 | This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points.(September 2023) |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aircraft leases |
| Founded | 1975 |
| Founder | Tony Ryan |
| Defunct | November 1998 |
| Successor | AerFi Group plc |
| Headquarters | , IE |
Guinness Peat Aviation (GPA) was an aircraft leasing company set up in 1975 by Aer Lingus, the Guinness Peat Group (a London-based financial services company) and Tony Ryan, then an Aer Lingus executive.
GPA was based in Shannon, Ireland. During the 1980s it became the world's largest commercial aircraft lessor and expanded its shareholding to include Air Canada, General Electric, Short Term Credit Bank of Japan and companies in the Mitsubishi group. GPA also had financing joint ventures with key aircraft manufactures, including Airbus, Fokker and McDonnell Douglas. At its peak, the company was valued at $4 billion. Net income reached $265 million in the year to 31 March 1992.
Former Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald, former British chancellor of the exchequer Nigel Lawson, Peter Sutherland and the former chairman of ICI, Sir John Harvey-Jones, were among GPA's non-executive directors. [1] Lawson joined the board of GPA in February 1990 but he also became chairman of GPA Financial, a subsidiary company. [2]
In 1990, GPA placed a $20 billion order for new aircraft, at the time 10 per cent of the world's aircraft production. It was then making an annual profit of $280 million. [3]
A new company, GPA Helicopters Ltd., was set up in June 1990 as a joint venture with CHC Helicopter to acquire, own and lease helicopters worldwide. [4]
The decision to float the company on the stock market in 1992, during an aviation industry downturn following the 1991 Gulf War, proved disastrous, as international financial institutions refused to buy shares. [5] Unable to raise the capital it needed to continue its ambitious operations, the company plunged into crisis, with some $10 billion in debts.
The story of GPA's downfall is told by Christopher Brown, aviation lawyer and GPA Senior Vice-President, in his 2009 book Crash Landing – An Inside Account of the Fall of GPA. The book is a personal memoir of the history, background and run-in to the failed initial public offering (share flotation), GPA's subsequent financial collapse and later restructuring and involvement of GE Capital (GECAS). It is based on a contemporaneous diary of events kept by the author from 1990 to 1996 while employed by GPA and subsequently GECAS. [6] [7]
In a subsequent restructuring completed in November 1993, GPA avoided default on its debts by selling some of its aircraft to GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), a subsidiary of General Electric, which also took over the operational management of GPA's fleet and most of GPA's technical and marketing staff. GE Capital also acquired an option to purchase 90% of GPA's ordinary shares at a low price. GPA used the cash from this transaction to repay all its unsecured debt. Chairman and chief executive Tony Ryan transferred to GECAS. He was replaced by Patrick Blaney as chief executive and by Dennis Stevenson (later Lord Stevenson of Coddenham) as chairman.
GPA continued to own a substantial fleet and in March 1996 sold 229 aircraft for $4 B in what was at the time the second largest securitisation transaction ever. GPA used the cash from this sale to repay all of its secured debt and the company returned to profit in the year to 31 March 1996 with net income of $65 M. However, the servicer of the securitization was GECAS, meaning that those 229 aircraft were now marketed by GECAS in terms of leasing and re-leasing, effectively joining the GECAS fleet for many purposes, further confirming the rise of GECAS at the expense of GPA.
GPA further consolidated its position in the years to 31 March 1997, 1998 and 1999, reporting net income of $108 million, $64 million and $47 million. In November 1998, Texas Pacific Group acquired 62% of the company's shares and GE Capital's 1993 option was replaced by one to acquire an interest of 23%. As part of this transaction, the name of the company was changed to AerFi Group plc.
In December 1999, AerFi acquired Indigo Aviation, a Swedish aircraft lessor, and by 31 March 2000 was managing a fleet of 104 aircraft and reporting a profit of $68 million.
In November 2000, AerFi was acquired by debis AirFinance, an affiliate of DaimlerChrysler AG, for $750 million. AerFi's fleet and staff were then merged into those of debis AirFinance.
In March 2005, debis AirFinance was acquired by Cerberus Capital and subsequently renamed AerCap.
