UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 20-F

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES

EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019

Commission file number 001-33159

AerCap Holdings N.V.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

The Netherlands

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

AerCap House

65 St. Stephen’s Green

Dublin D02 YX20

Ireland

+ 353 1 819 2010

(Address of principal executive offices)

Vincent Drouillard, AerCap House, 65 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin D02 YX20, Ireland

Telephone number: +353 1 819 2010, Fax number: +353 1 672 0270

(Name, Telephone, Email and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person)

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Ordinary Shares	AER	The New York Stock Exchange
5.875% Fixed-Rate Reset Junior Subordinated Notes due 2079	AER79	The New York Stock Exchange

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act: None

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or ordinary stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report.

Ordinary Shares, Euro 0.01 par value 131,583,489

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒    No ☐

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Yes ☐    No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒    No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒    No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or an emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer ☒ Accelerated filer ☐ Non accelerated filer (Do not check if a smaller reporting company) ☐ Emerging growth company ☐

Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

U.S. GAAP ☒ International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board ☐ Other ☐

If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow: Item 17 ☐ Item 18 ☐

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐    No ☒

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Selected Definitions		2
Special Note About Forward Looking Statements		3
Item 1.	Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisers	4
Item 2.	Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable	4
Item 3.	Key Information	4
Item 4.	Information on the Company	27
Item 4A.	Unresolved Staff Comments	37
Item 5.	Operating and Financial Review and Prospects	37
Item 6.	Directors, Senior Management and Employees	51
Item 7.	Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions	63
Item 8.	Financial Information	63
Item 9.	The Offer and Listing	63
Item 10.	Additional Information	64
Item 11.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	77
Item 12.	Description of Securities Other than Equity Securities	78
Item 13.	Defaults, Dividend Arrearages and Delinquencies	79
Item 14.	Material Modifications to the Rights of Security Holders and Use of Proceeds	79
Item 15.	Controls and Procedures	79
Item 16A.	Audit Committee Financial Expert	79
Item 16B.	Code of Ethics	80
Item 16C.	Principal Accountant Fees and Services	80
Item 16D.	Exemptions from the Listing Standards for Audit Committees	80
Item 16E.	Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers	81
Item 16F.	Change in Registrant’s Certifying Accountant	81
Item 16G.	Corporate Governance	82
Item 16H.	Mine Safety Disclosure	82
Item 17.	Financial Statements	83
Item 18.	Financial Statements	83
Item 19.	Exhibits	83
Signatures		88
Index to Consolidated Financial Statements		F-1

1

TABLE OF SELECTED DEFINITIONS

ACSAL	Acsal Holdco, LLC
AerCap, we, us or the Company	AerCap Holdings N.V. and its subsidiaries
AerCap Ireland	AerCap Ireland Limited
AerCap Trust	AerCap Global Aviation Trust
AerDragon	AerDragon Aviation Partners Limited and Subsidiaries
AerLift	AerLift Leasing Limited and Subsidiaries
AICDC	AerCap Ireland Capital Designated Activity Company, a designated activity company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of Ireland
AIG	American International Group, Inc.
Airbus	Airbus S.A.S.
AOCI	Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)
ASC	Accounting Standard Codification
Boeing	The Boeing Company
ECA	Export Credit Agency
ECAPS	Enhanced Capital Advantaged Preferred Securities
Embraer	Embraer S.A.
EOL	End of lease
EPS	Earnings per share
Ex-Im	Export-Import Bank of the United States
FASB	Financial Accounting Standards Board
ILFC	International Lease Finance Corporation
ILFC Transaction	The purchase by AerCap and AerCap Ireland Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AerCap, of 100% of ILFC’s common stock from AIG on May 14, 2014
IRS	Internal Revenue Service
LIBOR	London Interbank Offered Rates
MR	Maintenance reserved
Part-out	Disassembly of an aircraft for the sale of its parts
PB	Primary beneficiary
Peregrine	Peregrine Aviation Company Limited and Subsidiaries
ROU	Right-of-use
SEC	U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
SPE	Special purpose entity
U.S. GAAP	Accounting Principles Generally Accepted in the United States of America
VIE	Variable interest entity

2

SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This annual report includes “forward looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, principally under the captions “Item 3. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks related to our business,” “Item 4. Information on the Company” and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects.” We have based these forward looking statements largely on our current beliefs and projections about future events and financial trends affecting our business. Many important factors, in addition to those discussed in this annual report, could cause our actual results to differ substantially from those anticipated in our forward looking statements, including, among other things:

• the availability of capital to us and to our customers and changes in interest rates;

• the ability of our lessees and potential lessees to make lease payments to us;

• our ability to successfully negotiate aircraft purchases, sales and leases, to collect outstanding amounts due and to repossess aircraft under defaulted leases, and to control costs and expenses;

• changes in the overall demand for commercial aircraft leasing and aircraft management services;

• the effects of terrorist attacks on the aviation industry and on our operations;

• the economic condition of the global airline and cargo industry and economic and political conditions;

• development of increased government regulation, including regulation of trade and the imposition of import and export controls, tariffs and other trade barriers;

• competitive pressures within the industry;

• the negotiation of aircraft management services contracts;

• regulatory changes affecting commercial aircraft operators, aircraft maintenance, engine standards, accounting standards and taxes; and

• the risks set forth in “Item 3. Key Information—Risk Factors” included in this annual report.

The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “aim,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect” and similar words are intended to identify forward looking statements. Forward looking statements include information concerning our possible or assumed future results of operations, business strategies, financing plans, competitive position, industry environment, potential growth opportunities, the effects of future regulation and the effects of competition. Forward looking statements speak only as of the date they were made and we undertake no obligation to update publicly or to revise any forward looking statements because of new information, future events or other factors. In light of the risks and uncertainties described above, the forward looking events and circumstances described in this annual report might not occur and are not guarantees of future performance.

3

PART I

Item 1. Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisers

Not applicable.

Item 2. Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable

Not applicable.

Item 3. Key Information

Selected financial data

The following tables present AerCap Holdings N.V.’s selected consolidated financial data for each of the periods indicated, prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. This information should be read in conjunction with AerCap Holdings N.V.’s audited Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects.” The financial information presented as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 and for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 was derived from AerCap Holdings N.V.’s audited Consolidated Financial Statements included in this annual report. The financial information presented as of December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 and for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 was derived from AerCap Holdings N.V.’s audited Consolidated Financial Statements not included in this annual report.

4

Consolidated Balance Sheet Data

	As of December 31,
	2019		2018		2017		2016		2015
	(U.S. Dollars in thousands)
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$	1,121,396	$	1,204,018	$	1,659,669	$	2,035,447	$	2,403,098
Restricted cash	178,951		211,017		364,456		329,180		419,447
Flight equipment held for operating leases, net	35,870,781		35,052,335		32,396,827		31,501,973		32,219,494
Maintenance rights and lease premium, net	809,615		1,113,190		1,501,858		2,167,925		3,139,045
Net investment in finance and sales-type leases	1,011,549		1,003,286		995,689		755,882		469,198
Prepayments on flight equipment	2,954,478		3,024,520		2,930,303		3,265,979		3,300,426
Other assets	1,802,474		1,600,549		2,191,342		1,564,067		1,798,791
Total Assets	$	43,749,244	$	43,208,915	$	42,040,144	$	41,620,453	$	43,749,499
Liabilities and Equity
Debt	$	29,486,131	$	29,507,587	$	28,420,739	$	27,716,999	$	29,641,863
Other liabilities	4,880,908		4,820,714		4,980,591		5,321,190		5,681,827
Total Liabilities	34,367,039		34,328,301		33,401,330		33,038,189		35,323,690
Total AerCap Holdings N.V. shareholders’ equity	9,314,897		8,828,048		8,579,710		8,524,447		8,348,963
Non-controlling interest	67,308		52,566		59,104		57,817		76,846
Total Equity	9,382,205		8,880,614		8,638,814		8,582,264		8,425,809
Total Liabilities and Equity	$	43,749,244	$	43,208,915	$	42,040,144	$	41,620,453	$	43,749,499

5

Consolidated Income Statement Data

	Year Ended December 31,
	2019			2018			2017			2016			2015
	(U.S. Dollars in thousands, except share and per share data)
Revenues and other income
Lease revenue:
Basic lease rents	$	4,281,260		$	4,145,552		$	4,194,224		$	4,395,318		$	4,635,776
Maintenance rents and other receipts	401,006			391,541			519,578			472,305			355,775
Lease revenue	4,682,266			4,537,093			4,713,802			4,867,623			4,991,551
Net gain on sale of assets	188,835			201,323			229,093			138,522			183,328
Other income	66,239			61,564			94,598			145,986			112,676
Total Revenues and other income	4,937,340			4,799,980			5,037,493			5,152,131			5,287,555
Expenses
Depreciation and amortization	1,676,121			1,679,074			1,727,296			1,791,336			1,843,003
Asset impairment	70,149			44,186			61,286			81,607			16,335
Interest expense	1,295,020			1,174,074			1,112,391			1,091,861			1,099,884
Leasing expenses	287,950			446,487			537,752			582,530			522,413
Restructuring related expenses	—			—			14,605			53,389			58,913
Selling, general and administrative expenses	267,458			305,226			348,291			351,012			381,308
Total Expenses	3,596,698			3,649,047			3,801,621			3,951,735			3,921,856
Income before income taxes and income of investments accounted for under the equity method	1,340,642			1,150,933			1,235,872			1,200,396			1,365,699
Provision for income taxes	(167,714		)	(144,079		)	(164,718		)	(173,496		)	(189,805		)
Equity in net earnings of investments accounted for under the equity method	(6,151		)	10,643			9,199			12,616			1,278
Net income	$	1,166,777		$	1,017,497		$	1,080,353		$	1,039,516		$	1,177,172
Net (income) loss attributable to non-controlling interest	(21,083		)	(1,865		)	(4,202		)	7,114			1,558
Net income attributable to AerCap Holdings N.V.	$	1,145,694		$	1,015,632		$	1,076,151		$	1,046,630		$	1,178,730
Basic earnings per share	$	8.51		$	7.00		$	6.68		$	5.64		$	5.78
Diluted earnings per share	$	8.43		$	6.83		$	6.43		$	5.52		$	5.72

6

RISK FACTORS

Risks related to our business

We require significant capital to fund our business.

