1. Aviation Finance: Secured Lending and Lease Structures
Creating Financial Stability Through Strong Legal Frameworks
Aviation assets are high-value, highly mobile, and legally complex.
We help lenders and lessors structure transactions that protect value while meeting operational needs.
Our attorneys represent major banks, leasing companies, and airlines in negotiating secured credit facilities and implementing operating and finance lease structures across multiple jurisdictions.
Secured Financing and Operating Leasing
From mortgage-backed lending to sale-and-leaseback arrangements, we guide clients through the full life cycle of aircraft financing.
Our team drafts and negotiates loan agreements, security interests, maintenance covenants, and insurance coverage to ensure enforceability under both domestic and international law.
We advise on practical considerations that directly affect value, such as maintenance reserves, delivery and return conditions, and engine pooling arrangements, ensuring smooth operations even in volatile markets.
Our lawyers also coordinate with engineers, insurers, and regulators to align commercial goals with technical and compliance standards.
2. Aviation Finance: Eca and Insurance-Backed Financings
Leveraging Credit-Enhanced Solutions for Global Growth
Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) and insurance-based structures such as the Aircraft Finance Insurance Consortium (AFIC) remain crucial sources of capital for the aviation industry.
These mechanisms enable borrowers to secure favorable interest rates and lenders to mitigate long-term credit risk.
Eca and Afic Transactions
We represent airlines, lessors, and financiers in transactions supported by U.S. EXIM Bank, UK Export Finance, Euler Hermes, Bpifrance, Export Development Canada, and others.
Our lawyers have extensive experience with ECA-supported loan facilities, export credit guarantees, and AFIC-backed ANPI (Aircraft Non-Payment Insurance) structures.
We also assist clients in drafting policy and guarantee documentation that complies with OECD Aircraft Sector Understanding (ASU) standards, ensuring that financing remains eligible for insurance or credit support.
Through these programs, we help clients bridge capital market gaps, reduce execution risk, and secure long-term, cross-border financing.
3. Aviation Finance: Capital Markets and Structured Transactions
Transforming Aviation Assets into Investment Opportunities
Aviation finance increasingly converges with capital markets.
Our team advises on securitization of aircraft and engine portfolios, EETCs (Enhanced Equipment Trust Certificates), and private placements, helping clients access new investor bases and liquidity.
Aviation Asset Securitization and Public Offerings
We represent arrangers, underwriters, and investors in structured financings backed by aircraft lease receivables.
Our lawyers handle securities law compliance, disclosure requirements, and rating agency coordination, ensuring that each issuance meets both investor expectations and regulatory standards.
SJKP LLP also serves as counsel to special-purpose securitization vehicles (SPVs), advising on liquidation, covenant relief, and restructuring of aging aircraft portfolios.
By combining our capital markets and aviation expertise, we help transform complex assets into transparent, tradable investment products.
4. Aviation Finance: Acquisitions, Sales, and Secondary Markets
Navigating Global Asset Transfers with Legal Precision
Aircraft acquisitions require coordination across financing, regulatory, and tax frameworks.
Our attorneys represent airlines, lessors, and investors in primary fleet purchases, engine acquisitions, and large-scale portfolio trades.
Aircraft Sales and Purchase Transactions
We advise clients on purchase agreements, novation, title transfer, and delivery coordination, ensuring that every step meets aviation authority and export control requirements.
For secondary market transactions, we provide due diligence, lease assignment, and tax structuring support to optimize value and reduce exposure.
Our deep understanding of jurisdictional registration, liens, and repossession rights enables us to manage risk and protect asset integrity in every transfer.
5. Aviation Finance: Restructuring and Insolvency
Protecting Value in Times of Market Disruption
Aviation is cyclical, and financial turbulence can arise from economic downturns, fuel costs, or regulatory change.
When airlines or leasing companies face distress, swift and informed action is essential.
Debt Restructuring and Insolvency Support
We represent secured lenders, lessors, and trustees in airline insolvencies and cross-border restructurings.
Our attorneys have experience in Chapter 11 reorganizations, out-of-court workouts, and asset foreclosures involving both U.S. .nd non-U.S. .arriers.
SJKP LLP has handled numerous aircraft repossessions, enforcement of security interests, and remarketing of repossessed assets, working closely with technical, appraisal, and insurance professionals.
We also negotiate forbearance, refinancing, and re-delivery agreements that preserve long-term relationships while protecting creditor rights.
6. Aviation Finance: Enforcement and Dispute Resolution
Defending Rights and Recovering Assets with Global Reach
When disputes arise, over lease defaults, maintenance obligations, or insurance claims, decisive enforcement becomes critical.
Aircraft Repossession and Enforcement Actions
Our lawyers are internationally recognized for their experience in aircraft repossession, detainment, and recovery proceedings.
We understand the procedural differences between jurisdictions and leverage local relationships to achieve rapid and discreet resolutions.
We represent clients in litigation, arbitration, and mediation related to financing defaults, contract breaches, and regulatory investigations.
Our strategic approach combines aggressive legal advocacy with a focus on commercial outcomes, minimizing downtime and protecting asset value.
7. Aviation Finance: Comprehensive Operational Support
Connecting Legal, Technical, and Regulatory Expertise
Aviation finance doesn’t end at deal closing.
Our cross-disciplinary lawyers provide ongoing support to airlines, lessors, and investors in tax, employment, insurance, and regulatory matters affecting day-to-day operations.
Flight Support and Compliance
We assist clients with aviation tax optimization, sanctions compliance, environmental regulations, outsourcing agreements, and labor issues tied to aircraft operations.
By integrating our legal, financial, and technical knowledge, we ensure that clients remain compliant with global aviation standards while maintaining operational flexibility.
8. Why Choose Sjkp Llp for Aviation Finance Counsel
Global Reach. Regulatory Depth. Commercial Precision.
Aviation finance requires not only legal expertise but also a deep understanding of the business of flight.
At SJKP LLP, we bring decades of experience in secured lending, aircraft leasing, capital markets, and export credit to every transaction.
Our lawyers advise airlines, leasing companies, financial institutions, and investors across North America, Europe, and Asia on both traditional and emerging financing models, from ECA and AFIC structures to green aviation financing and ESG-linked instruments.
Whether your objective is fleet expansion, portfolio diversification, or distressed asset recovery, SJKP LLP delivers integrated, solution-oriented counsel, helping clients navigate complexity with confidence and control.
29 Oct, 2025
