MRO Memo: Hanwha Launches Major Push Into Engine Leasing

The engine leasing market has an important new player following the recent launch of Hanwha Aviation by giant Korean conglomerate Hanwha.

The new platform, announced earlier this month, aims to build up a portfolio of roughly 1,000 assets over the next decade, which is roughly the number of engines in the portfolio of AerCap, the world’s largest spare engine lessor, following its acquisition of GECAS.

Although, Hanwha did not specify the engine/aircraft mix of its 1,000+ asset target, it said the portfolio would be "underwritten by the aero-engine strategy."

"Hanwha Aviation will provide customers and industry partners with a compelling transaction platform for trading, leasing and asset management of aero-engines and aircraft," said Jeff Lewis, CEO of Hanwha Aviation.

Lewis formerly worked for FTAI Aviation, which rapidly built up a portfolio of CFM International CFM56 and IAE V2500 engines on the back of its module exchange program. His immediate priority at Hanwha Aviation is to acquire portfolios of narrowbody engines and aircraft, targeting “newer generation assets.”

In doing so, Hanwha hopes to benefit from its vertically integrated aerospace business, which already included partnerships with the major engine OEMs—General Electric, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce—via its engine parts division

In 2016, Hanwha entered a joint venture with Pratt & Whitney to operate a Singaporean manufacturing company as well as a risk and revenue-sharing partnership designed to co-build the next-generation aircraft engine. 

In 2019, it acquired EDAC Technologies, a U.S. aircraft engine component manufacturer, and launched Hanwha Aerospace USA to expand its product portfolio and leverage high-end processing technology.

"Leveraging our vertically integrated approach, we will maintain a full range of engine leasing solutions tailored to our customers' requirements designed to reduce the financial impact on their operation,” said Lewis.