As of December 31, 2019, we had 299 new aircraft on order, which will require substantial aircraft purchase contract payments. Subsequent to December 31, 2019, we exercised an option to purchase an additional 50 Airbus A320neo Family aircraft. In order to meet these commitments and to maintain an adequate level of unrestricted cash, we will need to raise additional funds by accessing committed debt facilities, securing additional financing from banks or through capital markets transactions, or possibly by selling aircraft.

If we are unable to meet our aircraft purchase commitments as they come due, we will be subject to several risks, including:

• forfeiting deposits and progress payments to manufacturers and having to pay certain significant costs related to these commitments such as actual damages and legal, accounting and financial advisory expenses;

• defaulting on our lease commitments, which could result in monetary damages and strained relationships with lessees;

• failing to realize the benefits of purchasing and leasing such aircraft; and

• risking harm to our business reputation, which would make it more difficult to purchase and lease aircraft in the future on agreeable terms, if at all.

Any of these events could materially and adversely affect our financial results.

To service our debt and meet our other cash needs, we will require a significant amount of cash, which may not be available.

Our ability to make payments on, or repay or refinance, our debt, will depend largely upon our future operating performance. Our future performance, to a certain extent, is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors that are beyond our control. In addition, our ability to borrow funds in the future to make payments on our debt will depend on our maintaining specified financial ratios and satisfying financial condition tests and other covenants in the agreements governing our debt. Our business may not generate sufficient cash flow from operations and future borrowings may not be available in amounts sufficient to pay our debt and to satisfy our other liquidity needs.

If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we may be forced to seek alternatives, such as to reduce or delay investments and aircraft purchases, or to sell assets, restructure or refinance our indebtedness, or seek additional capital, including through new types of debt, equity or hybrid securities. Our ability to restructure or refinance our debt will depend on the condition of the capital markets and our financial condition at such time. Any refinancing of our debt could be at higher interest rates and might require us to comply with more onerous covenants, which could further restrict our business operations. The terms of our debt instruments may restrict us from adopting some of these alternatives. These alternative measures may not be successful and may not permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations or to meet our aircraft purchase commitments as they come due. Moreover, the issuance of additional equity may be dilutive to existing shareholders or otherwise may be on terms not favorable to us or existing shareholders.

Despite our substantial indebtedness, we might incur significantly more debt.

Despite our current indebtedness levels, we may increase our levels of debt in the future to finance our operations, including to purchase aircraft or to meet our contractual obligations, or for any other purpose. The agreements relating to our debt, including our indentures, term loan facilities, ECA-guaranteed financings, revolving credit facilities, securitizations, and other financings do not prohibit us from incurring additional debt. As of December 31, 2019, we had approximately $6.6 billion of undrawn lines of credit available under our revolving credit and term loan facilities, subject to certain conditions, including compliance with certain financial covenants. If we increase our total indebtedness, our debt service obligations will increase, and we will become more exposed to the risks arising from our substantial level of indebtedness.

7

Our level of indebtedness, which requires significant debt service payments, could adversely impact our operating flexibility and financial results.

The principal amount of our outstanding indebtedness, which excludes fair value adjustments of $96.0 million and debt issuance costs, debt discounts and debt premium of $138.1 million, was approximately $29.5 billion as of December 31, 2019 (approximately 67% of our total assets as of December 31, 2019), and our interest payments, net of amounts capitalized, were $1.3 billion for the year ended December 31, 2019. Due to the capital-intensive nature of our business, we expect that we will incur additional indebtedness in the future and continue to maintain significant levels of indebtedness.

Our level of indebtedness:

• requires a substantial portion of our cash flows from operations to be dedicated to interest and principal payments and therefore not available to fund our operations, working capital, capital expenditures, expansion, acquisitions or general corporate or other purposes;

• restricts the ability of some of our subsidiaries and joint ventures to make distributions to us;

• may impair our ability to obtain additional financing on favorable terms or at all in the future;

• may limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and industry; and

• may make us more vulnerable to downturns in our business, our industry or the economy in general.

An increase in our cost of borrowing or changes in interest rates may adversely affect our net income.

We use a mix of fixed rate and floating rate debt to finance our business. Any increase in our cost of borrowing directly impacts our net income. Our cost of borrowing is affected primarily by the market’s assessment of our credit risk and fluctuations in interest rates and general market conditions. Interest rates that we obtain on our debt financings can fluctuate based on, among other things, changes in views of our credit risk, fluctuations in U.S. Treasury rates and LIBOR rates, as applicable, changes in credit spreads and swap spreads, and the duration of the debt being issued. Increased interest rates prevailing in the market at the time of our incurrence of new debt will also increase our interest expense. If interest rates increase, we will be obligated to make higher interest payments to the lenders of our floating rate debt to the extent that it is not hedged. Please refer to “Item 11—Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk—Interest rate risk” for further details on our interest rate risk. In addition, we are exposed to the credit risk that the counterparties to our derivative contracts will default on their obligations.

Moreover, if interest rates were to rise sharply, we would not be able to fully offset immediately the negative impact on our net income by increasing lease rates, even if the market were able to bear the increased lease rates. Our leases are generally for multiple years with fixed lease rates over the life of the lease and, therefore, lags will exist because our lease rates with respect to a particular aircraft cannot generally be increased until the expiration of the lease.

Decreases in interest rates may also adversely affect our interest revenue on cash deposits as well as lease revenue generated from leases with lease rates tied to floating interest rates. During the year ended December 31, 2019, approximately 4.5% of our basic lease rents from aircraft under operating leases was derived from such leases. Therefore, if interest rates were to decrease, our lease revenue would decrease. In addition, since our fixed rate leases are based, in part, on prevailing interest rates at the time we enter into the lease, if interest rates decrease, new fixed rate leases we enter into may be at lower lease rates than if no interest rate decrease had occurred and our lease revenue will be adversely affected.

In addition, we are party to certain debt instruments, derivative contracts and leases that use LIBOR as a benchmark rate. On July 27, 2017, the Chief Executive of the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”), which regulates LIBOR, announced that the FCA will no longer persuade or compel banks to submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR after 2021. As a result, the continuation of LIBOR on the current basis cannot and will not be guaranteed after 2021. The U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England have begun publishing a Secured Overnight Funding Rate and a reformed Sterling Overnight Index Average, respectively, which are currently intended to serve as alternative reference rates to LIBOR. Plans for alternative reference rates for other currencies are also being discussed, such as the Swiss Average Rate Overnight and the Tokyo Overnight Average Rate. The discontinuation, reform or replacement of LIBOR with other benchmark rates may disrupt the broader financial markets. LIBOR’s potential discontinuation, reform or replacement could negatively impact our interest expense, and hedging transactions that we use in respect of floating rate instruments may not be effective to protect us against any negative impact. Although certain of our LIBOR-based debt instruments provide alternative methods for calculating interest rates in the event that LIBOR is discontinued, these alternative methods may require us to negotiate further with our lenders and amend the existing debt documents. For other LIBOR-based debt instruments and leases, we may pursue amendments to provide for a transition mechanism or other reference rate in anticipation of LIBOR’s discontinuation, but we may not be able to reach an agreement with our lenders or other counterparties with respect to any such amendments.

8

Negative changes in our credit ratings may limit our ability to obtain financing or increase our borrowing costs, which could adversely impact our financial results.

We are currently subject to periodic review by independent credit rating agencies S&P, Moody’s and Fitch, each of which currently maintains an investment grade rating with respect to us. Our ability to obtain secured or unsecured debt financing and our cost of secured or unsecured debt financing is dependent, in part, on our credit ratings. Maintaining our credit ratings depends in part on strong financial results and in part on other factors, including the outlook of the rating agencies on our sector and on the market generally. A credit rating downgrade could negatively impact our ability to obtain secured or unsecured financing and increase our borrowing costs.

We cannot assure you that these credit ratings will remain in effect for any given period of time or that a rating will not be lowered, suspended or withdrawn. Ratings are not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security, and each agency’s rating should be evaluated independently of any other agency’s rating. Actual or anticipated changes or downgrades in our credit ratings, including any announcement that our ratings are under review for a downgrade, could increase our corporate borrowing costs and limit our access to the capital markets, which could adversely impact our financial results.

The agreements governing our debt contain various covenants that impose restrictions on us that may affect our ability to operate our business.

Certain of our indentures, term loan facilities, ECA-guaranteed financings, revolving credit facilities, securitizations, other commercial bank financings, and other agreements governing our debt impose operating and financial restrictions on our activities that limit or prohibit our ability to, among other things:

• incur additional indebtedness;

• create liens on assets;

• sell certain assets;

• make certain investments, loans, guarantees or advances;

• declare or pay certain dividends and distributions;

• make certain acquisitions;

• consolidate, merge, sell or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of our assets;

• enter into transactions with our affiliates;

• change the business conducted by the borrowers and their respective subsidiaries;

• enter into a securitization transaction unless certain conditions are met; and

• access cash in restricted bank accounts.

The agreements governing certain of our indebtedness also contain financial covenants, including requirements that we comply with certain loan-to-value, interest coverage and leverage ratios. These restrictions could impede our ability to operate our business by, among other things, limiting our ability to take advantage of financing, merger and acquisition and other corporate opportunities.

Various risks, uncertainties and events beyond our control could affect our ability to comply with these covenants and maintain these financial tests and ratios. Failure to comply with any of the covenants in our financing agreements would result in a default under those agreements and could result in a default under other agreements containing cross default provisions. Under these circumstances, we may have insufficient funds or other resources to satisfy all our obligations.

9

We may be unable to generate sufficient returns on our aircraft investments.

Our results depend on our ability to consistently acquire strategically attractive aircraft, continually and profitably lease and re-lease them, and finally sell or otherwise dispose of them, in order to generate returns on the investments we have made, provide cash to finance our growth and operations, and service our existing debt. Upon acquiring new aircraft, we may not be able to enter into leases that generate sufficient cash flow to justify the cost of purchase. When our leases expire or our aircraft are returned prior to the date contemplated in the lease, we bear the risk of re-leasing, selling or parting-out the aircraft. Because our leases are predominantly operating leases, only a portion of an aircraft’s value is recovered by the revenues generated from the lease and we may not be able to realize the aircraft’s residual value after lease expiration.

