Boeing Reports Increased Stability and Growth for Aircraft Finance Sector

• For second consecutive year, 100% of Boeing deliveries were financed by third parties with the top sources of delivery funding coming from cash, capital markets and sale leasebacks.
• Capital markets continued to play a key role in shoring up liquidity for the sector, close to pre-pandemic levels for most issuers as spreads tightened throughout the year.

Boeing Capital Corporation released the 2022 Commercial Aircraft Financing Market Outlook (CAFMO) showing improving financing stability as the industry recovers from the impacts of the global pandemic.

“Financiers and investors remain committed to the long-term fundamentals that continue to make aircraft a valuable asset class,” said Tim Myers, president of Boeing Capital Corporation. “Despite the changing landscape since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry remains resilient and there continues to be sufficient liquidity in the market for our customers with increasing opportunities as traffic recovers.”

The 2022 CAFMO reflects Boeing’s near-term view of market dynamics and assesses financing sources for new commercial airplane deliveries.

“Industry fundamentals continue to show varying degrees of strength in different markets that reflect the regional trends of the global pandemic,” Myers said.

The 2022 CAFMO, an introductory video, regional highlight videos and regional financing data is available at www.boeing.com/CAFMO. Select highlights include:

• For the second consecutive year, 100% of Boeing deliveries were financed by third parties with the top sources of delivery funding in cash, capital markets and sale leasebacks.
• The capital markets continued to play a key role in shoring up liquidity for the sector, with the market close to pre-pandemic levels for most issuers as spreads tightened throughout the year.
• Secured debt for lessors also made a return to pre-pandemic levels with the ABS market making a comeback with volumes at around $8.7 billion, as lessors took advantage of the favorable rate environment.
• Although risk tolerance and activity levels were below pre-pandemic levels, pockets around the world are increasingly looking for business through bank debt.
• Institutional investors and funds continued to seek aviation exposure, filling in where traditional sources of capital retrenched.
• Export credit supported financing for Boeing aircraft contributed about 5% of total funding last year, primarily by the Export-Import Bank of the United States and with one deal supported by UK Export Finance.

The Boeing 2021 Commercial Market Outlook, a separate annual 20-year forecast addressing the market for commercial airplanes and services, projects that through 2040 there will be demand more than 43,500 new airplanes valued at $7.2 trillion.

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Satcom Direct

Satcom Direct (SD), the business aviation solutions provider, is strengthening its Asia Pacific network with the opening of a Singapore office. The new location represents the base for Brian Roos, the recently appointed Asia Pacific, Regional Director, and newly named Regional Sales Manager, Kaviraj (Kavi) Nadarajah.

Reporting directly to Senior Vice President, SD International, Michael Skou Christensen,  Roos is responsible for establishing the SD presence in Singapore and executing SD’s ongoing strategic developments across the Asia Pacific region. This includes identifying new markets, adding to the customer portfolio, consolidating existing and new MRO relationships, building new partnerships, and introducing established and new SD products and services to the connectivity-hungry market as well as ensuring continued delivery of SD award winning customer support.

“Stretching from China to New Zealand, the Asia Pacific region has always been an important market for SD, and still holds great potential for us.  It is a buoyant area where the business aviation fleet continues to evolve, the number of high-net worth individuals is increasing, and the appetite for technology solutions to improve the user and owner experience is unparalleled globally. The appointment of Kavi enhances our support for regional operators and owners which are optimizing customized connectivity solutions to manage their data to meet their diverse mission needs. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to bolster SD’s footprint here,” says Roos.

As business aviation continues its trajectory towards digitization, with more data generated and transmitted by business aircraft, Roos will also be responsible for advocating the benefits of the SD connectivity ecosystem of hardware, software and infrastructure, as well as the introduction of the series of SD Plane Simple™ Antenna Systems.

Following confirmation of FAA and EASA STCs in March 2022 for the Plane Simple Ku-band tail-mount antenna for specified Gulfstream and Bombardier airframes, and the anticipated confirmation of relevant STCs across Asia, top of Roos’ priority list will be to showcase the benefits of the first variant which is powered by the multi-layered Intelsat FlexExec service. Roos anticipates that the antenna, which simplifies high-speed data access for operators through ease of installation, competitive price plans and advanced antenna technology, will satisfy the region’s increased data demand.  The Plane Simple Ku-band variant is on track to enter commercial service in Q3 2022.

With some 20 years of experience in aviation, Roos has held various positions within the commercial and private sectors, including airport operations, customer service, flight operations, flight support, and charter management. Brian spent five years working with start-up operators and flight support companies in the Middle East and Africa region before joining Satcom Direct. Originally from Cape Town, Brian is also a licensed International Flight Dispatcher.

Kavi Nadarajah will work closely with Roos, overseeing the north and southeast Asian customer base. His previous experience includes roles for Hawker Pacific and Jet Aviation after beginning his 18-year aviation career as a dispatcher for commercial airlines. He is eager to bring his passion for customer service to the SD community. “I am extremely excited to be a part of the new Singapore office team. The sky is not the limit for our services and I look forward to engaging with our customers to help them make the most out of the SD product and service portfolio,” says Nadarajah.

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Call To Strengthen Consumer Protections For Travelers

Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chairwoman Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), members of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, called on the Department of Transportation (DOT) to strengthen consumer protections for travelers who are eligible for airline ticket refunds. DOT previously stated that it would issue new consumer protections regarding airline refunds, in the wake of major disruptions for air travel caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In a report to the White House Competition Council, DOT reported “[m]any airlines were also initially reluctant to provide the required refunds,” causing consumers to send the DOT “a flood of complaints” regarding airlines’ failures to compensate their customers for flight cancellations. In 2020, DOT received 29,687 refund complaints against U.S. airlines, a 4,634 percent increase from 2019.

“As part of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation’s ongoing oversight of the U.S. airline industry, we are writing to request that the Department of Transportation (“DOT”) take further action to make the process for obtaining refunds more transparent and efficient for U.S. airline passengers, in response to the increase in passenger refund complaints during the COVID-19 pandemic,” wrote the lawmakers in their letter to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg ahead of Tuesday’s hearing in the Commerce Committee on the President’s budget priorities.

A copy of the Senators’ letter can be found HERE.

In their letter, the Senators urge the Transportation Department to take specific actions to protect air travel consumers, including clarifying and codifying policies requiring carriers and ticket agents to provide prompt refunds after a flight is cancelled or significantly delayed, as well as clarifying the rights for consumers who are unable to travel and cancel their own tickets due to government restrictions or the declaration of a public health emergency. The Senators also called on DOT to require airlines to conspicuously disclose and publicize to passengers that consumers have to submit a written request to trigger the refund requirement, to set up user-friendly and easy-to-find refund portals, and to report to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics the value of the refunds and vouchers provided to consumers each month.

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