The world's biggest aircraft lessor, AerCap, says it has recovered most of the proceeds from letters of credit (L/Cs) related to Russian lessees.

The American-Irish aviation leasing company headquartered in Dublin is amongst several lessors worldwide that have written off substantial assets after Moscow seized hundreds of foreign-leased planes in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Disputed L/Cs

AerCap submitted claims for its L/Cs related to Russian lessees during the first quarter of 2022 and received most of the proceeds shortly thereafter according to chief financial officer, Peter Juhas.

"Net recoveries related to the Ukraine conflict were US$47 million dollars in the fourth quarter, which represents proceeds from L/Cs that we received during the quarter," he said at an end-of-year earnings presentation. "But there were certain amounts that were disputed by the banks," he added.

Pursuing claims

AerCap is still pursuing insurance claims against its own insurers and against the Russian airlines, insurers, and reinsurers according to the company's CEO, Aengus Kelly.

"We have been approached by some Russian airlines and their insurers about potential insurance settlements involving some of our aircraft lost in Russia. However, it is too early to know whether anything will come out of it, and we have nothing further to say on it at this stage," Kelly concluded.

A full transcript of AerCap's end-of-year earnings presentation can be found here.

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the ICC or Coastline Solutions.