Our ability to profitably purchase, lease, re-lease, sell or otherwise dispose of our aircraft will depend on conditions in the airline industry and general market and competitive conditions at the time of purchase, lease and disposition. In addition to factors linked to the aviation industry in general, other factors that may affect our ability to generate adequate returns from our aircraft include the maintenance and operating history of the airframe and engines, the number of operators using the particular type of aircraft, and aircraft age.

Customer demand for certain types of our aircraft may decline.

Aircraft are long-lived assets and demand for a particular model and type of aircraft can change over time. Demand may decline for a variety of reasons, including obsolescence following the introduction of newer technologies, market saturation due to increased production rates, technical problems associated with a particular model, new manufacturers entering the marketplace or existing manufacturers entering new market segments, additional governmental regulation such as environmental rules or aircraft age limitations, or the overall health of the airline industry.

The supply and demand for aircraft is affected by various factors that are outside of our control, including:

• passenger and air cargo demand;

• fuel costs, inflation and general economic conditions;

• geopolitical events, including war, prolonged armed conflict and acts of terrorism;

• epidemics and natural disasters;

• governmental regulation, including regulation of trade, such as the imposition of import and export controls, tariffs and other trade barriers;

• interest rates;

• the availability and cost of financing;

• airline restructurings and bankruptcies;

• manufacturer production levels and technological innovation;

• manufacturers merging, entering or exiting the industry;

• retirement and obsolescence of aircraft models;

• increases in production rates from manufacturers;

• reintroduction into service of aircraft previously in storage; and

• airport and air traffic control infrastructure constraints.

Over recent years, the airline industry has committed to a significant number of aircraft deliveries through order placements with manufacturers, and in response, aircraft manufacturers have raised their production output. The increase in these production levels could result in an oversupply of relatively new aircraft if growth in airline traffic does not meet airline industry expectations.

In addition, recent and future political developments, including the trade dispute between the U.S. and China and other developments as a result of the policies of the current U.S. presidential administration or policies pursued in Europe, could result in increased regulation of trade, which could adversely impact demand for aircraft.

10

As demand for particular aircraft declines as a result of any of these factors, lease rates for that type of aircraft are likely to correspondingly decline, the residual values of that type of aircraft could be negatively impacted, and we may be unable to lease such aircraft on favorable terms, if at all. In addition, the risks associated with a decline in demand for a particular aircraft model or type increase if we acquire a high concentration of such aircraft. If demand declines for a model or type of aircraft of which we own or will acquire a relatively high concentration, it could materially and adversely affect our financial results.

The value and lease rates of our aircraft could decline.

Aircraft values and lease rates have occasionally experienced sharp decreases due to a number of factors, including, but not limited to, manufacturer delivery delays, decreases in passenger air travel and air cargo demand, changes in fuel costs, inflation, government regulation and changes in interest rates. As an example, the continued grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX has affected our ability to lease these aircraft and, together with potential reputational damage pertaining to the aircraft, may continue to affect our ability to lease these aircraft in the future and result in lower future lease rates, and residual values for these aircraft. In addition to factors linked to the aviation industry generally, many other factors may affect the value and lease rates of our aircraft, including:

• the particular maintenance, operating history and documentary records of the aircraft;

• the geographical area where the aircraft is based and operates;

• the number of operators using a particular type of aircraft;

• the regulatory authority under which the aircraft is operated;

• whether the aircraft is subject to a lease and, if so, whether the lease terms are favorable to the lessor;

• the age of the aircraft;

• any renegotiation of a lease on less favorable terms;

• the negotiability of clear title free from mechanic’s liens and encumbrances;

• any regulatory and legal requirements that must be satisfied before the aircraft can be purchased, sold or re-leased;

• decrease in the creditworthiness of lessees;

• compatibility of aircraft configurations or specifications with other aircraft owned by operators of that type;

• comparative value based on newly manufactured competitive aircraft; and

• the availability of spare parts.

Any decrease in the value or lease rates of our aircraft that results from the above factors or other factors may have a material adverse effect on our financial results.

11

The failure of an aircraft or engine manufacturer to meet its delivery obligations to us could negatively affect our cash flow and results of operations.

The supply of commercial aircraft is dominated by Airbus and Boeing and a limited number of engine manufacturers. As a result, we are dependent on these manufacturers remaining financially stable, producing aircraft which meet our lessees’ requirements and fulfilling contractual obligations they have to us.

When the manufacturers do not respond to changes in the market environment, bring aircraft to market that do not meet our lessees’ expectations or fail to fulfill contractual obligations they have to us, we may experience:

• missed or late delivery of aircraft and engines ordered by us and an inability to meet our contractual obligations to our customers, resulting in lost or delayed revenues, lower growth rates and strained customer relationships;

• an inability to acquire aircraft and engines and related components on terms that will allow us to lease those aircraft and engines to customers at a profit, resulting in lower growth rates or a contraction in our aircraft portfolio;

• a market environment with too many aircraft and engines available, creating downward pressure on demand for the aircraft and engines in our fleet and reduced market lease rates and sale prices;

• reduced demand for a particular manufacturer's aircraft as a result of poor customer support or reputational damage to such manufacturer, thereby reducing the demand for those aircraft or engines in our fleet and reduced market lease rates and residual aircraft values for those aircraft and engines;

• a reduction in our competitiveness due to deep discounting by the aircraft or engine manufacturers, which may lead to reduced market lease rates and aircraft values and may affect our ability to remarket for lease or sell at a profit, some of the aircraft in our fleet; and

• technical or other difficulties with aircraft or engines after delivery that subject aircraft to operating restrictions or groundings, resulting in a decline in value and lease rates of such aircraft and reducing our ability to lease or dispose of such aircraft on favorable terms.

Our leases contain lessee cancellation clauses related to aircraft delivery delays, typically for aircraft delays greater than one year, and our purchase agreements contain similar provisions. If there are manufacturing delays for aircraft for which we have made future lease commitments, some or all of our affected lessees could elect to terminate their lease arrangements with respect to such delayed aircraft. Any such termination could negatively affect our cash flow and results of operations.

The recent well-publicized grounding and resulting concerns regarding the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft have resulted in delays in delivery of our aircraft on order from Boeing. As of December 31, 2019, we had 95 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft on order with Boeing. In December 2019, Boeing announced the temporary suspension of its production of 737 MAX aircraft effective in January 2020. Boeing currently estimates that the Boeing 737 MAX will begin to return to service in mid-2020. However, it is uncertain when and under what conditions our Boeing 737 MAX aircraft will return to service and when Boeing will resume making deliveries of our Boeing 737 MAX aircraft on order. As a result, we expect to incur future delays on our scheduled Boeing 737 MAX deliveries, and any such future delays are likely to have an impact on our financial results. The grounding and its effects present a number of the risks to our business described above in this risk factor and the preceding two risk factors, particularly those relating to or arising from reduced demand for an aircraft type, increases in production rates from manufacturers, the reintroduction into service of aircraft previously in storage, the number of operators willing to use a particular type of aircraft, any regulatory or legal requirements that must be satisfied before the aircraft can be purchased, sold or re-leased, reputational damage of a particular aircraft type and manufacturer and lease cancellations by our lessees.

12

Strong competition from other aircraft lessors could adversely affect our financial results.

The aircraft leasing industry is highly competitive. Our competition is primarily comprised of major aircraft leasing companies, but we may also encounter competition from other entities such as:

• airlines;

• aircraft manufacturers;

• financial institutions, including those seeking to dispose of repossessed aircraft at distressed prices;

• aircraft brokers;

• public and private partnerships, investors and funds with excess capital to invest in aircraft and engines; and

• emerging aircraft leasing companies that we do not currently consider our major competitors.

Some of these competitors may have greater operating and financial resources than we do. We may not always be able to compete successfully with such competitors and other entities, which could materially and adversely affect our financial results.

Our financial condition is dependent, in part, on the financial strength of our lessees.

Our financial condition depends on the ability of lessees to perform their payment and other obligations to us under our leases. We generate the primary portion of our revenue from leases to the aviation industry, and as a result we are indirectly affected by all the risks facing airlines today. The ability of our lessees to perform their obligations depends primarily on their financial condition and cash flows, which may be affected by factors outside our control, including:

• passenger air travel and air cargo demand;

• competition;

• economic conditions, inflation and currency fluctuations in the countries and regions in which a lessee operates;

• price and availability of jet fuel;

• availability and cost of financing;

• fare levels;

• geopolitical and other events, including war, acts of terrorism, outbreaks of epidemic diseases and natural disasters;

• increases in operating costs, including labor costs and other general economic conditions affecting our lessees’ operations;

• labor difficulties;

• the availability of financial or other governmental support extended to a lessee; and

• governmental regulation and associated fees affecting the air transportation business, including restrictions on carbon emissions and other environmental regulations, and fly-over restrictions imposed by route authorities.

Generally, airlines with high financial leverage are more likely than airlines with stronger balance sheets to be affected, and affected more quickly, by the factors listed above. Such airlines are also more likely to seek operating leases.

Any downturns in the aviation industry could greatly exacerbate the weakened financial condition and liquidity problems of some of our lessees and further increase the risk that they will delay, reduce or fail to make rental payments when due. At any point in time, our lessees may be significantly in arrears. Some lessees encountering financial difficulties may seek a reduction in their lease rates or other concessions, such as a deferral of their obligations to make rent or supplemental maintenance rent payments or a decrease in their contribution toward maintenance obligations. Moreover, we may not correctly assess the credit risk of each lessee or charge lease rates that incorrectly reflect related risks. Many of our lessees are not rated investment grade by the principal U.S. rating agencies and may be more likely to suffer liquidity problems than those that are so rated.

The above events may have a material impact on the lessees of a significant number of our aircraft, including on the ability of these lessees to perform their obligations to us. As a result, our financial condition, financial results and cash flows may be materially and adversely affected.

13

A return to historically high fuel prices or continued volatility in fuel prices could affect the profitability of the aviation industry and our lessees’ ability to meet their lease payment obligations to us.

