Airlines in Russia have reportedly contacted AerCap to consider potential insurance settlements related to AerCap’s 116 aircraft stranded in Russia after the Ukraine invasion in February 2022, said AerCap CEO Aengus Kelly.
During an earnings call, Kelly noted that AerCap has indeed been approached by Russian operators and their own insurance companies to reach a compromise. However, Kelly acknowledged that it is difficult to work out a compromise as Russia is currently under international sanctions and for such a deal to go through, would require a nod of approval from the European Union as well as the US.
“As you know, we are pursuing insurance claims against our own insurers and against the Russian airlines’ insurers and re-insurers. We have been approached by some Russian airlines and their insurers about potential insurance settlements involving some of our aircraft lost in Russia. However, it is too early to know whether anything will come out of it and we have nothing further to say on it at this stage,” Kelly added.
He did not give any further details. AerCap is currently in the process of suing its insurance companies for the loss of aircraft, claiming an amount of $3.5vn under an all-risk policy or $1.2 bn under war risk policy.
In January 2023, Irish arm of Fidelis Insurance Group had joined fellow insurers AIG and Lloyd’s as a defendant in the lawsuit at the High Court of Justice in London. In the last hearing that took place last week, Fidelis argued that it was not liable for AerCap’s loss placing an argument that insurance policies had not yet been triggered as the stranded aircraft as of now, are not a total loss of assets.