Wet-leasing is the practice of airlines hiring aircraft with crew, maintenance and insurance (ACMI) to either cover an unforeseen short-term need or when business needs a longer-term (seasonal) capacity increase without necessarily buying and manning new aircraft. Wet-leasing is growing rapidly and experts predict such leasing agreements to become both longer in time and more frequent in nature in 2019. Wet-lease operators seem to agree with this outlook and have started preparations by consolidating, growing their fleet and increasing wet-lease offerings. What lies behind this sudden success and the growing need for more “seasonal capacity” and short-term fixes? [It certainly isn’t the longer summers /winters in Europe.]
In reality, a large share of wet-leasing in Europe – and this is the share that is booming – has little to do with sudden growth or unforeseen short-term needs. It is a business strategy to replace airlines’ own operations at a lower cost. Wet-lease providers like CityJet, Go2Sky, Adria Airways, Danish Air Transport & Air Atlanta promise airlines flexibility, a better commercial risk management and lower operating costs for both equipment and aircrew. This “bonus-effect” of wet-lease is boosting its popularity, making it a desirable feature for many European airlines.
