| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aircraft leasing |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Founder | Ali Ben Lmadani |
| Headquarters | Dublin, Ireland |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
|
| Website | ablaviation |
ABL Aviation is a global independent aircraft asset management company headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 2014, the company specializes in structuring and managing aircraft investments for institutional investors, with a focus on new generation and mid-life commercial aircraft. As of April 2025, ABL Aviation has deployed over $5.9 billion in capital and manages assets exceeding $6.6 billion across a portfolio of 108 aircraft.
ABL Aviation maintains offices in six global financial and aviation hubs: Dublin, New York, Casablanca, Dubai, Hong Kong, and Tokyo.
ABL Aviation was founded in December 2014 in New York by Ali Ben Lmadani as an independent aircraft asset management and leasing platform focused on institutional investors. The company initially concentrated on mid life aircraft transactions and structured financing solutions for equity investors and financial institutions. He had worked with an investment bank on Wall Street, handling deals for airlines like Emirates and Singapore Airlines.[ citation needed ] From 2016 to 2017, ABL Aviation concentrated on the "mid-life" aircraft segment.
The company moved its headquarters to Dublin, Ireland.[ when? ] [1] Then, additional offices were opened in Casablanca, [2] Morocco, [3] Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Hong Kong, China, establishing a global operational footprint.
In 2018, ABL Aviation secured an exclusive 10 year partnership with a financial institution listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Osaka Securities Exchange. The agreement provided 1 billion USD in permanent capital dedicated to aircraft acquisitions and marked a strategic shift toward new technology aircraft investments. In 2025 the partnership was extended into a 25 year joint venture, strengthening long term capital alignment with institutional investors. [4] [5]
Between 2020 and 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, ABL Aviation and Ellington Management Group established a joint venture with a target of $800 million in aircraft assets by deploying capital and offering exposure to directly sourced deals in the global aviation industry. [6] [7] [8]
During the global aviation downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the company maintained operations and completed the aviation industry’s first fully electronic aircraft delivery in April 2020, involving an Airbus A321neo delivered to Pegasus Airlines. The transaction also introduced the first AFS debt backed Japanese Operating Lease with Call Option (JOLCO) structure in the market.
ABL Aviation partnered with airlines, such as Delta Air Lines, [9] Alaska Airlines, [10] American Airlines, Air France, [11] VietJet Air, El Al, [12] LATAM Airlines, [13] Pegasus Airlines, [14] Lufthansa, KLM, [15] Wizz Air, [16] Turkish Airlines, [17] Volaris, Eva Air, [18] T'Way Air, Virgin America, Atlas Air, Iberia Air and S7 Airlines.
Between 2020 and 2025, ABL Aviation completed more than 30 aircraft transactions with airlines including Lufthansa, Delta Air Lines, KLM, Alaska Airlines, Wizz Air, and Pegasus Airlines. The company also structured new aircraft mandates with several global carriers, including a 15 aircraft Airbus A220-300 programme with Air France, a six aircraft Airbus A350-900 mandate with Emirates, and a six aircraft Boeing 737 MAX 8 programme with Copa Airlines.
In October 2024, ABL Aviation expanded into aviation infrastructure financing through a 170 million euro secured credit facility for Swissport International, the largest global aviation ground services provider. The facility included an accordion feature increasing the financing capacity to 270 million euro.
By the end of 2025, ABL Aviation had deployed more than 7.3 billion USD in capital and completed over 116 aircraft transactions, working with more than 30 airline customers across 21 countries. The company also opened an office in Dubai, its sixth global location, while advancing the development of its future Africa headquarters in Casablanca. In the same year, the group launched ABL Industries maintenance, repair and overhaul operations at Midparc Casablanca, expanding its activities into aviation technical services.
ABL Aviation is a member of the Aircraft Leasing Ireland (ALI) Sustainability Charter. [19] The company also holds memberships in several associations, such as the Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association (AFRA), [20] International Air Transport Association (IATA), [21] International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading (ISTAT), [22] Aviation Working Group (AWG), [23] Groupement des Industries Marocaines Aéronautiques & Spatiales (GIMAS) [24] and Casablanca Finance City (CFC). [25] [26]
As of 2025, ABL Aviation is ranked 29th globally by fleet value and 4th worldwide by percentage of new generation aircraft, according to Airfinance Journal’s Leasing Top 50 report. The firm manages a diverse portfolio that includes aircraft models such as the Airbus A350, A320neo, A220, Boeing 787 series, 777-300ER, and regional jets like the Embraer E190 and ATR 72-600.
The company has structured and managed transactions with 30 airline partners globally, providing aircraft across a range of narrowbody, widebody, and cargo configurations.
ABL Aviation has received several international awards for aircraft leasing, aviation finance, and asset management.
In 2019, the company received the Aviation 100 Supported Finance Deal of the Year award from Airline Economics for a Japanese Operating Lease with Call Option financing used by EL AL to acquire a Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
In 2022, ABL Aviation received several awards including Editor’s Deal of the Year at the AFJ Awards for a transaction involving eight Airbus A220-100 aircraft with Delta Air Lines. The company also received Aviation 100 New Fund of the Year from Airline Economics for the ABL Aviation and Ellington mid life aircraft fund, and Americas JOL Deal of the Year from the same organisation for two Airbus A321neo aircraft financed for American Airlines. Additional recognition included Best Institutional Product Strategy from AsianInvestor and the Real Assets and Infrastructure Industry Innovation Award from CIO Magazine.
In 2023, ABL Aviation was named Most Innovative Asset Management Firm by Corporate Livewire and Best Investment Management Company in Ireland by World Finance. It also received the Aircraft Leasing and Financing Company of the Year award from Aircraft Defense Review and African and Middle East Islamic Supported Finance Deal of the Year from Airline Economics for a financing structure used by Pegasus Airlines to acquire an Airbus A321neo aircraft.
In 2024, the company received Aviation 100 JOLCO Deal of the Year from Airline Economics, Best Independent Asset Management Aircraft Firm Ireland from Global Business and Finance Magazine, and Most Innovative Asset Management Firm from Corporate Livewire.
In 2025, ABL Aviation received the Aircraft Leasing Company of the Year and Innovative Aviation Finance Deal of the Year awards at the Aviation Achievement Awards, as well as Outstanding Sustainability Initiative Aviation at the MEA Business Achievement Awards. The company also received Structured Finance Deal of the Year at Airline Economics Growth Frontiers Dubai. In 2026, it received Structured Finance Deal of the Year at Airline Economics Growth Frontiers Dublin.