By Barry McCall, Irish Times

The Irish aviation leasing industry has emerged from the pandemic in a strong position. Photograph: iStock

Around a quarter of the world’s commercial aircraft are owned by companies based in Ireland. This is a powerful indicator of the scale and importance of Ireland’s world leading aviation leasing industry.

“Irish aviation leasing remains a critical enabler of the global aviation industry and a highly valuable contributor to the Irish economy,” says Elizabeth Bowen, director of Aircraft Leasing Ireland (ALI) the Ibec group representing the aircraft leasing sector. According to Bowen the industry is responsible for 8,543 full-time equivalent jobs, an economic contribution of $975 million annually, and spending with Irish suppliers of $327 million each year.

To put the scale of the Irish industry in context it is estimated that over half of the global aviation fleet is leased, and Irish-based companies account for 50 per cent of the market. That amounts to several thousand aircraft with a total value of anything up to a trillion dollars.

First appeared on IrishTimes.com on January 25th, 2024. Read the full article here.