030, according to Chief Executive Steven Townend.

Aircraft Portfolio Breakdown

• Airbus A220 family: 23 owned, 0 managed, 0 on order, total 23.
• Airbus A320CEO family: 70 owned, 13 managed, 0 on order, total 83.
• Airbus A320NEO family: 133 owned, 0 managed, 137 on order, total 270.
• Airbus A330CEO family: 8 owned, one managed, 0 on order, total 9.
• Airbus A330NEO family: 6 owned, 0 managed, 0 on order, total 6.
• Airbus A350 family: 9 owned, 0 managed, 0 on order, total 9.
• Boeing 737NG family: 57 owned, 13 managed, 0 on order, total 70.
• Boeing 737-8/9 family: 65 owned, 0 managed, 86 on order, total 151.
• Boeing 777-300ER: 27 owned, three managed, 0 on order, total 30.
• Boeing 787 family: 27 owned, one managed, eight on order, total 36.
• Freighters: 5 owned, one managed, 0 on order, total 6.

Aircraft Orders, Utilization

The company also noted that it completed 70 transactions in the third quarter of 2024, which included the sale of six owned aircraft, the delivery of seven aircraft, and commitments to purchase 19 aircraft. Additionally, it had 35 lease commitments.

As of September 30, 2024, BOC Aviation reported that its owned aircraft utilization was 99% and had a customer base of 93 airlines in 48 countries and regions in the owned and managed portfolios. 

The company also disclosed that it had issued seven-year bonds with a coupon rate of 4.625% per annum, totaling US$500 million. In December 2006, the BOC Aviation was acquired by, and became a wholly-owned subsidiary of, Bank of China.

The Aircraft Lessor Landscape

According to a CAPA - Centre for Aviation report, the global aircraft leasing sector is led by AerCap—the biggest player by fleet and revenue. Howeverm the report notes that there is a clear top five of leading lessors (which also includes Air Lease Corporation, Avolon, BOC Aviation and SMBC Aviation Capital).

These five possess 31% of the lessor aircraft in service, but they also hold 48% of the lessor orders. This suggests that their proportion of the global leased fleet will continue to rise in the future.

Two years ago, the financial results of the leading lessors were adversely affected by the Russian aircraft crisis and COVID-19; however, profits have since rebounded. Additionally, the top five lessors have maintained investment-grade credit ratings.