Historically, fuel prices have fluctuated widely depending primarily on international market conditions, geopolitical and environmental events and currency exchange rates. Factors such as natural disasters can also significantly affect fuel availability and prices. The cost of fuel represents a major expense to airlines that is not within their control, and significant increases in fuel costs or hedges that inaccurately assess the direction of fuel costs can materially and adversely affect their operating results. Due to the competitive nature of the aviation industry, operators may be unable to pass on increases in fuel prices to their customers by increasing fares in a manner that fully offsets the increased fuel costs they may incur. In addition, they may not be able to manage this risk by appropriately hedging their exposure to fuel price fluctuations. The profitability and liquidity of those airlines that do hedge their fuel costs can also be adversely affected by swift movements in fuel prices, if such airlines are required as a result to post cash collateral under hedge agreements. Therefore, if for any reason fuel prices return to historically high levels or show significant volatility, our lessees are likely to incur higher costs or generate lower revenues, which may affect their ability to meet their obligations to us.

Interruptions in the capital markets could impair our lessees’ ability to finance their operations, which could prevent the lessees from complying with payment obligations to us.

The global financial markets can be highly volatile and the availability of credit from financial markets and financial institutions can vary substantially depending on developments in the global financial markets. Many of our lessees have expanded their airline operations through borrowings and are leveraged. These lessees will depend on banks and the capital markets to provide working capital and to refinance existing indebtedness. To the extent such funding is unavailable, or available only at high interest costs or on unfavorable terms, and to the extent financial markets do not provide equity financing as an alternative, our lessees’ operations and operating results may be materially and adversely affected and they may not comply with their respective payment obligations to us.

A sovereign debt crisis could result in higher borrowing costs and more limited availability of credit, as well as impact the overall airline industry and the financial health of our lessees.

In recent years, the European Union (the “EU”) has faced both financial and political turmoil which, if it continues or worsens, could have a material adverse effect on our business. For example, following the global financial crisis of 2008, several countries in Europe faced a sovereign debt crisis (commonly referred to as the “European Debt Crisis”) that negatively affected economic activity in that region and adversely affected the strength of the euro versus the U.S. dollar and other currencies. A sovereign debt crisis could adversely affect the global banking system due to its exposure to sovereign debt, the imposition of stricter capital requirements or otherwise. A sovereign debt crisis may also lower consumer confidence, which could adversely affect global economic conditions. Adverse changes in the global banking system or global economy may have a material adverse effect on our business.

Adverse conditions and disruptions in European economies could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Our business can be affected by a number of factors that are beyond our control, such as general geopolitical, economic and business conditions. Political uncertainty has created financial and economic uncertainty, including as a result of the United Kingdom’s June 2016 referendum to withdraw from the EU (commonly referred to as “Brexit”). On January, 31, 2020, the United Kingdom withdrew from the EU, entering a transition period, expected to end on December 31, 2020, during which existing trade arrangements remain in place while the United Kingdom and the EU negotiate the details of their future relationship. The economic consequences of Brexit, including the possible repeal of open-skies agreements, could have a material adverse effect on our business. Airlines whose principal place of business is Europe, including the U.K., represented 28% and 30% of our lease revenue for the years ending December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Further, many of the structural issues facing the EU following the European Debt Crisis and Brexit remain, and problems could resurface that could affect financial market conditions, and, possibly, our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, particularly if they lead to the exit of one or more countries from the European Monetary Union (the “EMU”) or the exit of additional countries from the EU. If one or more countries exits the EMU, there would be significant uncertainty with respect to outstanding obligations of counterparties and debtors in any exiting country, whether sovereign or otherwise, and it would likely lead to complex and lengthy disputes and litigation. Additionally, it is possible that political events in Europe could lead to the complete dissolution of the EMU or EU. The partial or full breakup of the EMU or EU would be unprecedented and its impact highly uncertain, including with respect to our business.

14

If the effects of terrorist attacks, war or armed hostilities adversely affect the financial condition of the airline industry, our lessees might not be able to meet their lease payment obligations to us.

Terrorist attacks, war or armed hostilities, or the fear of such events, have historically had a negative impact on the aviation industry and could result in:

• higher costs to the airlines due to the increased security measures;

• decreased passenger demand and revenue due to the inconvenience of additional security measures or concerns about the safety of flying;

• the imposition of “no-fly zone” or other restrictions on commercial airline traffic in certain regions;

• uncertainty of the price and availability of jet fuel and the cost and practicability of obtaining fuel hedges;

• higher financing costs and difficulty in raising the desired amount of proceeds on favorable terms, if at all;

• significantly higher costs of aviation insurance coverage for future claims caused by acts of war, terrorism, sabotage, hijacking and other similar perils, or the unavailability of certain types of insurance;

• inability of airlines to reduce their operating costs and conserve financial resources, taking into account the increased costs incurred as a consequence of such events;

• special charges recognized by some operators, such as those related to the impairment of aircraft and engines and other long-lived assets stemming from the grounding of aircraft as a result of terrorist attacks, economic conditions and airline reorganizations; and

• an airline becoming insolvent and/or ceasing operations.

As a result of terrorist attacks around the world, increased security restrictions were implemented on air travel, costs for aircraft insurance and security measures increased, for a time passenger and cargo demand for air travel decreased, and operators faced difficulties in acquiring war risk and other insurance at reasonable costs. Sanctions against Russia, uncertainty regarding tensions between Ukraine and Russia, the situation in Iraq and Syria, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, tension over the nuclear programs of North Korea and Iran, political instability in the Middle East and North Africa, the territorial disputes between Japan and China and the tensions in the South China Sea could lead to further instability in these regions.

Terrorist attacks, war or armed hostilities, or the fear of such events, in these or any other regions, could adversely affect the aviation industry and the financial condition and liquidity of our lessees, as well as aircraft values and rental rates. In addition, such events might cause certain aviation insurance to become available only at significantly increased premiums or with reduced amounts of coverage that are insufficient to comply with the current requirements of aircraft lenders and lessors or with applicable government regulations, or not to be available at all. Although some governments provide for limited coverage under government programs for specified types of aviation insurance, these programs may not be available at the relevant time or governments may not pay under these programs in a timely fashion.

Such events are likely to cause our lessees to incur higher costs and to generate lower revenues, which could result in a material adverse effect on their financial condition and liquidity, including their ability to make rental and other lease payments to us or to obtain the types and amounts of insurance we require. This in turn could lead to aircraft groundings or additional lease restructurings and repossessions, increase our cost of re-leasing or selling aircraft, impair our ability to re-lease or otherwise dispose of aircraft on favorable terms or at all, or reduce the proceeds we receive for our aircraft in a disposition.

15

The effects of epidemic diseases, such as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, and natural disasters, such as extreme weather conditions, floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, may adversely affect the demand for air travel, the financial condition of our lessees and of the aviation industry more broadly, and ultimately our financial condition, results and cash flows.

The outbreak of COVID-19 or other epidemic diseases such as those previously experienced with Ebola, measles, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), H1N1 (swine flu) and Zika virus could materially and adversely affect the overall amount of air travel. These epidemic diseases or the fear of these diseases could result in government-imposed travel restrictions and reduced passenger demand for travel, which could adversely affect commercial airline traffic, the demand for leased aircraft and the financial condition of the aviation industry.

The current concerns related to COVID-19 have resulted in a number of countries imposing travel restrictions and mandatory quarantine periods for people traveling from affected regions, causing significant economic disruption, a reduction in commercial airline traffic and flight cancellations. The continuing spread of the virus to other countries and regions may result in the imposition of additional restrictions, increased flight cancellations and greater reluctance to travel, which may lead to greater economic disruption and a broader adverse impact on air travel and the aviation industry.

Similarly, a lack of air travel demand or an inability of airlines to operate to or from certain regions due to severe weather conditions and natural disasters, including floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, could impact demand for air travel and the financial health of certain airlines, including our lessees. Some of the risks relating to a downturn in the aviation industry and weakened financial condition of our lessees are described in “Item 3. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks related to our business—Our financial condition is dependent, in part, on the financial strength of our lessees.”

In addition, any decrease in air travel, lack of demand for air travel or downturn in the aviation industry caused by epidemic diseases or natural disasters could result in lower utilization of our aircraft assets, which would in turn result in a reduction in supplemental maintenance rent or EOL compensation payable to us, and could impact our ability to lease or sell our aircraft.

The above events and risks could materially and adversely affect our financial condition, results and cash flows.

Airline reorganizations could impair our lessees’ ability to comply with their lease payment obligations to us.

In recent years, several airlines have filed for protection under their local bankruptcy and insolvency laws and, over the past several years, certain airlines have gone into liquidation. Historically, airlines involved in reorganizations have undertaken substantial fare discounting to maintain cash flows and to encourage continued customer loyalty. The bankruptcies have led to the grounding of significant numbers of aircraft, rejection of leases and negotiated reductions in aircraft lease rentals, with the effect of depressing aircraft market values. Additional reorganizations or liquidations by airlines under applicable bankruptcy or reorganization laws or further rejection or abandonment of aircraft by airlines in bankruptcy proceedings may depress aircraft values and aircraft lease rates. Additional grounded aircraft and lower market values would adversely affect our ability to sell certain of our aircraft or re-lease other aircraft at favorable rates if at all.

Our lessees may fail to properly maintain our aircraft.

We may be exposed to increased maintenance costs for our leased aircraft if lessees fail to properly maintain the aircraft or fail to pay supplemental maintenance rents or EOL compensation. Under our leases, our lessees are primarily responsible for maintaining our aircraft and complying with all governmental requirements applicable to the lessee and the aircraft, including operational, maintenance, government agency oversight, registration requirements and airworthiness directives. We also require many of our lessees to pay us supplemental maintenance rents. If a lessee fails to perform required maintenance on our aircraft during the term of the lease, the aircraft’s market value may decline, which would result in lower revenues from its subsequent lease or sale, or the aircraft might be grounded. Maintenance failures by a lessee would also likely require us to incur maintenance and modification costs, which could be substantial, upon the termination of the applicable lease to restore the aircraft to an acceptable condition prior to sale or re-leasing. Supplemental maintenance rents or EOL compensation paid by our lessees may not be sufficient to fund such maintenance costs. If our lessees fail to meet their obligations to pay supplemental maintenance rents or EOL compensation, fail to perform required scheduled maintenance, or if we are required to incur unexpected maintenance costs, our financial results may be materially and adversely affected.

