Airline Economics Celebrates Industry Excellence and Legends at Annual Aviation 100 Awards Evening
Airline Economics hosted its annual Aviation 100 Awards Evening last night, bringing together senior leaders from across the global aviation finance community to celebrate excellence in transactions, corporate performance and individual achievement.
The ceremony recognised standout deals completed over the past year, alongside the top-performing airlines, lessors, banks, advisers and executives in the Aviation 100 rankings. It also paid tribute to industry figures whose careers have left a lasting impact on aviation finance and leasing.
Awards
This year’s Deal Awards highlighted the breadth and innovation of aviation finance activity across capital markets, structured finance, supported finance, M&A and leasing.
Among the winners were major transactions involving Airbus and Boeing aircraft, landmark capital markets issuances, freighter acquisitions and complex structured finance solutions. The Overall Deal of the Year was awarded to Griffin Global Asset Management’s US$1.245 billion Master Trust aircraft ABS, reflecting the continued strength and evolution of the aircraft securitisation market.
The Aviation 100 awards recognised leading companies and individuals across the industry. Winners included Airbus’ A321neo as Aircraft of the Year, AvAir as Parts Supplier of the Year, MTU as MRO of the Year and Cirium Ascend Consultancy as Appraiser of the Year.
Clifford Chance was named Law Firm of the Year, while Air France-KLM received Airline of the Year. AerCap was awarded Lessor of the Year and MUFG Bank won Bank of the Year.
Individual honours saw Aisling Kenny, CFO of SMBC Aviation Capital, named CFO/Treasury Team of the Year, while Peter Barrett, CEO of SMBC Aviation Capital, was recognised as CEO/Industry Leader of the Year.
All shortlisted companies and individuals received a Highly Commended designation.
Aviation Legends
A highlight of the evening was the Aviation Legends ceremony, which honoured individuals whose careers have helped shape modern aviation finance.
Jennifer Villa received the Trailblazer Award for founding Ashland Place Finance during the Covid crisis and introducing an innovative lending and credit model that has influenced market standards.
Aviation Legend awards were presented to Helane Becker, Rob Morris, Yancale Shahar, Julie Dickerson, Norm Liu and Christian Scherer in recognition of decades of leadership, analysis, and strategic impact across airlines, leasing and manufacturing.
More detail on the Aviation Legends 2026 is in the next issue of Airline Economics Issue 89 to be published this week.
Lifetime Achievement Award
The evening culminated in the presentation of both the Aviation Legend Award and Lifetime Achievement Award to Steven Udvar-Házy.
A pioneer of modern aircraft leasing and founder of ILFC and Air Lease Corporation, Udvar-Házy is widely regarded as the architect of the global aircraft leasing industry. His vision, customer-first philosophy and long-term thinking transformed how airlines finance and operate fleets worldwide.
Accepting the award, Udvar-Házy paid tribute to his family and to the Air Lease Corporation team for building a US$35 billion enterprise in just 15 years. His retirement was met with a standing ovation from the audience, marking the end of an extraordinary career.
The Airline Economics Awards continue to recognise the transactions, companies and individuals driving innovation and resilience across aviation finance.