Leasing is how most airlines start: no purchase price, a flyable aircraft this week. But a lease is a stack of obligations, and the ones that are not the headline rent are the ones that surprise people.
What you sign up for#
In worlds with leasing companies, every listing is a specific airframe: an exact tail with its own age, hours and history (see Leasing, buying & ordering). The contract terms:
| Obligation | Typical shape |
|---|---|
| Weekly rent | A fraction of the airframe's appraised value, by default roughly 0.28% per week for young metal up to 0.45% for old (your world may differ) |
| Security deposit | Paid up front, by default 12 weeks of rent (your world may differ); refundable, and shown as an asset on your balance sheet |
| Maintenance reserve | A non-refundable per-flight-hour accrual billed to the lessor as you fly, by default $300 per flight hour (your world may differ) |
| Term | By default 52 weeks, auto-renewing (your world may differ). Factory leases run far longer; see below |
You also carry the operating obligations of any tail on your certificate: routine maintenance billing, crew and heavy checks while it flies for you. Older worlds with the anonymous broker instead of leasing companies use simpler terms: smaller deposits, no reserves.
The factory lease is a different animal#
Leasing a brand-new aircraft straight from the manufacturer is a separate contract, and it is on by default. Its rent is a fixed share of the aircraft's list price (0.32% per week by default), locked at signing rather than tracking the airframe's condition as it ages. The deposit is the same 12 weeks. What differs is the commitment: the minimum term is 416 weeks, roughly eight years, and breaking it early costs the remaining rent up to a cap of 52 weeks (your world may differ). It is the cheapest way for a young airline to get modern metal without capital, and the hardest contract in the game to walk away from. Sign it for aircraft you are certain of.
Terms, renewal and getting out#
Leases auto-renew by default: at the end of the minimum term the contract rolls into a fresh term at the same rate. Flag non-renewal on the Leasing page and the return happens automatically at term end: the tail's flight numbers are deactivated, any still-booked flights are cancelled with passenger compensation, the aircraft goes home, and your deposit is refunded. Plan the wind-down yourself and the compensation line stays at zero.
Returning early is possible once the tail has no active flight numbers or pending flights. Broker leases charge an early-termination penalty, by default 8 weeks of rent (your world may differ); the deposit still comes back.
Watching the commitment#
The Leasing page shows both sides of your book (aircraft leased in and leased out), with each contract's next billing date, weeks remaining, and the rent still committed through term end. A rollup totals your weekly bill, deposits held out, and total committed rent. The Upcoming Events calendar projects every installment forward against your cash. Deposits you hold as a lessor to other airlines appear as liabilities on your balance sheet.
The circular economy#
Aircraft never vanish. Return a tail and it goes back to its owner carrying every hour and cycle you put on it; leasing companies refurbish idle metal, relist it, and eventually sell aging tails outright. The wear you inflict is priced into that airframe's next appraisal, and the rent its next lessee pays. Leasing out your own surplus tails works the same way in reverse: the rent is income, the depreciation stays on your books, and the deposit you hold is owed back. See Ledger & income statement for where each piece lands.