Aircraft Asset Assessment – The A320

Market Presence. The market for the A320ceo is showing a sporadic improvement but much depends on the age of the aircraft, the length of the lease and the lessee. The lease rentals of the A320ceo experienced a greater than 20 percent decline due to the Covid Event in April 2020. For the next six months thereafter lessors were engaged in mitigating the results of the downturn in traffic in terms of offering payment holidays, rental reductions or in some cases, the return of aircraft. Some aircraft were placed back into service with new lessees on the basis of much lower rentals, albeit perhaps with increases in later years, while hitherto unheard of power by the hour arrangements were agreed. A number of lessees that had previously been unable to upgrade or expand their fleets because of the lack of availability or because of much higher rentals, found themselves able to take advantage of the new market paradigms. New market entrants have managed to takeover aircraft from contracting or failing incumbents on much better terms. Operators have therefore absorbed some of the surplus. Again, previous downturns have clearly demonstrated that the lease rentals recover more quickly than values, with the more desirable younger A320ceos seeing an increase. Lease rates are set to rise further in 2023 before achieving a measure of stability.