International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), has been announced the winner of the ‘Aviation 100’ Lessor of the Year Award 2013 by Airline Economics. ILFC Chief Finance Officer Elias Habayeb was also named the 2013 CFO of the Year by the publication.
“These two awards are a true reflection of the entire ILFC team’s efforts and resulting successes achieved over the past year,” said ILFC Chief Executive Officer Henri Courpron. “I am pleased to see our industry peers recognize ILFC and its employees for their skill sets and expertise. Our strategy and focus have never been stronger in our commitment to delivering the most advanced fleet solutions to our airline customers around the world.”
“ILFC has had a wonderful period under current management. The company has reorganized and deleted debt, increased its customer base, drastically improved its cost of financing and in the process has secured a strong future for the business. In 2012, ILFC got the company in shape to ensure a swift and highly advantageous sale, while it continued to improve services to its customers, specifically with the continued growth of the AeroTurbine unit. This year ILFC was ranked first in the Aviation 100 survey by its peers by a significant margin; it is a very well deserved win for the team,” said Philip Tozer-Pennington, managing editor of Airline Economics.
“The Aviation 100 Chief Financial Officer of the Year, Elias Habayeb, and his team have succeeded in reducing ILFC’s debt considerably and have steered the company through a tremendously difficult economic period through to its successful sale to be closed shortly,” added Tozer-Pennington.
ILFC has rebuilt itself over the past three years, diversifying its global funding sources and securing $23 billion in new liquidity. The company also expanded regional support for its global customer base by opening new offices in Amsterdam, Beijing and Singapore, and increased its focus on aircraft portfolio management, including the successful acquisition of AeroTurbine in 2011, which allows the company to provide end-of-life solutions for older aircraft.
International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) is a global market leader in the leasing and remarketing of commercial aircraft. With approximately 1,000 owned and managed aircraft and commitments to purchase 244 new high-demand, fuel-efficient aircraft and rights to purchase an additional 50 A320neo family aircraft, ILFC is the world's largest independent aircraft lessor. ILFC leases aircraft to approximately 200 airlines in more than 80 countries and provides part-out and engine leasing services through its subsidiary, AeroTurbine. ILFC operates from offices in Los Angeles, Amsterdam, Beijing, Dublin, Miami, Seattle, and Singapore.