Description
GE Capital Aviation Services is an Irish–American commercial aviation financing and leasing company. It is the largest commercial airline leasing/financing company in the world by number of aircraft. GECAS is a subsidiary of GE Capital, the finance arm of the conglomerate General Electric. The company offers many aviation finance services, including aircraft leasing, aircraft lending, engine leasing, asset management, and aircraft consulting. In terms of aircraft leasing, GECAS purchases aircraft from manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing, and then leases them to airlines, typically for about eight years, and usually on dry lease contracts. GECAS also offers purchase leasebacks. The company has two global headquarters located in Shannon, County Clare, and Norwalk, Connecticut. The company has over 575 employees and 26 offices throughout the world.
GECAS has a fleet of over 1,970 aircraft, used by 270 clients in over 75 countries. GECAS' primary competitor is AerCap, although other companies such as Air Lease Corporation, Aviation Capital Group, BBAM and SMBC Aviation Capital are players in the aviation finance industry.
GE Aviation, another GE subsidiary, is part of the CFM International joint venture with Safran. Previously, GECAS had a policy of exclusively selecting GE engines for 99% of its airliners, and had only eight B757s with Pratt & Whitney or Rolls-Royce turbofans. As the Airbus A350 XWB did not select GE engines, GECAS would not order it without airline placement. However, the company finally leased the first A350 operated by Qatar Airways to diversify assets and reduce risk. GECAS also leases the Pratt & Whitney-powered Bombardier Q400 and ATR 72. GE/CFM supports Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce and IAE engines.