16

Our lessees may fail to adequately insure our aircraft.

While an aircraft is on lease, we do not directly control its operation. Nevertheless, because we hold title to the aircraft, we could be held liable for losses resulting from its operation under one or more legal theories in certain jurisdictions around the world, or at a minimum, we might be required to expend resources in our defense. We require our lessees to obtain specified levels of insurance and indemnify us for, and insure against, such operational liabilities. However, some lessees may fail to maintain adequate insurance coverage during a lease term, which, although constituting a breach of the lease, would require us to take some corrective action, such as terminating the lease or securing insurance for the aircraft.

In addition, there are certain risks of losses our lessees face that insurers may be unwilling to cover or for which the cost of coverage would be prohibitively expensive. For example, following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, aviation insurers significantly reduced the amount of coverage available to airlines for liability to persons other than airline employees or passengers for claims resulting from acts of terrorism, war or similar events and significantly increased the premiums for third party war risk and terrorism liability insurance and coverage in general. Therefore, our lessees’ insurance coverage may not be sufficient to cover all claims that could be asserted against us arising from the operation of our aircraft.

Inadequate insurance coverage or default by lessees in fulfilling their indemnification or insurance obligations to us will reduce the insurance proceeds that would be received by us in the event we are sued and are required to make payments to claimants. Moreover, our lessees’ insurance coverage is dependent on the financial condition of insurance companies, which might not be able to pay claims. A reduction in insurance proceeds otherwise payable to us as a result of any of these factors could materially and adversely affect our financial results.

If our lessees fail to cooperate in returning our aircraft following lease terminations, we may encounter obstacles and are likely to incur significant costs and expenses conducting repossessions.

Our legal rights and the relative difficulty of repossession vary significantly depending on the jurisdiction in which an aircraft is located and the applicable law. We may need to obtain a court order or consents for de-registration or re-export, a process that can differ substantially in different countries. Where a lessee or other operator flies only domestic routes in the jurisdiction in which the aircraft is registered, repossessing and exporting the aircraft may be challenging, especially if the jurisdiction permits the lessee or the other operator to resist de-registration. When a defaulting lessee is in bankruptcy, protective administration, insolvency or similar proceedings, additional limitations may apply. For example, certain jurisdictions give rights to the trustee in bankruptcy or a similar officer to assume or reject the lease or to assign it to a third party, or entitle the lessee or another third party to retain possession of the aircraft without paying lease rentals or performing all or some of the obligations under the relevant lease. Certain of our lessees are partially or wholly owned by government-related entities, which can complicate our efforts to repossess our aircraft in that government’s jurisdiction. If we encounter any of these difficulties, we may be delayed in, or prevented from, enforcing certain of our rights under a lease and in re-leasing the affected aircraft.

When conducting a repossession, we are likely to incur significant costs and expenses that are unlikely to be recouped. These include legal and other expenses of court or other governmental proceedings, including the cost of posting security bonds or letters of credit necessary to effect repossession of the aircraft, particularly if the lessee is contesting the proceedings or is in bankruptcy. We must absorb the cost of lost revenue for the time the aircraft is off-lease. We may incur substantial maintenance, refurbishment or repair costs that a defaulting lessee has failed to pay and are necessary to put the aircraft in suitable condition for re-lease or sale. We may incur significant costs in retrieving or recreating aircraft records required for registration of the aircraft, and in obtaining the certificate of airworthiness for an aircraft. It may be necessary to pay to discharge liens or pay taxes and other governmental charges on the aircraft to obtain clear possession and to remarket the aircraft effectively, including, in some cases, liens that the lessee may have incurred in connection with the operation of its other aircraft. We may also incur other costs in connection with the physical possession of the aircraft.

Based on historical rates of airline defaults and bankruptcies, at least some of our lessees are likely to default on their lease obligations or file for bankruptcy in the ordinary course of our business. If we incur significant costs in repossessing our aircraft, our financial results may be materially and adversely affected.

17

If our lessees fail to discharge aircraft liens for which they are responsible, we may be obligated to pay to discharge the liens.

In the normal course of their business, our lessees are likely to incur aircraft and engine liens that secure the payment of airport fees and taxes, custom duties, Eurocontrol and other air navigation charges, landing charges, crew wages, and other liens that may attach to our aircraft. Aircraft may also be subject to mechanic’s liens as a result of routine maintenance performed by third parties on behalf of our customers. Some of these liens can secure substantial sums, and if they attach to entire fleets of aircraft, as permitted in certain jurisdictions for certain kinds of liens, they may exceed the value of the aircraft itself. Although the financial obligations relating to these liens are the contractual responsibility of our lessees, if they fail to fulfill their obligations, the liens may ultimately become our financial responsibility. Until they are discharged, these liens could impair our ability to repossess, re-lease or sell our aircraft or engines. In some jurisdictions, aircraft and engine liens may give the holder thereof the right to detain or, in limited cases, sell or cause the forfeiture of the aircraft. If we are obliged to pay a large amount to discharge a lien, or if we are unable take possession of our aircraft subject to a lien in a timely and cost-effective manner, it could materially and adversely affect our financial results.

In certain countries, an engine affixed to an aircraft may become an accession to the aircraft and we may not be able to exercise our ownership rights over the engine.

In some jurisdictions, an engine affixed to an aircraft may become an accession to the aircraft, whereby the ownership rights of the owner of the aircraft supersede the ownership rights of the owner of the engine. If an aircraft is security for the owner’s obligations to a third party, the security interest in the aircraft may supersede our rights as owner of the engine. This legal principle could limit our ability to repossess an engine in the event of a lease default while the aircraft with our engine installed remains in such jurisdiction. We would suffer a substantial loss if we were not able to repossess engines leased to lessees in these jurisdictions, which would materially and adversely affect our financial results.

If our lessees encounter financial difficulties and we restructure or terminate our leases, we are likely to obtain less favorable lease terms.

If a lessee delays, reduces, or fails to make rental payments when due, or has advised us that it will do so in the future, we may elect or be required to restructure or terminate the lease. A restructured lease will likely contain terms that are less favorable to us. If we are unable to agree on a restructuring and we terminate the lease, we may not receive all or any payments still outstanding, and we may be unable to re-lease the aircraft promptly and at favorable rates, if at all. We have conducted restructurings and terminations in the ordinary course of our business, and we expect more will occur in the future. If we are obligated to perform a significant number of restructurings and terminations, the associated reduction in lease revenue could materially and adversely affect our financial results and cash flows.

The advent of superior aircraft and engine technology or the introduction of a new line of aircraft could cause our existing aircraft portfolio to become outdated and therefore less desirable.

As manufacturers introduce technological innovations and new types of aircraft and engines, some of the aircraft and engines in our aircraft portfolio may become less desirable to potential lessees. New aircraft manufacturers, such as Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation in Japan, JSC United Aircraft Corporation in Russia and Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. in China could produce aircraft that compete with current offerings from Airbus, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale (ATR), Boeing and Embraer. Additionally, new manufacturers may develop a narrowbody aircraft that competes with established aircraft types from Airbus and Boeing, putting downward price pressure on and decreasing the marketability of aircraft from Airbus and Boeing. New aircraft types that are introduced into the market could be more attractive for the target lessees of our aircraft. The development of more fuel-efficient engines could make aircraft in our portfolio with engines that are not as fuel-efficient less attractive to potential lessees. In addition, the imposition of increasingly stringent noise or emissions regulations may make some of our aircraft and engines less desirable in the marketplace. A decrease in demand for our aircraft as a result of any of these factors could materially and adversely affect our financial results.

Airbus and Boeing have launched new aircraft types, which could decrease the value and lease rates of aircraft in our fleet.

Airbus and Boeing have launched several new aircraft types in recent years, including the Boeing 787 Family, the Boeing 737 MAX Family, the Boeing 777X, the Airbus A320neo Family, the Airbus A330neo Family, and the Airbus A350 Family. The availability of these new aircraft types, and potential variants of these new aircraft types, may have an adverse effect on residual value and future lease rates of older aircraft types and variants. The development of these new aircraft could decrease the desirability of the older aircraft and thereby increase the supply of older aircraft in the marketplace. This increase in supply could, in turn, reduce both future residual values and lease rates for such older aircraft types and variants.

18

Overcapacity in the aircraft industry could decrease the value and lease rates of aircraft in our fleet.

The aircraft leasing business has experienced periods of aircraft oversupply at various times in the past, including following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the 2008 financial crisis. The oversupply of a specific type of aircraft is likely to depress the lease rates for and the value of that type of aircraft, including upon sale. Further, over recent years, the airline industry has committed to a significant number of aircraft deliveries through order placements with manufacturers, and in response, aircraft manufacturers have generally raised their production output. The market may not be able to absorb these scheduled production increases. If the additional capacity scheduled to be produced by the manufacturers exceeds demand, the resulting overcapacity could have a negative effect on aircraft values and lease rates. If overall lending to purchasers of aircraft does not increase in line with the increased aircraft production, the cost of lending or the ability to obtain debt to finance aircraft purchases could be negatively affected. Any such decrease in aircraft values and lease rates, or increase in the cost or availability of funding, could materially and adversely affect our financial results.

Existing and future litigation against us could materially and adversely affect our business, financial position, liquidity or results of operations.

We are, and from time to time in the future may be, a defendant in lawsuits relating to our business. We cannot accurately predict the ultimate outcome of any litigation due to its inherent uncertainties. An unfavorable outcome could materially and adversely affect our business, financial position, liquidity or results of operations. In addition, regardless of the outcome of any litigation, we may be required to devote substantial resources and executive time to the defense of such actions. For a description of certain pending litigation involving our business, please refer to Note 27—Commitments and contingencies to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this annual report.

Our international operations expose us to geopolitical, economic and legal risks associated with a global business.

