4:50PM
Aircraft repossession case study
In this session, legal and aircraft remarketing experts will introduce some common disputes in aircraft financing and leasing transactions and use a real business case to help you understand the dispute resolution procedures, enforcement and application of the Cape Town Convention.
As Airfinance Journal has reported, in December 2015 Thai carrier Business Air Centre (BAC) filed for business rehabilitation protection following a dispute with its lessor Global Knafaim Leasing (GKL) for non-payment of lease rentals on a 767-300ER. GKL was able to successfully repossess the aircraft after Thailand’s civil aviation authority deregistered the aircraft without a court order and without the lessee's consent – something unusual for Thailand. Previously a court order or judgement has been required to repossess aircraft in Thailand and in the meantime lessors can lose money because they are unable to retrieve their asset.
This case “marks a shift in thinking” and is “certainly a positive development”, according to John Frangos, a consultant at Tilleke & Gibbins, the firm that acted as GKL’s litigation counsel for this case.