EU-OPS General Requirements — Page 20, Lesson 33

I want to walk you through the leasing of aeroplanes under EU-OPS General Requirements. This is a topic you’ll encounter in real airline operations, so let’s get the definitions and rules exactly right. First, what is leasing in aviation law? Leasing is the situation where an aeroplane is used by one operator, while the ownership title remains with another operator. So the operator who is using the aeroplane pays the owner an agreed sum for the use of that aeroplane over a specified period. Leases can range from a short-term arrangement where an airline borrows an aeroplane while one of its own is unusable, all the way to a long-term basis where an airline doesn’t own any aeroplanes at all but operates a whole fleet of leased aeroplanes painted in the company livery. Now, there are two fundamental types of leases you need to know: dry lease and wet lease. A dry lease is when the leased aeroplane is operated under the AOC of the lessee. Let me unpack that. The lessee is the operator borrowing the aeroplane. The AOC is the Air Operator Certificate – that’s the certificate that authorises an operator to conduct commercial air transport operations. So in a dry lease, the borrowing operator takes the aeroplane and operates it under its own AOC. The lessor – the owner – just provides the aircraft, not the crew or operational control. A wet lease is the opposite. This is when the leased aeroplane is operated under the AOC of the lessor. The lessor is the operator lending the aeroplane to the lessee. So in a wet lease, the lending operator retains operational control and provides the aircraft and typically the crew, and the flights are conducted under the lessor’s AOC. Now, within the context of EASA operations, there is specific terminology that has a precise meaning. Let’s look at Wet Lease-out. This is the situation where an EASA operator provides an aeroplane and complete crew to another EASA operator, and the providing operator remains the operator of the aeroplane. In other words, the aeroplane is operated under the AOC of the lessor – the one providing the aircraft and crew. Then we have Other Leasing. This covers any leasing arrangement between EASA operators that isn’t a wet lease-out. An EASA operator utilising an aeroplane from, or providing it to, another EASA operator must obtain prior approval from his respective authority. Any conditions that are part of this approval must be included in the lease agreement. And here’s an important point: those elements of lease agreements which are approved by the authority – other than lease agreements in which an aeroplane and complete crew are involved and no transfer of functions and responsibility is intended – are all to be regarded, with respect to the leased aeroplane, as variations of the AOC under which the flights will be operated. So essentially, if you’re not doing a full wet lease-out with crew, the approved lease agreement effectively becomes a modification to the AOC. Now we move to leasing between an EASA operator and a non-EASA organisation. Different terminology and rules apply here. First, Dry Lease-in. Before an EASA operator is permitted to dry lease-in an aeroplane from a non-EASA source, the approval of the Authority is required. Any conditions of this approval are to form part of the leasing agreement. Additionally, where an aeroplane is dry leased-in, the EASA operator is to notify the authority of any differences to the requirements of EU-OPS 1 with regard to Instruments and Communications equipment fitted to the aeroplane, and receive confirmation from the Authority that those differences are acceptable. So you have to flag any equipment that doesn’t meet EU-OPS 1 standards and get explicit approval. Second, Wet Lease-in. No EASA operator shall wet lease-in an aeroplane from a non-EASA source without the approval of the authority. And concerning wet leased-in aeroplanes, the EASA operator is to ensure the safety standards of the lessor with respect to maintenance are equivalent to current – and the excerpt cuts off there, but the principle is clear: you must verify that the lessor’s maintenance standards are at least equivalent to what EASA requires. Let me summarise the key distinctions. Dry lease: the lessee operates under its own AOC. Wet lease: the lessor operates under its own AOC. Wet lease-out: an EASA operator provides aircraft and complete crew to another EASA operator and remains the operator. For cross-border leasing with non-EASA sources, both dry lease-in and wet lease-in require prior authority approval, and for dry lease-in you must specifically address any equipment differences from EU-OPS 1.