Despite speculation that lessors would part-out most of the Airbus A320neos recovered from Spirit Airlines, Connecticut-based lessor Aircastle has said it expects to get its Neos returned from the ULCC back into service by mid-2027.
Aircastle received one prior-generation A320 and four A320neos back from Spirit, and while the older aircraft is likely to head for teardown, the Neos may well survive.
“As it relates to the four Neos we have some engines out on green-time leases, working with Pratt to finalize our engine shop visits on the others, and we expect, managing across our own fleet, that those assets will be back in service by the middle of 2027,” Aircastle CEO Mike Inglese said on a first-quarter earnings call.
Inglese was also asked whether higher engine maintenance costs were causing a “gag reflex” among Aircastle’s airline customers when it came to negotiating end-of-lease payments and maintenance reserves for CFM International Leap-1 and Pratt & Whitney GTF-powered aircraft, and whether some airlines preferred older technology as a result.
“Everybody has a little bit of altitude sickness around the cost of maintaining engines, and everyone is working to look after their own interest and make sure there’s a way for people to pay what they need to pay,” he replied. “Things can’t go to the sky forever but clearly they [engine maintenance costs] are a lot more expensive than they were.”
In the new engines’ favor, airlines must now navigate higher fuel prices as tensions in the Middle East resurface, so fuel efficiency is becoming increasingly important.
It also means that lessors are likely to field rent deferral requests from the airlines most exposed to elevated fuel prices, which Aircastle expects to persist for the rest of the year.
“Two weeks ago, everybody was feeling great about the world, but overnight, everybody had a more cautious view. We continue to look at what is happening and will work with selective customers, if necessary,” Inglese added.
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