Aircraft Asset Assessment

Market Presence. The B737-900ER seemed to offer much when launched even if the new variant emerged well after the A321 had gained a foothold. The A321 had been in service for some 15 years before the -900ER emerged and it seems that the B797 will not arrive until some ten years after the A321neo first saw service. The issue for the -900ER is that while being larger than the -800, the maximum capacity of 220 in a single class and 193 in two classes did not appeal to a sufficiently wide number of operators. When entering service in 2007 the values were in excess of $53 million but the service entry became an issue as the financial crisis was just beginning to impact the world economy. Because the -900ER had only just entered service the values fell by a lesser amount than some other types with a new -900ER being considered to be worth some $45 million as of 2010 albeit on the basis of the upgraded CFM56-7B27E engines and improvements to the B737NG. Thereafter the value of a new -900ER increased once more reaching nearly $50 million as of 2016 before the then imminent arrival of the B737MAX took its toll. Immediately before the Covid Event the value of a new -900ER had fallen to less than $45 million as it became apparent that the secondary market was facing some weakness. The lease rentals of the -900ER have also suffered. In 2019 the lease rental of a 2012 vintage unit was in excess of $200,000 but as of 2022 the rate is less than $150,000.