Sale Leaseback (SLB) Market: A 12 Month Review
The Sale Leaseback (SLB) market remains a core source for commercial aircraft delivery financing. Over the past year, between August 2024 - August 2025, lessors and asset managers executed 503 aircraft SLBs. By 'executed' we refer to Transfer of Title - Future SLB Commitments announced in the past year are not considered.
THE DATA:
• THE TOP 10 LESSORS depicted in the graph executed over 56% of all SLBs. Most of these lessors possess Investment Grade ratings on a stand-alone basis, underlining the importance of scale & low cost of capital in navigating the competitive SLB space.
• BBAM executed the most SLBs in the past 12 months, largely supported through a portfolio of 36 x mid-life B737-800NGs with Southwest Airlines. The lessor & asset manager distinguishes itself through its broad pockets of capital, including its INCLINE Funds and JOLCO manager mandates, enabling it to play across the airline credit & asset age spectrum.
• 57 LESSORS & ASSET MANAGERS successfully closed SLBs in the past year. Amidst lengthy lead times for OEM orderbook positions, many lessors are confined to grow via the SLB channel or through portfolio trading.
• 87 AIRLINES concluded SLBs in the past year, with United Airlines leading the pack with 39 aircraft. Other notable airlines include Southwest Airlines (36), Shenzhen Airlines (24), IndiGo (22) and Air India Express (21).
• NEW DELIVERY AIRCRAFT accounted for 63% of the entire SLB market last year. On some of these 318 aircraft, the SLB was conducted after initial OEM delivery (but within one year), suggesting that alternate sources such as cash were used to bridge this gap.
• PRE-OWNED AIRCRAFT SLBs continue to be used by airlines as an efficient fleet transition tool. Both easyJet & Southwest Airlines, which own(ed) a sizeable portion of their respective mid-life A320ceo & B737NG Family aircraft, have deployed this strategy at scale. In the past year, the average age of the 185 pre-owned aircraft that underwent SLB was 10 years, suggesting that other airlines are pursuing similar strategies.
