Leasing - is an effective tool to help airlines deal with complex problem of financing costly means of production. In recent years, aircraft leasing ceased to be exotic - if before they engaged only in specialized "Ilyushin Finance." (FLC has been, but it actually went bankrupt), but now almost all of the largest banks have their own subsidiaries lease aircraft, there are independent companies. In particular, we can mention the "VTB-Leasing", "VEB-Leasing", "Sberbank Leasing" and GTLK, Siberian Leasing Company, "Zest", "UTair-Leasing", "Avialeasing" "VSP-Leasing" "Goznak-Leasing" and others. However, issues with the aircraft leasing and many more are associated with both the regulatory framework and the characteristics of the individual market segments.
Among the most pressing issues, perhaps, include the development of an operating lease (and the related problem of the residual value of the Armed Forces), government support for regional air transportation and export of Russian aircraft leasing.
Operational leasingUnlike financial leasing, which is essentially a sale on credit, operational leasing is a lease. This is a much more flexible instrument contracts are on average a period of 5 years, and not 15 as in the financial leasing. In addition, the airline can reduce their costs by 15-20%, because it does not buy the aircraft. With regard to small regional carriers, whose financial condition is not particularly stable, this aspect is very important.
However, the law on leasing is not even the concept of operational leasing to the state it does not seem to exist. As a result of all the measures of budget financing, aimed at the development of air transport in Russia, can not be applied when using such a convenient tool for airlines as operating leases.
However, work on the scheme, operational leasing has high requirements to the level of competence of the leasing company. In contrast to financial leasing, where the main issue is the quality of the lessee (which actually means the borrower's creditworthiness), operational leasing due to its flexibility in shifting the emphasis on the quality of the asset, ie the aircraft. After a small period of the lease to the same airline because of the worsening of the condition may waive or lease and withdraw from the market altogether. In this case, the leasing company before the problem arises remarketing - the plane should not be idle, we must quickly find a new customer. To this end, the leasing company has to strictly monitor the residual value of the aircraft and control its technical condition, and in some cases, such as IFC, even on their own to carry out certain types of repairs.
The development of operational leasing, as an essential element to stimulate the regional air transportation requires not only the completion of the legislative framework, but also the development of the Russian leasing companies new competences: the ability to quickly monitor the situation on the market, understand the needs of the market, to work closely with suppliers of aircraft, as well as with lessees and, most importantly, a clear idea of ??the way the aircraft remarketing and take these risks. In the Russian market known a situation where the airline for whatever reason, stopped paying for the plane. And then the bank is the lessor is in a difficult situation: he could take the plane, but what to do with it then? Finding new customers takes time and skill, and the idle aircraft brings nothing but losses.
Another issue is fundamentally important for all leasing transactions - is to ensure the residual value of aircraft. This value (or rather, its forecast for 10-15 years) is used in the calculation of lease rates and significantly affect them. If a certain type of aircraft produced, for example, in an amount of at least a few hundred copies, then deals with them accumulated sufficient statistic and residual values ??predicted quite well. If released, for example, hundreds of aircraft, the prognosis is not so clear. At the beginning of the life cycle of the sun, it is flying only two or three dozen cars of the future residual value at all difficult to say anything definite. The market has not yet emerged. This is the situation with all the modern Russian planes, so the sale of aircraft under financial leasing for 15 years must be assumed that at the end of this period, the value of the aircraft would be zero, that is to lay out on lease payments all its current value. Obviously, accounting for residual value could significantly reduce lease payments. In the draft of the state program "Development of the aviation industry" in the 2013-2025 gg., Which the Ministry of Industry issued in September, there is a word about the need to provide government guarantees to leasing companies on the residual value of domestic aircraft. However, experts say, to make an effective tool, really guarantee the residual value, is not so easy - it obviously need a special financial fund, which provides potential payments under guarantees.
Also, a large range of issues related to leasing and issues of state support, particularly in the aviation industry, is the result of Russia's WTO accession. Even representatives of the ministries acknowledge that they do not have a full understanding of all the consequences of this step, no clear ideas about how to participate in the WTO system affect the interaction between government and the aviation industry. In general, it is clear that direct subsidies for the industry is almost impossible, so you need to use more subtle schemes that do not contravene WTO rules.
One such way - Customer Support: airlines and leasing companies. The fact that the services sector is much less regulated by WTO rules as compared to the production. It is workable practice of subsidizing lease payments for the airlines and the interest rates on loans for the lease payments in Russia is already available, although it is not without drawbacks.
Regional airProblems of the Russian market of regional air became so obvious that the government is already worried about this issue, taking measures to promote the leasing of regional aircraft. These measures are certainly needed, but, unfortunately, a comprehensive approach to solving the problem is not yet available.