We conduct our business in many countries. There are risks inherent in conducting our business internationally, including:

• general political and economic instability in international markets;

• limitations on the repatriation of our assets;

• expropriation of our international assets; and

• different liability standards and legal systems that may be less developed and less predictable than those in advanced economies.

Furthermore, the U.S. presidential administration has proposed or is considering various actions that could affect U.S. trade policy or practices, which could, among other things, adversely affect travel to or from the United States. These factors may have a material and adverse effect on our financial results.

We may enter into strategic ventures that pose risks, including a lack of complete control over the enterprise, and potential unforeseen risks, any of which could adversely impact our financial results.

We may occasionally enter into strategic ventures or investments with third parties in order to take advantage of favorable financing opportunities, to share capital or operating risk, or to earn aircraft management fees. These strategic ventures and investments may subject us to various risks, including those arising from our possessing limited decision-making rights in the enterprise or over the related aircraft. If we were unable to resolve a dispute with a strategic partner who controls ultimate decision-making in such a venture or retains material managerial veto rights, we might reach an impasse which may lead to the liquidation of our investment at a time and in a manner that would result in our losing some or all of our original investment and/or the incurrence of other losses, which could adversely impact our financial results.

19

We are indirectly subject to many of the economic and political risks associated with emerging markets.

We derive substantial lease revenue (approximately 58% in 2019, 58% in 2018 and 57% in 2017) from airlines in emerging market countries. Emerging market countries have less developed economies and are more vulnerable to economic and political problems and may experience significant fluctuations in gross domestic product, interest rates and currency exchange rates, as well as civil disturbances, government instability, nationalization and expropriation of private assets and the imposition of taxes or other charges by government authorities. The occurrence of any of these events in markets served by our lessees and the resulting economic instability that may arise as a result of these events could adversely affect the value of our ownership interest in aircraft subject to lease in such countries, or the ability of our lessees that operate in these markets to meet their lease obligations. As a result, lessees that operate in emerging market countries may be more likely to default than lessees that operate in developed countries. In addition, legal systems in emerging market countries may be less developed, which could make it more difficult for us to enforce our legal rights in such countries. For these and other reasons, our financial results may be materially and adversely affected by economic and political developments in emerging market countries.

Because our lessees are concentrated in certain geographical regions, we have concentrated exposure to the political and economic risks associated with those regions.

Through our lessees and the countries in which they operate, we are exposed to the specific economic and political conditions and associated risks of those jurisdictions. For example, we have large concentrations of lessees in China, and therefore have increased exposure to the economic and political conditions in that country, including the current impacts of COVID-19. See “Item 3. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks related to our business—The effects of epidemic diseases, such as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, and natural disasters, such as extreme weather conditions, floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, may adversely affect the demand for air travel, the financial condition of our lessees and of the aviation industry more broadly, and ultimately our financial condition, results and cash flows.” These risks can include economic recessions, burdensome local regulations or, in extreme cases, increased risks of requisition of our aircraft. An adverse political or economic event in any region or country in which our lessees are concentrated or where we have a large number of aircraft could affect the ability of our lessees in that region or country to meet their obligations to us, or expose us to various legal or political risks associated with the affected jurisdictions, all of which could have a material and adverse effect on our financial results.

We are subject to various risks and requirements associated with transacting business in many countries.

Our international operations expose us to trade and economic sanctions, export controls and other restrictions imposed by the United States, the United Kingdom, or other governments or organizations. For example, the U.S. Departments of Justice, Commerce, State and Treasury and other U.S. federal agencies and authorities have a broad range of civil and criminal penalties they may seek to impose against corporations and individuals for violations of economic sanctions laws, export control laws, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and other U.S. federal statutes and regulations, including those established by the Office of Foreign Asset Control. Under these laws and regulations, the U.S. government may require export licenses, may seek to impose modifications to business practices, including cessation of business activities in sanctioned countries, and modifications to compliance programs, which may increase compliance costs, and may subject us to fines, penalties and other sanctions. A violation of any of these laws or regulations could materially and adversely impact our business, operating results, and financial condition.

We have implemented and maintain in effect policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance by us, our subsidiaries and our directors, officers, employees, consultants and agents with respect to various export control, anti-corruption, anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering laws and regulations. However, such personnel could engage in unauthorized conduct for which we may be held responsible. Violations of such laws and regulations may result in severe criminal or civil sanctions, and we may be subject to other liabilities, which could materially and adversely affect our financial results.

The General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which became law in the EU on May 25, 2018, regulates the ways in which businesses process personal data in Europe. There are extensive documentation obligations and transparency requirements, which may impose significant costs on us. Failure to comply with the GDPR may subject us to significant litigation or enforcement actions, fines, claims for compensation by customers and other affected individuals, damage to our reputation, orders to remedy breaches or criminal prosecutions, any of which could have a material adverse impact on our business, operating results, and financial condition. For example, under the GDPR, we could incur significant fines of up to 4% of our annual global revenue.

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Our ability to operate in some countries is restricted by foreign regulations and controls on investments.

Many countries restrict, or in the future might restrict, foreign investments in a manner adverse to us. These restrictions and controls have limited, and may in the future restrict or preclude, our investment in joint ventures or the acquisition of businesses in certain jurisdictions or may increase the cost to us of entering into such transactions. Various governments, particularly in the Asia/Pacific region, require governmental approval before foreign persons may make investments in domestic businesses and also limit the extent of any such investments. Furthermore, various governments may reserve the right to approve the repatriation of capital by, or the payment of dividends to, foreign investors. Restrictive policies regarding foreign investments may increase our costs of pursuing growth opportunities in foreign jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our financial results.

Our aircraft are subject to various environmental regulations and concerns.

Governmental regulations regarding aircraft and engine noise and emissions levels apply based on where the relevant airframe is registered and where the aircraft is operated. For example, jurisdictions throughout the world have adopted noise regulations that require all aircraft to comply with noise level standards. In addition, the United States and the International Civil Aviation Organization (“ICAO”) have adopted a more stringent set of standards for noise levels that apply to engines manufactured or certified beginning in 2006, as well as a more stringent set of standards in respect of aircraft with a maximum certificated takeoff weight greater than or equal to 55,000 kg and aircraft with a maximum certificated takeoff weight less than 55,000 kg, effective December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2020, respectively. Currently, United States regulations do not require any phase-out of aircraft that qualify with the older standards, but the EU has established a framework for the imposition of operating limitations on aircraft that do not comply with the newer standards. These regulations could limit the economic life of certain of our aircraft and engines, reduce their value, limit our ability to lease or sell the non-compliant aircraft and engines or, if engine modifications are permitted, require us to make significant additional investments in the aircraft and engines to make them compliant.

In addition to more stringent noise restrictions, the United States, EU and other jurisdictions are moving towards imposing more stringent limits on greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft engines. Although current emissions control laws generally apply to newer engines, new laws could be passed in the future that also impose limits on older engines, thereby subjecting our older engines to existing or new emissions limitations or indirect taxation. For example, the EU issued a directive in January 2009 to include aviation within the scope of its greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme (“ETS”) beginning on January 1, 2012, regardless of the engine type or age. However, the EU subsequently suspended ETS application to flights from or to non-EU countries through 2023. In October 2016, ICAO adopted the Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (“CORSIA”), a global market-based scheme aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emission from international aviation that will become mandatory in 2027. At least 77 countries, including the United States, have indicated that they will participate in the voluntary phase-in of CORSIA which begins in 2021, although the United States subsequently indicated that it is reviewing its commitment to CORSIA. Limitations on emissions such as ETS and CORSIA could favor younger, more fuel-efficient aircraft since they generally produce lower levels of emissions per passenger, which could adversely affect our ability to re-lease or otherwise dispose of less efficient aircraft on a timely basis, on favorable terms, or at all. This is an area of law that is rapidly changing and as of yet remains specific to certain jurisdictions. While we do not know at this time whether new emissions restrictions will be passed, and if passed what impact such laws might have on our business, any future emissions limitations could adversely affect us.

The airline industry has come under increased scrutiny by the press, the public and investors regarding the impact of air travel on the environment, including emissions to the air, discharges to surface and subsurface waters, safe drinking water, aircraft noise, the management of hazardous substances, oils and waste materials and other environmental impacts related to aircraft operations. If such scrutiny results in reduced air travel, it may affect demand for our aircraft, lessees’ ability to make rental and other lease payments and reduce the value we receive for our aircraft upon any disposition, which would negatively affect our financial condition, cash flow and results of operations.

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If a decline in demand for certain aircraft causes a decline in its projected lease rates, or if we dispose of an aircraft for a price that is less than its depreciated book value on our balance sheet, then we will recognize impairments or make fair value adjustments.

We test long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts of the assets may not be recoverable from their undiscounted cash flows. If the gross cash flow test fails, the difference between the fair value and the carrying amount of the aircraft is recognized as an impairment loss. Factors that may contribute to impairment charges include, but are not limited to, unfavorable airline industry trends affecting the residual values of certain aircraft types, high fuel prices and development of more fuel-efficient aircraft shortening the useful lives of certain aircraft, management’s expectations that certain aircraft are more likely than not to be parted-out or otherwise disposed of sooner than their expected life, and new technological developments. Cash flows supporting carrying values of older aircraft are more dependent upon current lease contracts. In addition, we believe that residual values of older aircraft are more exposed to non-recoverable declines in value in the current economic environment.

If economic conditions deteriorate, we may be required to recognize impairment losses. In that event, our estimates and assumptions regarding forecasted cash flows from our long-lived assets would need to be reassessed, including the duration of the economic downturn and the timing and strength of the pending recovery, both of which are important variables for purposes of our long-lived asset impairment tests. Any of our assumptions may prove to be inaccurate, which could adversely impact forecasted cash flows of certain long-lived assets, especially for older aircraft. If so, it is possible that there may be an event-driven impairment for other long-lived assets in the future and that any such impairment amounts may be material. As of December 31, 2019, 175 of our owned aircraft under operating leases were 15 years of age or older. These aircraft represented approximately 6% of our total flight equipment and lease-related assets and liabilities as of December 31, 2019. Please refer to “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Critical accounting policies and estimates—Impairment charges” for a detailed description of our impairment policy.

