INSIGHT

AerCap CEO Sees ‘Huge Opportunities’ in African Aviation as Recovery Continues

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Aengus Kelly, the CEO and Executive Director of AerCap,  the largest aircraft leasing company in the world, shared his insights on the opportunities and the current state of African Aviation.

Speaking with CNBC Africa last week, Kelly pointed out that there is a strong level of growth and only the right moves by governments are key to stimulating this growth.

“If we have the right moves by governments, we will eventually open up this continent,” the 48-year-old CEO who has more than two decades of experience in the leasing business said.

This is a continent of over one billion people. The total number [of aircraft] in all of Africa today is 1,056 aircraft and only half of that is large commercial aircraft, the rest are regional, which is less than what one major US airline operates and is only half of AerCap fleet,” he said noting the potential African Aviation Industry possesses.

When asked about the recovery, Kelly is confident about the recovery of the industry here in Africa.

However, he cautions that the challenge remains, leisure travel demand spearheading that of business travel, therefore yields are not that high compared to business travel which has consistently lagged and is now closing the gap.

The Chartered Accountant with a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce and a Master’s in Accounting from University College, Dublin, was appointed Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of AerCap in 2011.

He is no stranger to decision-making as he oversaw AerCap’s 2014 acquisition of ILFC from AIG 2014.

Dublin-based AerCap has a market capitalization of about $7.9 billion.

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