Many of the directors and staff of GPA subsequently went on to found or work for other aircraft lessors, such as GECAS (now merged into AerCap), Genesis Lease, CIT, AerCap (a successor to Guinness Peat and previously debisAirFinance), ILFC (now merged into AerCap), Pembroke Capital, International Aircraft Management Group (subsequently RBS Aviation Capital and later SMBC Aviation Capital), Babcock & Brown (now Fly Leasing) and Aircastle. The availability of this cadre of highly trained specialists in Ireland is one of the principal reasons (along with a favourable corporate tax environment associated with the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Dublin) why the country has become one of the worldwide centres of the commercial aircraft financing and leasing industry, with over 40 companies, most located in the IFSC. GPA's founder, Tony Ryan, set up his own airline, Ryanair, [8] that was Europe's biggest in 2014, carrying over 83.8 million passengers annually. [9]
During the Ethiopian famine, GPA sponsored two airlifts of emergency supplies in October and November 1984. [10] GPA supported the renovation of the Bolton Library in Cashel, County Tipperary. [11] A number of other, mainly artistic endeavours benefited from sponsorship by GPA that included the following: In 1988 the first GPA Dublin International Piano Competition took place and was won by French pianist Philippe Cassard. [12] In 1984 Robert Armstrong won the Guinness Peat Aviation Awards for Emerging Artists [13] and in 1986 Eithne Jordan won during the show held in Dublin. One of the exhibitors was Vincent Killowry and in 1987 GPA bought most of the works at his first one-man show in Limerick. [14] In 1989 John Banville received the Guinness Peat Aviation Book Award for his novel The Book of Evidence, also shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction. [15] Also in 1989 the Foynes Flying boat Museum at its inception, was sponsored as the GPA Foynes Flying Boat Museum.
A statue of Daedalus, sculpted by John Behan, was presented to the people of Ennis to mark the town's 750th anniversary in 1990. [16]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
Aer Lingus is the flag carrier of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary of International Airlines Group (IAG). The airline's head office is on the grounds of Dublin Airport in Cloghran, County Dublin.
Futura International Airways was an airline with its head office in the Zona Facturación on the property of Palma de Mallorca Airport in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. It operated scheduled services and charter flights for tour operators and other airlines, in Europe, as well as wet lease and ad hoc charters. Its main base was Palma de Mallorca Airport. After failing to re-finance itself the company ceased trading on the 8 September 2008, leaving many passengers stranded in and around Spain.
Ryanair is an Irish ultra low-cost carrier group headquartered in Swords, Dublin, Ireland. The parent company Ryanair Holdings plc includes subsidiaries Ryanair DACTooltip Designated activity company, Malta Air, Buzz, Lauda Europe and Ryanair UK. Ryanair DAC, the oldest airline of the group, was founded in 1984. Ryanair Holdings was established in 1996 as a holding company for Ryanair with the two companies having the same board of directors and executive officers. In 2019 the transition began from the airline Ryanair and its subsidiaries into separate sister airlines under the holding company. Later in 2019 Malta Air joined Ryanair Holdings.
The International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) was an aircraft lessor headquartered in the Constellation Place in Century City, Los Angeles, California, US.
SkyEurope Airlines was a low-cost airline headquartered in Bratislava, with its main base at Bratislava Airport (BTS) in Bratislava, Slovakia, and another base in Prague. The carrier filed for bankruptcy on 31 August 2009 and suspended all flights on 1 September 2009. The airline operated short-haul scheduled and charter passenger services.
CityJet is an Irish regional airline with headquarters at Dublin Airport. It was founded in 1992 and has gone through a series of corporate structures. The airline was sold to Air France in 2000 and then by Air France to Intro Aviation in May 2014; in March 2016 the airline was bought by founder Pat Byrne and other investors. CityJet ended its own-brand scheduled services in 2018 and is now a major provider of wet leasing to European airlines. As of Summer 2023, CityJet operates wet lease services on behalf of Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa and Scandinavian Airlines.
GECAS was an Irish–American commercial aviation financing and leasing company. AerCap acquired the company from GE Capital on November 1, 2021.
Buzz was a British low-cost airline operating services within Europe. It was founded in 1999 as a subsidiary of Dutch national airline KLM and began operations on 4 January 2000. After being acquired by Ryanair in April 2003, it ceased operations at the end of October 2004. In 2019, Ryanair revived the Buzz name by rebranding its Polish subsidiary Ryanair Sun.
