Airlines that ordered the Boeing 737 MAX suddenly faced the summer travel season with hundreds fewer planes than expected. A low-profile part of the aviation industry gained.
Regulators in March stopped Boeing 737 MAX planes from flying because of safety concerns following two fatal crashes. Photo: David Ryder/Getty Images By Robert Wall and Daniel Michaels June 6, 2019 5:30 a.m. ET The global grounding of Boeing Co.’s BA 1.20% 737 MAX jetliners has upended air travel, but one little-noticed corner of the aviation industry is benefiting from the problems: companies that rent out planes and staff.
In other industries, customers might turn to a competing supplier. But tapping Boeing’s European rival Airbus SE wasn’t an option. Even if airlines were able to manage all the pilot training and logistical complexities of switching between jetliner brands—a feat few carriers can handle—Airbus couldn’t supply the planes. Its production lines are booked for several years.
“The lines were busy all the time, and the team was literally working day and night to respond to all the requests,” said Karolina Rakštytė, head of marketing at Avion Express. More common monthly airplane rentals, generally known as operating leases, can cost up to $300,000 a month for a new 737 or competing Airbus A320.
When Air Canada’s 24 MAX jets were grounded—and its plans to add a dozen more were frozen—it rented planes from the wet-lease unit of Air Transport Services Group Inc. of Wilmington, Ohio, and some from other airlines, including Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Qatar Airways. “There is certainly increased demand,” said Aengus Kelly, chief executive of AerCap Holdings NV, the world’s largest independent plane lessor.“Demand has generally increased lease rates, particularly on the 737-800,” said John Plueger, CEO of Air Lease Corp. , another leasing giant. The company has 15 MAX planes that already had been delivered to airline customers affected by the grounding, with more built and awaiting delivery.
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