Abhijith Ganapavaram

(Reuters) — Air Lease (NYSE) Corp announced Wednesday that a Russian new law on leased planes showed Moscow intending to “confiscate”, and added this would assist lessors with claims with insurance companies.

“I think it helps the insurance question because it demonstrates the intent to confiscate which is, I think, a critical aspect of our war-risk insurance,” Air Lease chairman Steven Udvar-Házy said.

The company also has “very strong security deposits” on leased aircraft, Udvar-Házy added.

Gregory Willis, Air Lease’s Finance Head said that “it is within the realms of possibility” that the U.S. government and the European Union could provide assistance to the leasing sector if there were any insurance claims.

Air Lease shares rose 4.4% to $41.63 during afternoon trading

Moscow passed Monday’s law that allows the country’s airline companies to list planes leased by foreign companies onto the national aircraft registry. It raises fears about an imminent default. Russian airlines currently have 780 jets leased from foreign companies, and 515 from overseas.

Also, the law opens up to the possibility that there will be a prolonged fight between lessors or insurers regarding payouts.

According to The Insurer AerCap Holdings NV was the largest international aircraft leasing company and had notified the insurance industry of a $1 billion potential loss. (https://

AerCap refused to comment.

Air Lease’s Udvar-Házy sought to allay fears and stated all of the company’s aircraft were with privately-owned carriers in Russia who prefer to continue doing business with western firms.

“The advantage dealing with the privately-owned airlines is they very much see the endgame beyond this current crisis or believe there is life after this crisis,” Udvar-Házy said.

Air Lease, with less than 5% in its fleet by net value, leased to customers in Ukraine, and Russia. The company said it is making “good progress” in decreasing exposure to the sanction-hit country.