There is currently a strong demand for classic widebody aircraft, driven by manufacturer delays. This was noted at the widebody focused commercial aviation finance and investments panel at this years London Growth Frontiers conference.
“There is currently a strong appetite for widebody aircraft driven by a healthy number of aircraft lessors in the market,” said Mamoun Kuzbari, CCO of Novus Aviation Capital who was speaking on the panel.
Also speaking on the panel was Olga Razzhivina, senior ISTAT appraiser, ORIEL, she further commented on a “resurgence” in the classic widebody market, with more airlines looking for aircraft in this market. “We are seeing quite a resurgence on classic widebody aircraft,” she explained.
Razzhivina continued: “This comes from a resurgence of traffic flows around the world. The demand is still not in full swing, as slow delays on the new aircraft has resulted in a positive impact on the older generation aircraft, with lease rates extending up to five years. Overall, the market is positive, the widebody market is still bubbling.”
But although there is a current strong appetite for classic widebodies - this will reduce in the near future - driven by airlines wanting to meet sustainability targets. Speaking on the panel was Mher Papyan, senior director of customer finance at Boeing. He added that classic widebodies will start to see less pressure as airlines will look at meet ESG targets in coming years. “There will be less pressure on the older aircraft. It will help airlines meet ESG goals.”
He continued: “The quickest was to improve sustainability is to re-fleet as they reduce emissions/carbon footprint. SAF there is a lot of talk of SAF we are committed to making all our aircraft deliveries after 2030 to be able to fly on SAF.”