Air Lease Gets Insurance Settlement for 4 Jets Stranded in Russia

Air Lease said on Friday it had received about $64.9 million in cash as part of an insurance claim settlement for four Airbus jets it had leased to a Russian carrier, which were blocked from leaving the country after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The settlement amount, received from the Russian insurance firm NSK, covers three A320-200 and one A321-200 aircraft that were leased to S7 Airlines. It does not include the five A321-200neo aircraft previously leased to S7.

Before the invasion of Ukraine last year, Russia was a major market for aircraft lessors, which bought jets from Boeing and Airbus and leased them to airlines in the country.

These aircraft are now grounded in Russia, as Moscow has refused to release the jets after lessors canceled lease agreements in compliance with Western sanctions.

Earlier this year, Ireland-based lessor SMBC Aviation Capital received a cash insurance settlement of $710 million for 16 jets and their engines stranded in Russia.

Air Lease is in ongoing settlement discussions for other aircraft it had previously leased to Russian airlines.

(Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)