IATA Aircraft Lease Guidance

Delivery
Other items, such as wheels and brakes, the auxiliary power unit, modifications, repairs, and paint, usually
have specific delivery requirements and are negotiated separately:
●
Wheels and brakes
Wheels and brakes are subject to wear. With the redelivery of an aircraft in sight, previous Lessees can
be less inclined to replace worn wheels or brakes. These replacements can be costly. Establishing a clear
delivery condition requirement, e.g. that the part shall have at least 50% life remaining or be in a new
condition, would reduce immediate maintenance costs and prevent logistical challenges. The Lessee
should clearly record in the lease the meaning of the agreed minimum life remaining condition; it can
either specify an average across the wing, or a minimum life remaining for each component.
●
Auxiliary Power Unit
Determining the remaining life of the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) can sometimes be challenging.
Performing a borescope and reviewing previous shop visit documentation will help the Lessee in this
assessment although APU borescope inspections can introduce additional risks due to a lack of clear
manufacturer limits driving (often unnecessary) premature removals. However, these soft requirements
are subject to individual interpretation and very often lead to discussions. The Lessee could consider a
simple “hard time” whereby the APU may not have more than a certain amount of hours since last shop
visit coupled with a general requirement of serviceability based on examination of trend data and
operating parameters. While the Lessee will then also have to meet this requirement in the redelivery
conditions, it will at the very least provide the Lessee with some form of additional guarantee at delivery.
●
Service Bulletins
Free of charge manufacturer’s SBs should be embodied on the aircraft. If not, these free of charge kits
should be delivered along with the aircraft during delivery as they are usually issued against a tail
number and have a limited period in which they are delivered free of charge.
●
Repairs
There are a number of items that the Lessee should take into consideration for repairs and the associated
repair documentation (as described in 1.2.2). First, the Lessee should clearly define which repairs are
acceptable. Some Lessors request requirements such as “flush” or “permanent” repairs to be inserted in
the lease. Remembering that what is delivered will also be mirrored at redelivery, the Lessee could reject
such proposal or at minimum insert wording that allows alleviation in case “flush” or “permanent” repairs
are prohibited or otherwise impractical. The lease should clearly differentiate between obligations that
apply during the lease term (maintenance & operation) versus obligations that may specifically apply at
redelivery. It should also be noted that flush repairs may impose additional maintenance burden and
costs during the Lessee’s operation, based on the required method of inspection for such flush repairs.
The Lessee should also consider a clear definition of which repairs should be included (e.g. blends,
patches, etc.), as this may lead to discussions either at delivery or redelivery.
●
Paint
The paint condition and paint scheme may be separately agreed between Lessor and Lessee. In most
cases the aircraft is delivered with a freshly painted white fuselage. However, agreeing to deliver the
aircraft in the Lessee’s color scheme (with compensation to the Lessor, or a corresponding commitment
at redelivery) can save valuable downtime.
4 th Edition 2017 21