What Macquarie does

Macquarie AirFinance is a Dublin-headquartered, privately-held aircraft operating-lease platform that owns and leases commercial aircraft (Airbus A220, A320/A320neo, A321, A330, A350 families and Boeing 737 NG, 737 MAX, 777-300ER) to commercial airlines worldwide. As of September 2025 the platform holds 225 owned aircraft plus 102 commitments, leased to 76-83 airline operators across 45-48 countries, with regional marketing teams in Dublin, London, San Francisco and Singapore covering APAC, EMEA, North America and Latin America & Caribbean. The company is owned 50% by Macquarie Group, 25% by PGGM Infrastructure Fund and 25% by Australian Retirement Trust, and held investment-grade ratings from Moody's (Baa3) and S&P (BBB-) as of 2024.

The business operates a full-stack aircraft-leasing model combining direct OEM orderbook placement (with Airbus and Boeing), portfolio acquisitions (e.g., 84 aircraft from AWAS in 2016, 75 aircraft from ALAFCO in 2022-2024), and a secondary trading function, supported by in-house technical, risk, legal, tax, and capital markets teams. Revenue is generated through long-dated, bilaterally-negotiated operating-lease rentals (recurring), aircraft sales and trading gains (transactional), and lease placement and remarketing fees, funded by a capital structure of portfolio term loans, senior unsecured notes (cumulative $3.15B+ issued 2023-2025), and a $1.895B unsecured revolving credit facility expiring 31 July 2028.

On 26 February 2026 the shareholders entered a definitive agreement to sell the company to Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), which would create a pro-forma DAE fleet of 1,029 owned, managed and committed aircraft. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals, with the Competition Commission of India having approved the deal in June 2026.

Name

Macquarie

Legal name

Macquarie AirFinance Limited

Website

https://macquarie.aero

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Macquarie AirFinance is a Dublin-based aircraft operating lessor that owns and leases 340 commercial aircraft to 76-83 airlines across 45-48 countries, funded by investment-grade senior unsecured debt and owned jointly by Macquarie Group, PGGM and Australian Retirement Trust.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Aircraft operating lease rentals: Recurring rental income from leasing a portfolio of 340 aircraft (owned or with commitments/options) to 76 operators across 45 countries. Revenue is contract-based, generally long-dated (multi-year), with steady cash flows underpinned by investment-grade lessee mix.
2. Aircraft sales and trading gains: Income from periodic sales of aircraft from the owned portfolio to other lessors and investors (e.g., ALAFCO portfolio acquisitions; trading function). Revenue is opportunistic/transactional, complementing recurring rental income.
3. Lease placement and remarketing fees: Revenue from placing new aircraft (deliveries from Boeing/Airbus orderbooks) with airline customers and remarketing returned aircraft across a global customer base spanning Africa, Asia Pacific, Central/South America, Europe, Middle East and North America.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Macquarie AirFinance is a global aviation lessor that owns, manages and places orders for commercial aircraft, leasing them to airlines worldwide under long-term operating lease arrangements. As disclosed on the company website, the platform has 340 aircraft (owned plus commitments and options) leased to 76 operators across 45 countries, with a portfolio spanning the Airbus A220, A320/A320neo, A321, A330 and A350 families as well as the Boeing 737 NG, 737 MAX and 777 families. The business holds investment-grade ratings (Moody's Baa3, S&P BBB-), operates from offices in Dublin, London, San Francisco and Singapore, and is owned 50% by Macquarie Group, 25% by PGGM Infrastructure Fund and 25% by Australian Retirement Trust.

Product overview

Macquarie AirFinance is the principal product surfaced from Macquarie's owned digital properties, operating as a single unified aircraft operating-lease platform rather than a modular SaaS product. The core offering is the lease of commercial aircraft (the Airbus fleet portfolio and Boeing fleet portfolio modules) to airline customers across Africa, Asia Pacific, Central and South America, Europe, the Middle East and North America, supported by an underlying capital-markets program of senior unsecured notes and revolving credit facilities. The platform is owned jointly by Macquarie Group (50%), PGGM Infrastructure Fund (25%) and Australian Retirement Trust (25%), and is being divested via a definitive agreement signed in February 2026 to Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE). Macquarie Group itself operates as a global financial services group providing asset management, retail and business banking, wealth management, leasing and asset financing, market access, commodity trading, renewables development, specialist advice, and principal investment across 34 markets with over 20,600 people.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Macquarie AirFinance Aircraft Operating Lease Platform Whole-aircraft operating leases delivered to commercial airlines under long-term agreements, providing fleet capacity without balance sheet exposure. Includes 225 owned aircraft and 102 commitments/options leased to 76 operators across 45 countries, supported by in-house technical, risk, legal, tax, trading and capital markets capabilities.
• Airbus Fleet Portfolio Sub-portfolio of 191 Airbus aircraft (owned plus commitments) within the Macquarie AirFinance platform, comprising the A220 Family, A320neo Family, A320ceo Family, A330 Family and A350 Family. Concentrated in narrowbodies (89 A320, 48 owned A320neo plus 9 commitments, 2 owned A220 plus 23 commitments). Available for long-term operating lease to commercial airlines.
• Boeing Fleet Portfolio Sub-portfolio of 134 Boeing aircraft (owned plus commitments) within the Macquarie AirFinance platform, comprising the 737 MAX Family, 737 NG Family and 777 Family. Includes 56 737-800 (owned), 2 737 MAX (owned) plus 70 737 MAX (commitments), and 6 777-300ER (owned). Available for long-term operating lease to commercial airlines.

Quantifiable outcome

• MAF fleet grew from 87 aircraft (2006) to 340 aircraft across 76 operators in 45 countries
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers80 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and flagship.

