Aerway Leasing

What Aerway Leasing does

Aerway Leasing, LLC is a privately held aviation leasing and asset management firm headquartered in Waterford, Wisconsin, operating with a four-person leadership team led by founder and Managing Director Stephen Kennicott. The company acquires, manages, leases, trades, and tears down commercial aircraft and engines sourced from domestic and international airlines, financial institutions, and other leasing organizations, and currently manages a portfolio of over 25 commercial aircraft and engines on behalf of institutional investment partners. Across its three-decade operating history, the company has been involved in the purchase of more than 180 commercial aircraft and engines spanning narrowbody, turboprop, and regional types, with a subset converted to freight configuration through partnerships with PEMCO World Air Services and Aeronautical Engineers.

Aerway's service platform spans the full asset lifecycle, including lease negotiation and administration, lessee credit and compliance monitoring, technical specialist representation, maintenance checks, document storage, insurance monitoring, aircraft and facility inspection, return processing, and finance structuring. Asset management operations are run on the AerData asset management system, an integrated third-party platform implemented by Director of Asset Management David Kennicott. Core customer segments are investment companies and funds (with named relationships including Goldman Sachs, Varde Partners, Cargill, Dune Capital Management, and Victory Park Capital), commercial airlines, and other financial institutions and leasing organizations.

Aerway generates revenue through a mix of recurring lease payments, managed asset management fees for institutional investors, transactional income from aircraft and engine sales and trading (including tear-down disposition), and professional services fees from passenger-to-freighter conversion oversight. Distribution is via direct enterprise B2B sales with no intermediaries, and pricing is quote-based and negotiated per transaction, with no public pricing schedule. The business is family-controlled with no disclosed venture capital or private equity backing, and operations remain modest in scale relative to large global aircraft lessors.

Name

Aerway Leasing

Legal name

Aerway LLC

Website

https://aerwayllc.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Aerway Leasing is a privately held Wisconsin-based aviation leasing and asset management firm that acquires, leases, manages, trades, and tears down commercial aircraft and engines for institutional investment funds, airlines, and financial institutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aviation Leasing and Asset Management

NAICS

Commercial Air, Rail, and Water Transportation Equipment Rental and Leasing (532411)

SIC

Finance Lessors (6172)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Aviation Insurance & Financing/Leasing Services (THABAFAM)

Keywords

• Aircraft leasing
• Aviation asset management
• Commercial aircraft trading
• Aircraft fleet services
• Engine leasing

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Aircraft Leasing: Acquires, manages, leases, trades commercial aircraft and engines. Revenue generated through lease payments from airlines and other operators.
2. Asset Management Services: Provides comprehensive asset management services for investment companies and funds, including portfolio management, lease administration, lessee credit monitoring, and technical specialist representation. Manages over 25 commercial aircraft and engines.
3. Aircraft Sales and Trading: Purchases and sells commercial aircraft and engines, including tear-down operations. Disposal options include sale, lease restructure, or teardown of aircraft.
4. Freight Conversion: Manages and facilitates conversion of passenger aircraft to freight aircraft through partners like PEMCO World Air Services and Aeronautical Engineers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Aerway Leasing is a commercial aviation leasing and asset management firm that acquires, manages, leases, trades, and tears down commercial aircraft and engines on behalf of airlines, financial institutions, and investment funds. The firm sources assets through a two-pronged philosophy combining Value Added enhancement (technical upgrade, lessee management, mission-profile conversion) with True Metal Value (flexible disposal via sale, lease restructure, or teardown), and delivers fully integrated portfolio management including lease administration, technical representation, document custody, insurance monitoring, and inspections for institutional clients.

