Willis Lease Finance (WLFC) has not seen a “meaningful increase in retirements,” although airlines are discussing parking some aircraft, according to the engine lessor's CEO Austin Willis.
During a third-quarter earnings call, Willis noted that short-term maintenance reservices — a proxy for both the number of engines on short-term leases and the utilization of those engines — had fallen since April. This was partly due to less flying of older aircraft, but was also due to the increasing proportion of new-technology engines, which tend to be on long-term leases, in the WLFC fleet.
That share of engines — like the CFM Leap, Pratt & Whitney GTF and General Electric GEnx — had risen to 60% of the total portfolio by Sept. 30, versus 54% a year earlier.
WLFC's third-quarter lease rent revenue rose to a record $84 million, up 10% from the third quarter of 2025, due to a larger portfolio and strong lease rates. The lessor has enjoyed fairly consistent demand across its portfolio this year, according to Willis, which added, “Lease rates have remained on average pretty flat for the majority of the year for most of the engine types. So some going up a little bit and some going down a little bit.”
Willis also reported strong performance from its services and maintenance business, which tripled its quarterly revenue to $11 million for the three months to Sept. 30. “With industry maintenance capacity constrained and shop visits taking longer, our services businesses continue to be a major strategic advantage and value creator for our own assets and those we manage,” Willis said.
During the quarter, WLFC purchased land in Malaysia for the construction of a new Willis Engine Repair Center, its third globally after sites in the U.S. and UK.
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