Net charges related to Ukraine Conflict

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

Unusual or Infrequent Items, or Both [Abstract]

On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a large-scale military invasion of Ukraine and has since been engaged in a broad military conflict with Ukraine (the “Ukraine Conflict”). In response to the Ukraine Conflict and ongoing related hostilities, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and other countries have imposed broad, far-reaching sanctions against Russia, certain Russian persons and certain activities involving Russia or Russian persons. These sanctions include prohibitions regarding the supply of aircraft and aircraft components to Russian persons or for use in Russia (the “Sanctions”).

At the time of Russia’s launch of the Ukraine Conflict, we had 135 owned aircraft on lease to Russian airlines, as well as 14 owned engines on lease to Russian airlines, which represented approximately 5% of AerCap’s fleet by net book value as of December 31, 2021. Basic lease rents from our owned aircraft and engines leased to Russian airlines were approximately $33 million for the month of December 2021. We had no helicopters on lease to Russian customers. We have sought to repossess all of our aircraft and engines from Russian airlines and remove them from Russia. As of December 31, 2022, we had recovered 22 of our 135 owned aircraft and three of our 14 owned engines outside of Russia. While we continue to hold title to the aircraft that remain in Russia, we have concluded that it is not likely we will regain possession of these assets.

In addition, at the time of Russia’s launch of the Ukraine Conflict, we had seven owned aircraft on lease to Ukrainian airlines. As of December 31, 2022, five of these aircraft were in temporary storage outside of Ukraine. As of December 31, 2022, the remaining two aircraft are grounded in Ukraine, but the exact status of these aircraft remains difficult to ascertain.

In compliance with all applicable sanctions in March 2022, we terminated the leasing of all of our aircraft and engines with Russian airlines. These terminations have resulted in reduced revenues and operating cash flows.

The Ukraine Conflict, the Sanctions and the actions of our former Russian lessees and the Russian government together represent an unusual and infrequent event and therefore the related net charges are classified separately on our Consolidated Income Statements. During 2022, we recognized a pre-tax net charge of $2.7 billion to our earnings, comprised of write-offs and impairments of flight equipment, which were partially offset by the derecognition of lease-related assets and liabilities (including maintenance rights and lease premium intangible assets, maintenance liabilities, security deposits and other balances) and the collection of letter of credit proceeds. We recognized a total loss write-off with respect to our assets that remain in Russia and Ukraine, and impairment losses with respect to the assets we have recovered from Russian and Ukrainian airlines. The impairments recognized with respect to assets recovered from Russian and Ukrainian airlines were based on the expected commercial strategy and corresponding cash flow estimates for each asset.


	Year ended
	December 31, 2022
	(U.S. Dollars in millions)
Write-offs and impairments of flight equipment (a)	$	3,160
Derecognition of lease-related assets and liabilities	(237)
Letters of credit receipts	(257)
Net charges related to Ukraine Conflict	$	2,666

(a) Includes $2.9 billion and $295 million of write-offs and impairments of flight equipment, respectively.

We had letters of credit related to our aircraft and engines leased to Russian airlines as of February 24, 2022 of approximately $260 million, all confirmed by financial institutions in Western Europe. We presented requests for payment to all of these institutions. As of December 31, 2022, we had received payments of $257 million related to these letters of credit.

Our lessees are required to provide insurance coverage with respect to leased aircraft and we are named as insureds under those policies in the event of a total loss of an aircraft or engine. We also purchase contingent and possessed insurance (“C&P Policy”) which provides us with coverage when our flight equipment is not subject to a lease or where a lessee’s policy fails to indemnify us. In March 2022, we submitted an insurance claim for approximately $3.5 billion under our C&P Policy with respect to all aircraft and engines remaining in Russia. In June 2022, we commenced legal proceedings in London, England to recover up to $3.5 billion in connection with our previously submitted claim under the C&P Policy. Refer to Note 30—Commitments and Contingencies for further details.

In parallel, during the year ended December 31, 2022, we submitted claims as an additional insured under the Russian airlines’ insurance policies. Our efforts to recover from the airlines’ Russian insurers and their reinsurers continue. The collection, timing and amount of any potential recoveries under our C&P Policy and under the airlines’ insurance and reinsurance policies are uncertain. We have not recognized any claim receivables in respect of our claims under our C&P Policy and under the Russian airlines’ insurance and reinsurance policies as of December 31, 2022.In November 2022, we submitted an insurance claim under a Ukrainian airline’s insurance and reinsurance policies for approximately $97 million for the loss of one aircraft which remains in Ukraine. In January 2023, we submitted an insurance claim under our C&P Policy for the same aircraft and also submitted an insurance claim under our C&P policy for our second aircraft which remains in Ukraine. The value of the two claims under our C&P Policy for the two aircraft which remain in Ukraine is approximately $100 million We intend to continue to vigorously pursue all insurance claims in respect of the two aircraft which remain in Ukraine. However, the collection, timing and amount of any potential recoveries are uncertain and we have not recognized any claim receivables as of December 31, 2022.