Attend to after the assignment of the Prime Minister issue an update of regional aircraft fleet, the government decided at the end of last year a decree number 1212, providing subsidies for aircraft lease payments for up to 50 pass. with any type of motors and up to 72 seats with turboprop engines. However, according to experts, this decision needs work - it does not fall under the turbofan regional An-148 with a capacity of 75-85 people. Therefore, it would be logical to extend the resolution number 1212 on any type of regional aircraft registered in the Russian registry.
Problems of development of regional transport issues are not limited to renewal of the aircraft. As you know, the economy of regional transportation is much more complicated than the main - effective demand of small and regional jets based on one chair cost about twice as expensive than the trunk. So little money from passengers and transported them dearly. Therefore it is required not only subsidizing fleet renewal, but also of the traffic. As part of the execution of the orders of the prime minister the support of regional transport adopted a resolution number 1211 on their subsidies from the federal budget. It provides subsidies for the same categories of citizens, as for transport from the Far East - in the age of 23 and pensioners. But the problem is that about 90% of the 162 listed in the decision to operate the routes it will not. After subsidies, as stated in the resolution, are available for co-financing of expenditure obligations of constituent entities of the Russian Federation and the majority of these routes - between regions, so that they subsidize regional budgets would be misuse of funds. To really make the decision, you want to change the law and allow the consolidation of the budgets of the subjects of the Russian Federation to subsidize inter-regional air transport citizens.
As a result of this fragmented approach when making decisions number 1211 and 1212 orders like the prime minister formally met, but the effect of this is small. Along with a comprehensive program of refurbishment of the park and subsidizing carriers must also take into account the costs of retrofitting and certification of airports, staff training, modernization of air traffic control systems.
Leasing for exportThe Industry and Trade Ministry has said the draft of the state program "Development of the aviation industry" in the 2013-2025 biennium. the purpose of the formation delivered globally competitive aviation industry, and the number of tasks, in particular, include the establishment of a world-class corporations in key segments of aviation and promotion of domestic companies in foreign markets.
Until now, modern Russian aircraft in the export market are hardly represented. Mention may be made only piece deliveries Il-96-100 and Tu-204 in Cuba, as well as the Tu-204 in China and North Korea. At the same time deliveries to Cuba, leasing company "Ilyushin Finance." (IFC), were performed using export credit - the Cuban side has paid 15% of the contract worth over 100 million dollars., While the remaining 85% were financed through bank loans guaranteed by the Russian Finance Ministry and the Government of Cuba.
Major exports are planned for the aircraft Sukhoi Superjet 100. In January, the Mexican airline Interjet has signed a contract for 15 aircraft with an option for another 5 cars, the supply is carried out through a joint venture SuperJet International. In addition, the company "Sukhoi Civil Aircraft" plans to begin deliveries SSJ 100 Indonesian airline Sky Aviation (just ordered 12 aircraft) and the Lao Lao Central Airlines (2 aircraft).
To encourage such deals worldwide widely used mechanism of export credit, allowing to obtain long-term financing under government guarantees. In late 2011, it was established by the Russian Agency for Export Credit Insurance and Investment (EXIAR), which has already taken a number of aviation projects. So, in early September EXIAR and Taganrog Aviation Scientific-Technical Complex (Beriev) them. Beriev on Gidroaviasalon Gelendzhik signed a memorandum of insurance support for export promotion of the Be-200. This amphibian is focused on a very narrow niche markets around the world where there are not so many, so its mechanisms of financial support are essential. Another memorandum of cooperation signed in Gelendzhik Escario and the Corporation "Irkut", envisages the development of systems to provide customers with MS-21 services export credit insurance against political and commercial risks, which will allow foreign customers to MS-21 to raise funds for the purchase of aircraft at the lowest interest rate rates.
This option allows you to export financing to take out loans for direct sales. Also very promising and would export leasing - especially operational. When using a foreign airline could temporarily operate the aircraft belonging to a Russian leasing company, without taking on the financial risk of owning an expensive asset. As you know, the European manufacturer Airbus in 1988, advancing to the American market the aircraft A300-600 (a modernized version of the first-born Airbus A300), has adopted a rather exotic even leasing scheme as walk-away lease ("back and left"), in which Airline American Airlines had the right at any time by notice within 30 days, simply return it taken 19 aircraft. As a result, the park in the American Airlines A300-600 reached 35 machines out of service, they were withdrawn only in 2009, but only sold more than 300 aircraft of this modification.
However, the export of Russian leasing services to promote the aircraft is obtained economically inefficient. This has convinced the company IFC, which after studying the options to subscribe to the air show in Farnborough this year, the contract with the leasing company South American Aircraft Leasing SA from Panama. The document provides a firm order for three aircraft An-158 with an option for another five machines of this type, as well as an option to seven aircraft AN-148 (build An-158 produced in Kiev, the An-148 - Voronezh). The Panamanian company will deliver equipment to the lessor airline Caribbean and Africa.