A cyberattack could lead to a material disruption of our IT systems or the IT systems of our third party providers and the loss of business information, which may hinder our ability to conduct our business effectively and may result in lost revenues and additional costs.

Parts of our business depend on the secure operation of our information technology, or IT, systems and the IT systems of our third party providers to manage, process, store and transmit information associated with aircraft leasing. Like other global companies, we have, from time to time, experienced threats to our data and systems, including malware and computer virus attacks, internet network scans, systems failures and disruptions. A cyberattack that bypasses our IT security systems or the IT security systems of our third party providers, causing an IT security breach, could lead to a material disruption of our IT systems or the IT systems of our third party providers, as applicable, and adversely impact our daily operations and cause the loss of sensitive information, including our own proprietary information and that of our customers, suppliers and employees. Such losses could harm our reputation and result in competitive disadvantages, litigation, regulatory enforcement actions, lost revenues, additional costs and liability. While we devote substantial resources to maintaining adequate levels of cybersecurity, our resources and technical sophistication may not be adequate to prevent all types of cyberattacks.

We could suffer material damage to, or interruptions in, our IT systems or the IT systems of our third party providers as a result of external factors, staffing shortages or difficulties in updating our existing software or developing or implementing new software.

We depend largely upon our IT systems and the IT systems of our third party providers in the conduct of all aspects of our operations. Such systems are subject to damage or interruption from power outages, computer and telecommunications failures, computer viruses, security breaches, fire and natural disasters. Damage or interruption to these IT systems may require a significant investment to fix or replace them, and we may suffer interruptions in our operations in the interim. In addition, we are currently pursuing a number of IT-related projects that will require ongoing IT-related development and conversion of existing systems. Costs and potential problems and interruptions associated with the implementation of new or upgraded systems and technology or with maintenance or adequate support of existing systems could also disrupt or reduce the efficiency of our operations. Any material interruptions or failures in our IT systems may have a material adverse effect on our business or results of operations.

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Risks related to our organization and structure

We are a public limited liability company incorporated in the Netherlands (“naamloze vennootschap” or “N.V.”) and it may be difficult to obtain or enforce judgments against us or our executive officers, some of our directors and some of our named experts in the United States.

We were incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands and, as such, the rights of holders of our ordinary shares and the civil liability of our directors will be governed by the laws of the Netherlands and our articles of association. The rights of shareholders under the laws of the Netherlands may differ from the rights of shareholders of companies incorporated in other jurisdictions. Many of our directors and executive officers and most of our assets and the assets of many of our directors are located outside the United States. In addition, our articles of association do not provide for U.S. courts as a venue for, or for the application of U.S. law to, lawsuits against us, our directors and executive officers. As a result, you may not be able to serve process on us or on such persons in the United States or obtain or enforce judgments from U.S. courts against us or them based on the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States. There is doubt as to whether the Dutch courts would enforce certain civil liabilities under U.S. securities laws in original actions and enforce claims for punitive damages.

Under our articles of association, we indemnify and hold our directors, officers and employees harmless against all claims and suits brought against them, subject to limited exceptions. Under our articles of association, to the extent allowed by law, the rights and obligations among or between us, any of our current or former directors, officers and employees and any current or former shareholder shall be governed exclusively by the laws of the Netherlands and subject to the jurisdiction of the Dutch courts, unless such rights or obligations do not relate to or arise out of their capacities listed above. Although there is doubt as to whether U.S. courts would enforce such provision in an action brought in the United States under U.S. securities laws, such provision could make judgments obtained outside of the Netherlands more difficult to enforce against our assets in the Netherlands or jurisdictions that would apply Dutch law.

If our subsidiaries do not make distributions to us, we will not be able to pay dividends.

Substantially all of our assets are held by, and substantially all of our revenues are generated by our subsidiaries. While we do not currently, and do not currently intend to, pay dividends, we will be limited in our ability to pay dividends unless we receive dividends or other cash flow from our subsidiaries. A substantial portion of our owned aircraft are held through SPEs or finance structures that borrow funds to finance or refinance the aircraft. The terms of these financings place restrictions on distributions of funds to us. If these limitations prevent distributions to us or our subsidiaries do not generate positive cash flows, we will be limited in our ability to pay dividends and may be unable to transfer funds between subsidiaries if required to support our subsidiaries.

As a foreign private issuer, we are permitted to file less information with the SEC than a company incorporated in the United States. Accordingly, there may be less publicly available information concerning us than there is for companies incorporated in the United States.

As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from certain rules under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), which impose disclosure requirements, as well as procedural requirements, for proxy solicitations under Section 14 of the Exchange Act. We are not required to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as U.S. companies whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act, nor are we generally required to comply with the SEC’s Regulation FD, which restricts the selective disclosure of material non-public information. In addition, our officers and directors are exempt from the periodic reporting and short-swing profit recovery requirements in Section 16 of the Exchange Act. As a result, there may be less publicly available information concerning us than there is for a company that files as a domestic issuer.

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Risks related to taxation

We may become a passive foreign investment company (“PFIC”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

We do not believe we will be classified as a PFIC for 2019. We cannot yet make a determination as to whether we will be classified as a PFIC for 2020 or subsequent years. The determination as to whether a foreign corporation is a PFIC is a complex determination based on all of the relevant facts and circumstances and depends on the classification of various assets and income under PFIC rules. In our case, the determination is further complicated by the application of the PFIC rules to leasing companies and to joint ventures and financing structures common in the aircraft leasing industry. It is unclear how some of these rules apply to us. Further, this determination must be tested annually and our circumstances may change in any given year. We do not intend to make decisions regarding the purchase and sale of aircraft with the specific purpose of reducing the likelihood of our becoming a PFIC. Accordingly, our business plan may result in our engaging in activities that could cause us to become a PFIC. If we are or become a PFIC, U.S. shareholders may be subject to increased U.S. federal income taxes on a sale or other disposition of our ordinary shares and on the receipt of certain distributions and will be subject to increased U.S. federal income tax reporting requirements. See “Item 10. Additional Information—Taxation—U.S. tax considerations” for a more detailed discussion of the consequences to you if we are treated as a PFIC and a discussion of certain elections that may be available to mitigate the effects of that treatment. We urge you to consult your own tax advisors regarding the application of the PFIC rules to your particular circumstances.

We may become subject to income or other taxes in jurisdictions which would adversely affect our financial results.

We and our subsidiaries are subject to the income tax laws of Ireland, the Netherlands, the United States and other jurisdictions in which our subsidiaries are incorporated or based. Our effective tax rate in any period is impacted by the source and the amount of earnings among our different tax jurisdictions. A change in the division of our earnings among our tax jurisdictions could have a material impact on our effective tax rate and our financial results. In addition, we or our subsidiaries may be subject to additional income or other taxes in these and other jurisdictions by reason of the management and control of our subsidiaries, our activities and operations, where our aircraft operate, where the lessees of our aircraft (or others in possession of our aircraft) are located or changes in tax laws, regulations or accounting principles. Although we have adopted guidelines and operating procedures to ensure our subsidiaries are appropriately managed and controlled, we may be subject to such taxes in the future and such taxes may be substantial. The imposition of such taxes could have a material adverse effect on our financial results.

We may incur current tax liabilities in our primary operating jurisdictions in the future.

We expect to make current tax payments in some of the jurisdictions where we do business in the normal course of our operations. Our ability to defer the payment of some level of income taxes to future periods is dependent upon the continued benefit of accelerated tax depreciation on our flight equipment in some jurisdictions, the continued deductibility of external and intercompany financing arrangements and the application of tax losses prior to their expiration in certain tax jurisdictions, among other factors. The level of current tax payments we make in any of our primary operating jurisdictions could adversely affect our cash flows and have a material adverse effect on our financial results.

We may become subject to additional Irish taxes based on the extent of our operations carried on in Ireland.

Our Irish tax resident group companies are currently subject to Irish corporate income tax on trading income at a rate of 12.5%, on capital gains at 33% and on other income at 25%. We expect that substantially all of our Irish income will be treated as trading income for tax purposes in future periods. As of December 31, 2019, we had significant Irish tax losses available to carry forward against our trading income. The continued application of the 12.5% tax rate to trading income generated in our Irish tax resident group companies and the ability to carry forward Irish tax losses to offset future taxable trading income depends in part on the extent and nature of activities carried on in Ireland both in the past and in the future. Our Irish tax resident group companies intend to carry on their activities in Ireland so that the 12.5% rate of tax applicable to trading income will apply and that they will be entitled to offset future income with tax losses arising from the same trading activity.

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We may fail to qualify for benefits under one or more tax treaties.

We do not expect that our subsidiaries located outside of the United States will have any material U.S. federal income tax liability by reason of activities we carry out in the United States and the lease of assets to lessees that operate in the United States. This conclusion will depend, in part, on continued qualification for the benefits of income tax treaties between the United States and other countries in which we are subject to tax (particularly Ireland). That in turn may depend on, among others, the nature and level of activities carried on by us and our subsidiaries in each jurisdiction, the identity of the owners of equity interests in subsidiaries that are not wholly owned and the identities of the direct and indirect owners of our indebtedness.

The nature of our activities may be such that our subsidiaries may not continue to qualify for the benefits under income tax treaties with the United States and that may not otherwise qualify for treaty benefits. Failure to so qualify could result in the imposition of U.S. federal and state taxes, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial results.

Changes in tax laws may result in additional taxes for us or for our shareholders.

Tax laws and the practice of the local tax authorities in the jurisdictions in which we reside, in which we conduct activities or operations, or where our aircraft or lessees of our aircraft are located may change in the future. Such changes in tax law or practice could result in additional taxes for us or our shareholders. On December 22, 2017, the United States enacted new tax legislation (the “Tax Legislation”) that significantly revised the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). The Tax Legislation included, among other things, a reduction of the U.S. corporate income tax rate, limits on the deductibility of business interest, the ability to deduct certain capital expenditures and a new minimum tax on certain payments to non-U.S. affiliates of U.S. corporations. The impact of the Tax Legislation on the business and operations of our U.S. subsidiaries has not materially impacted our tax expense and we do not currently expect the Tax Legislation to do so. However, the Tax Legislation is unclear in certain respects and will require interpretations and implementing regulations by the IRS, and could also be subject to potential amendments and technical corrections by Congress. Given the substantial changes to the Code as a result of the Tax Legislation, such interpretations, regulations, amendments or corrections could potentially change our expectations on the impact of the Tax Legislation on us.

