Flight equipment subject to operating lease

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Flight equipment subject to operating lease

The following table summarizes the activities for the Company’s flight equipment subject to operating lease for the nine months ended September 30, 2022:


	(in thousands)
Net book value as of December 31, 2021	$	22,899,004
Purchase of aircraft	2,784,350
Depreciation	(713,095)
Sale of aircraft and transfers to net investments in sales-type leases	(250,383)
Write-off of Russian fleet	(791,017)
Net book value as of September 30, 2022	$	23,928,859

Accumulated depreciation as of September 30, 2022	$	(4,727,410)

Write-off of Russian fleet

In response to the sanctions against certain industry sectors and parties in Russia, in March 2022, the Company terminated all of its leasing activities in Russia. While the Company maintains title to the aircraft, the Company determined that it is unlikely it will regain possession of the aircraft detained in Russia. As such, during the three months ended March 31, 2022, the Company recognized a loss from asset write-offs of its interests in owned aircraft detained in Russia, totaling approximately $791.0 million.

In October 2022, one Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft that was detained in Russia was returned to the Company. The returned 737-8 MAX was not operating and had been in storage in Russia since the 737 MAX grounding. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the Company will record the aircraft in its owned fleet at fair value with a corresponding offset to the write-off line item in the income statement. At this time, the Company does not anticipate the return of any other aircraft detained in Russia.

As of November 3, 2022, 20 aircraft previously included in the Company’s owned fleet are still detained in Russia. The operators of these aircraft have continued to fly most of the aircraft notwithstanding the termination of leasing activities and the Company’s ongoing demands for the return of its assets. In June 2022, the Company submitted insurance claims to its insurers to recover its losses relating to the aircraft detained in Russia and is vigorously pursuing all available insurance claims. Collection, timing and amounts of any insurance recoveries remains uncertain at this time.