• Techbridge GirlsminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 5 March 2026Techbridge Girls was awarded the Macquarie FY26 People's Choice Grant; collaborative event planned around International Women's Day to promote investment in young talent and diversity in STEM.
• GabiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 March 2026Macquarie formed a strategic partnership with Gabia to develop a hyperscale data centre platform.
• Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 February 2026Macquarie AirFinance's shareholders (Macquarie Group, PGGM, ART) entered into a definitive agreement to sell the company to DAE; transaction subject to regulatory approvals. Post-close DAE will have a pro-forma fleet of 1,029 owned, managed and committed aircraft. Competition Commission of India approved DAE's acquisition in June 2026.
• DAE CapitalflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 February 2026DAE Capital nearing deal to acquire Dublin-based Macquarie AirFinance (aircraft lessor) in a transaction involving transfer of ownership to DAE Eirecam Designated Activity Company.
• Transition IndustriescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 February 2026Macquarie is partnering with Houston-based Transition Industries on the US$3.3 billion Pacifico Mexinol ultra-low carbon methanol facility in Sinaloa, Mexico (1.8 million tonnes of blue methanol and 350,000 tonnes of green methanol annually).
• NomuraflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2025Nomura completed a $1.8 billion acquisition of Macquarie's US and European asset management business, combining Nomura's private markets and high yield businesses with the acquired assets and forming a strategic partnership for product distribution and co-development.
• BlackRock, Nvidia, xAI, Microsoft consortiumflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 October 2025Investment consortium including BlackRock, Nvidia, xAI and Microsoft agreed to acquire Texas-based Aligned Data Centers from Macquarie in a US$40 billion deal.
• IberdrolaflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 May 2025Iberdrola agreed to sell its UK smart meter business to Macquarie in a £900 million deal.
• AEI (Aeronautical Engineers, Inc.)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 March 2021AEI to provide Macquarie AirFinance with freighter conversions, enabling passenger-to-freighter modification of aircraft in the fleet.
• CFM (LEAP-1A Engines)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2019Macquarie AirFinance placed an order for 40 CFM LEAP-1A engines in Paris (June 2019) to power its A320neo family aircraft orderbook.
• BoeingflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic OEM partner. Macquarie AirFinance placed its first Boeing order in July 2024 (20 737 MAX aircraft, announced at Farnborough) and a second order for 30 additional 737 MAX aircraft in September 2025. Fleet includes 134 Boeing aircraft (owned + commitments) covering 737 MAX, 737 NG and 777 families.
• AirbusflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic OEM partner. Macquarie AirFinance has ordered Airbus A320neo (2018), A220 (2014, formerly Bombardier CSeries) and A350 family aircraft. Fleet includes 191 Airbus aircraft (owned + commitments) covering A220, A320neo, A320ceo, A330 and A350 families.
• Mitsubishi Gas ChemicalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMitsubishi Gas Chemical of Japan committed to purchasing approximately 50% of the production from the Pacifico Mexinol ultra-low carbon methanol facility in Sinaloa.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• AerCap Holdings: The world's largest aircraft operating lessor by fleet value, owning/managing over 3,500 aircraft. AerCap is the dominant direct competitor to Macquarie AirFinance across narrowbody and widebody operating lease placements globally, and has historically transacted with many of the same airline customers.
• SMBC Aviation Capital: One of the top three global aircraft lessors (formerly RBS Aviation Capital), with a fleet of ~700 aircraft and a comparable APAC/EMEA airline customer base. SMBC's direct narrowbody and regional jet leasing overlaps with Macquarie AirFinance across most major markets.
• Avolon Aerospace Leasing: Ireland-based aircraft lessor with a fleet of ~900 aircraft leased to airlines in 60+ countries. Avolon is a direct competitor and shares many former employees with Macquarie AirFinance (Lynn Guiney, John Breslin and others previously led EMEA at Avolon).
• BOC Aviation: Singapore-headquartered aircraft lessor with ~700 aircraft owned/managed, majority-owned by Bank of China. BOC Aviation is a direct competitor, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, with a comparable narrowbody-led portfolio and investment-grade funding profile.
• Air Lease Corporation: Los Angeles-based aircraft lessor with ~480 owned/managed aircraft and an investment-grade (BBB-) capital structure. ALC competes directly with Macquarie AirFinance for airline placements of new-technology narrowbody and widebody aircraft globally.
• Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE): Aircraft lessor with ~400 aircraft currently, and the announced acquirer of Macquarie AirFinance. DAE is both a direct competitor in the operating lease market and the counterparty to MAF's pending sale, with the pro-forma combined fleet of 1,029 aircraft ranking it among the top three global lessors.
• Aircastle: Aircraft lessor with a fleet of ~260 aircraft, acquired by Marubeni Corporation in 2020. Aircastle competes with Macquarie AirFinance in narrowbody operating lease placements to investment-grade airlines globally.
• BBAM Aircraft Management: San Francisco-based aircraft lessor and manager with one of the industry's largest managed portfolios. BBAM competes with Macquarie AirFinance across airline customer relationships and is itself a former employer of MAF EMEA marketing director Tiernan Daly.
• Willis Lease Finance: US-based aircraft engine and aircraft lessor focused on regional jets and mature narrowbodies. Willis Lease is a more specialised competitor, particularly in the freighter and regional aircraft niches where Macquarie AirFinance also operates via its AEI freighter conversion partnership.

Broad incumbents

• ICBC Financial Leasing (aircraft division): The aircraft leasing arm of Chinese banking group ICBC, a major Chinese lessor with a global portfolio. ICBC competes in the same airline customer base (especially Chinese carriers like Beijing Capital, Juneyao and Shandong) but operates as part of a much broader financial services group rather than as a pure-play aircraft lessor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/eamonn-bane-47958022

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Macquarie