Product overview

Aerway Leasing is a single, unified aviation leasing and asset management platform offering comprehensive services across the aircraft lifecycle. The core offerings include Aircraft and Engine Leasing, Asset Management Services, and Aircraft Sales and Trading. Supporting modules include Lease Administration for negotiating and monitoring lease agreements, Aircraft Conversion Services for freight conversions, Portfolio Management for document storage, insurance monitoring, and inspections, and Finance Services for alternative financial structures. Together, these services enable Aerway to acquire, manage, lease, trade, and tear down commercial aircraft and engines for institutional investment partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Aircraft and Engine Leasing Acquires commercial aircraft and engines from domestic and international airlines, financial institutions, and leasing organizations and leases them to operators, generating revenue through lease payments. Aircraft types include B737-200, -300, -400 & -500, B757-200, A320, A319, MD80, ATR42, Fokker 27, and Fokker 50.
• Asset Management Services Fully integrated asset management for investment companies and funds holding commercial aircraft and engine portfolios, including portfolio management, lease administration, lessee credit monitoring, technical specialist representation, document storage and safekeeping, insurance monitoring and compliance, annual aircraft and facility inspections, aircraft return processing, and management of third-party services. Currently manages over 25 commercial aircraft and engines.
• Aircraft Sales and Trading Value-added acquisition and disposition of commercial aircraft and engines, including sales, lease restructurings, and teardown management. Disposal options include outright sale, lease restructure, or teardown of the aircraft, with assets acquired under either Value Added or True Metal Value philosophies.
• Aircraft Conversion Services Management and facilitation of passenger-to-freighter aircraft conversions through trusted partners including PEMCO World Air Services and Aeronautical Engineers (AEI), enabling airline fleet renewal and mission-profile changes for owners and lessees.

Quantifiable outcome

• Managed over 25 commercial aircraft and engines
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• PEMCO World Air ServicesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAerway has partnered with PEMCO World Air Services for the conversion of B737-300 aircraft to freight aircraft. 11 B737-300 aircraft were managed and converted at PEMCO facilities.
• Aeronautical Engineers (AEI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAerway has partnered with Aeronautical Engineers for aircraft conversion projects, including B737-400 freighter conversions. AEI provides passenger-to-freighter conversion services.
• Aurora Aviation GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAerway team members David Kennicott and Stephen Kennicott have close ties to Aurora Aviation Group. The two organizations have collaborated on asset management services, with shared professionals providing services to clients.
• RPK Capital Management GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAerway founder Stephen Kennicott is former Co-Founder and Managing Director of RPK Capital Management Group. The organizations have collaborated on asset management services for various funds, including portfolio acquisition, leasing, and tear down management.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• BBAM Aircraft Management: Aircraft management company serving institutional investors across commercial aircraft leasing and disposition. Closely comparable to Aerway's outsourced asset-management model.
• Jackson Square Aviation: Mid-size commercial aircraft lessor and asset manager backed by Oaktree Capital. Most directly comparable to Aerway in serving institutional investors with leased commercial aircraft portfolios.
• Willis Lease Finance Corporation: Independent engine and aircraft leasing specialist focused on commercial aviation assets. Comparable niche dynamic to Aerway's value-added approach to specialized aviation assets.
• AeroCentury: Small-cap aircraft leasing and asset management company operating leased turboprop and regional jet portfolios. Most comparable in scale and niche orientation to Aerway.

Broad incumbents

• Air Lease Corporation: Public aircraft lessor with a fleet of ~480 owned/managed aircraft, focused on new-technology commercial jets. Comparable to Aerway as an aircraft lessor, but positioned in newer-technology, investment-grade segment.
• Aviation Capital Group: Mid-to-large commercial aircraft lessor owned by Tokyo Century Corporation. Comparable in serving airline customers and institutional investors with aircraft lease products.
• Avolon: Global aircraft lessor with a fleet of ~800 aircraft, majority-owned by Bohai Leasing. Comparable as a commercial aircraft lessor, though at much greater scale and balance-sheet capacity than Aerway.
• AerCap Holdings: The world's largest aircraft lessor with a portfolio of over 3,500 aircraft. Comparable to Aerway as a commercial aircraft lessor and asset manager, but vastly larger scale and broader counterparty access.
• SMBC Aviation Capital: Major global aircraft lessor owned by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, with ~700 aircraft. Overlaps with Aerway in commercial aircraft leasing and institutional asset management, though at materially larger scale.

Regional players

• Nordic Aviation Capital: Regional aircraft lessor focused on turboprops and regional jets — types overlapping with Aerway's ATR42 and Fokker 27/50 transaction history. Similar end-of-life regional aircraft niche.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/aerwayllc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aerway-leasing-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

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 Aerway Leasing