Belavia, formally Belavia Belarusian Airlines, is the flag carrier of Belarus, headquartered in Minsk. The state-owned company had, as of 2007, 1,017 employees. Belavia serves a network of routes between Commonwealth of Independent States, as well as some Middle East destinations, from its base at Minsk National Airport.
Thomas Anthony Ryan was an Irish billionaire businessman and philanthropist who co-founded Ryanair in 1984 along with cofounders Christopher Ryan and Liam Lonergan, 9 years after founding Guinness Peat Aviation an international aircraft leasing industry. Through Guinness Peat Aviation and Ryanair, he amassed two fortunes by identifying gaps in the market. Ryanair was believed to be the main source of his wealth in later life: the company became one of the biggest airlines in Europe and was worth approximately $13 billion at the time of his death.
Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons: to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, as well as to provide temporary increase in capacity. The industry has two main leasing types: wet-leasing, which is normally used for short-term leasing, and dry-leasing which is more normal for longer-term leases. The industry also uses combinations of wet and dry. For example, when the aircraft is wet-leased to establish new services, then as the airline's flight or cabin crews become trained, they can be switched to a dry lease. In some markets, there may also be hybrid models, such as with crew provided by lessees.
Aircraft finance refers to financing for the purchase and operation of aircraft. Complex aircraft finance shares many characteristics with maritime finance, and to a lesser extent with project finance.
Genesis Lease Limited (NYSE: GLS) was a global aircraft leasing company incorporated in Bermuda in July 2006 and had a successful IPO and New York Stock Exchange listing in December 2006. It was headquartered in Shannon, County Clare, Ireland. It acquired its initial portfolio of leased aircraft from GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), who continued to service the portfolio. On 25 March 2010 Genesis Lease Limited merged with AerCap Holdings N.V. in an all share-for-share merger.
SMBC Aviation Capital, formerly RBS Aviation Capital, is one of the world's largest aircraft leasing companies. It is owned by a consortium of leading Japanese institutions: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Company Limited (SMFL) and Sumitomo Corporation. Headquartered in the International Financial Services Centre in Dublin and with locations in Amsterdam, Beijing, Hong Kong, New York, Seattle, Miami, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo and Toulouse, the company employs over 300 people.
Avolon is an aircraft leasing company headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. It was established in May 2010 by Dómhnal Slattery and a team from RBS Aviation Capital, including John Higgins, Tom Ashe, Andy Cronin, Simon Hanson, and Ed Riley. In December 2014, Avolon went public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with the ticker symbol AVOL, marking the largest listing of an Irish-founded company on the NYSE. In September 2015, Avolon received a cash offer from Bohai Leasing Co., an affiliated Chinese leasing and financial services company, to acquire 100% of Avolon's common shares. The acquisition by Bohai Leasing was completed in January 2016, leading to Avolon's delisting from the NYSE. In November 2018, ORIX Corporation, a Japanese financial institution, acquired a 30% stake in Avolon from its shareholder, Bohai Capital, which is part of the HNA Group.
Norman C.T. Liu is a Chinese-American business executive and former Senior Advisor to ICBC Leasing based in Beijing, China. During the fall of 2021, he was named President & CEO of Nordic Aviation Capital, the world's largest regional aircraft leasing firm, with operations in Ireland, Singapore, Denmark, Dubai and Toronto.
Milestone Aviation Group, a subsidiary of AerCap, is an aircraft leasing company focused on helicopters. As of December 31, 2021, it owned 355 helicopters, which are leased to companies including CHC Helicopter, Bristow Helicopters, Saudi Aramco, and Babcock International.
AerCap Holdings N.V. is an American-Irish aviation leasing company headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with offices around the world. AerCap is listed on the NYSE with the ticker 'AER'. It became the largest aviation leasing company in the world following the acquisition of ILFC in 2014, and GECAS from GE in 2021, for over $30 billion.
Thai Airways International operates a fleet of wide-body and narrow-body aircraft from Airbus and Boeing.
Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC) is a company specializing in regional aircraft leasing, including narrowbody aircraft. NAC is headquartered in Ireland, with offices in Singapore, Denmark, Dubai and Toronto. It has over 60 customers in over 40 countries.