The introduction of Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”) by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (“OECD”) may impact our effective rate of tax in future periods.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (the “OECD”) has introduced an action plan in respect of base erosion and profit shifting (the “BEPS Action Plan”), which consists of 15 action points to tackle tax avoidance. These action points target tax avoidance measures such as hybrid instruments, excessive interest deductions, treaty shopping, and permanent establishment avoidance, among others.

Since June 7, 2017, representatives from over 70 jurisdictions have signed up to the Multilateral Instrument (“MLI”). The MLI seeks to implement agreed tax treaty-related measures combating tax avoidance into bilateral existing tax treaties without the need to renegotiate a new treaty. The MLI took effect on May 1, 2019 in Ireland with measures relating to withholding taxes taking effect from January 1, 2020. Changes to Ireland’s treaties under the MLI include:

• A statement in the preamble to the treaty, confirming that the treaty may not be used for treaty-shopping purposes.

• Inclusion of a principal purpose test (“PPT”), which disallows treaty benefits where the main purpose or one of the main purposes of structuring the transaction is to obtain the benefits of the treaty. Given the subjectivity of the PPT, there is a risk that each counterparty jurisdiction will interpret it differently, which creates uncertainty in its application to leasing and other arrangements. Until such time as countries develop guidance on how the test will be applied, it will be difficult to determine its effect on us. However, the MLI will likely make it more challenging for intermediary lessors to claim treaty benefits (including any intermediary lessors forming part of the transaction), though this will ultimately depend on local interpretation and practice. For certain other lessee jurisdictions, the MLI may strengthen the jurisdiction’s existing anti-avoidance and/or beneficial ownership provisions or result in an increased threshold for claiming treaty benefits.

The MLI may apply to double tax treaties entered into by other countries in which we have operations (in some cases with effect from as early as January 1, 2019).

The MLI also includes provisions aiming to reduce the “dependent agent” permanent establishment threshold. While this change will not be inserted into Ireland’s tax treaties under the MLI, there is a possibility that some countries could seek a bilateral re-negotiation on the point to change the dependent agent provisions in their tax treaties with Ireland.

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Further changes to tax law will be required in order to fully implement the BEPS Action Plan. At this moment, it is difficult to determine what further BEPS actions the governments of the jurisdictions in which we operate will implement. Depending on the nature of the BEPS action plans adopted, it may result in an increase in our effective tax rate and cash taxes liabilities in future periods.

In addition, the OECD announced a further initiative on January 29, 2019, to create an international consensus on new rules for the framework governing international taxation. It is difficult to predict what, if any, changes to international taxation may be introduced as a result of this initiative or to determine whether it may result in an increase in our effective tax rate and cash tax liabilities in future periods.

The EU Anti-tax Avoidance proposals may impact our effective rate of tax in future periods.

Irish tax law will be subject to changes as a result of the implementation of the EU Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (“EU ATAD”) and the amending Directive (“EU ATAD 2”). One such change will be the implementation of a restriction on the tax deductibility of interest payments. As currently proposed, the EU ATAD would restrict the tax deductibility of net interest expense to 30% of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) or possibly higher if the third party group interest expense ratio to group EBITDA is higher. This measure could impact our ability to claim a tax deduction for interest payments on debt instruments. The implementation date is not expected to be before January 1, 2021.

Ireland introduced anti-avoidance measures in respect of certain “hybrid” entities and financial instruments which broadly result in either tax deduction arising in two jurisdictions for the same expense or a tax deduction arising in one jurisdiction for a payment where the receipt of that payment is not taxable in the other jurisdiction (“Anti-Hybrid Measures”). The Anti-Hybrid Measures contemplate a denial of one of the tax deductions in the former instance and a denial of the tax deduction in the latter instance, or where the deduction is not denied, inclusion of the payment in taxable income of the recipient. The Anti-Hybrid Measures target all hybrid mismatches where at least one of the parties involved is a corporate tax payer in an EU member state and are effective in Ireland from January 1, 2020. We do not anticipate that the Anti-Hybrid Measures will have a material impact on AerCap.

Ireland introduced controlled foreign company (“CFC”) rules, as required by the EU ATAD, with effect from January 1, 2019. Broadly, CFC rules are an anti-avoidance measure designed to prevent the diversion of profits to offshore entities in low or no tax jurisdictions. Where CFC rules apply, the controlling parent company is deemed to have received an arm’s length allocation of income earned by the CFC which has not been distributed and which is attributable to activities carried on by Irish-based personnel, with the income subject to Irish cash tax accordingly. There are a number of exemptions from the CFC rules, including an “essential purpose” exemption which focuses on the commercial purpose behind the CFC. We do not anticipate that the CFC rules will have a material impact upon the Company so long as any services provided by AerCap to its foreign subsidiaries are appropriately priced from a transfer pricing perspective.

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Item 4. Information on the Company

History and development of the Company

AerCap Holdings N.V. was incorporated in the Netherlands as a public limited liability company (“naamloze vennootschap” or “N.V.”) on July 10, 2006. Our ordinary shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) under the ticker symbol AER. Our headquarters is located in Dublin, and we have offices in Shannon, Los Angeles, Singapore, Amsterdam, Shanghai and Abu Dhabi. We also have representative offices at the world’s largest aircraft manufacturers, Boeing in Seattle and Airbus in Toulouse.

As of December 31, 2019, we had 141,847,345 ordinary shares issued, including 131,583,489 ordinary shares issued and outstanding, and 10,263,856 ordinary shares held as treasury shares. Our issued and outstanding ordinary shares included 2,354,318 shares of unvested restricted stock.

The address of our headquarters in Dublin is AerCap House, 65 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin D02 YX20, Ireland, and our general telephone number is +353 1 819 2010. Our website address is www.aercap.com. Information contained on our website does not constitute a part of this annual report. Puglisi & Associates is our authorized representative in the United States. The address of Puglisi & Associates is 850 Liberty Avenue, Suite 204, Newark, DE 19711 and their general telephone number is +1 (302) 738-6680. The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. You can review our SEC filings, including this annual report, by accessing the SEC’s Internet website at www.sec.gov.

Our primary capital expenditure is the purchase of aircraft under aircraft purchase agreements with Airbus, Boeing and Embraer. Please refer to “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Liquidity and capital resources” for a detailed discussion of our capital expenditures. The following table presents our capital expenditures for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
	(U.S. Dollars in thousands)
Purchase of flight equipment	$	3,359,092	$	4,036,194	$	3,956,671
Prepayments on flight equipment	1,369,400		1,912,215		1,268,585

Business overview

Aircraft leasing

We are the global leader in aircraft leasing. We focus on acquiring in-demand aircraft at attractive prices, funding them efficiently, hedging interest rate risk prudently and using our platform to deploy these assets with the objective of delivering superior risk-adjusted returns. We believe that by applying our expertise, we will be able to identify and execute on a broad range of market opportunities that we expect will generate attractive returns for our shareholders. We are an independent aircraft lessor, and, as such, we are not affiliated with any airframe or engine manufacturer. This independence provides us with purchasing flexibility to acquire aircraft or engine models regardless of the manufacturer.

We operate our business on a global basis, leasing aircraft to customers in every major geographical region. As of December 31, 2019, we owned 939 aircraft and we managed 96 aircraft. As of December 31, 2019, we also had 299 new aircraft on order, including 137 Airbus A320neo Family aircraft, 95 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, 41 Embraer E-Jets E2 aircraft, and 26 Boeing 787 aircraft. Subsequent to December 31, 2019, we exercised an option to purchase an additional 50 Airbus A320neo Family aircraft. As of December 31, 2019, the average age of our 939 owned aircraft fleet, weighted by net book value, was 6.1 years and as of December 31, 2018, the average age of our 962 owned aircraft fleet, weighted by net book value, was 6.3 years.

We have the infrastructure, expertise and resources to execute a large number of diverse aircraft transactions in a variety of market conditions. During the year ended December 31, 2019, we executed 353 aircraft transactions. Our teams of dedicated marketing and asset trading professionals have been successful in leasing and managing our aircraft portfolio. During the year ended December 31, 2019, our weighted average owned aircraft utilization rate was 99.6%, calculated based on the number of days each aircraft was on lease during the year, weighted by the net book value of the aircraft.

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Aircraft leases and transactions

We lease most of our aircraft to airlines under operating leases. Under these leases, the lessee is responsible for the maintenance and servicing of the equipment during the lease term and we receive the benefit, and assume the risks, of the residual value of the equipment at the end of the lease. Many airlines lease aircraft under operating leases as this reduces their capital requirements and costs and affords them flexibility to manage their fleet more efficiently as aircraft are returned over time. Since the 1970’s and the creation of aircraft leasing pioneers Guinness Peat Aviation (“GPA”) and ILFC, the world’s airlines have increasingly turned to operating leases to meet their aircraft needs. We have customer relationships with approximately 200 airlines in approximately 80 countries. Over the life of our aircraft, we seek to increase the returns on our investments by managing the lease rates, time off-lease and financing and maintenance costs, and by carefully timing their sale.

Our current operating aircraft leases have initial terms ranging in length up to approximately 16 years. By varying our lease terms, we mitigate the effects of changes in cyclical market conditions at the time aircraft become eligible for re-lease.

Well in advance of the expiration of an operating lease, we prioritize entering into a lease extension with the then-current operator. This reduces our risk of aircraft downtime as well as aircraft transition costs. The terms of our lease extensions reflect the market conditions at the time and typically contain different terms from the original lease. Should a lessee not be interested in extending a lease, or if we believe we can obtain a more favorable return on the aircraft, we will explore other options, including the sale of the aircraft. If we enter into a lease agreement for the same aircraft with a different lessee, we generally do so well in advance of the scheduled return date of the aircraft. When the aircraft is returned, maintenance work may be required before the aircraft transitions to the next lessee. Upon redelivery, an aircraft is usually delivered to the next lessee in fewer than two months.

Our extensive experience, global reach and operating capabilities allow us to rapidly complete numerous aircraft transactions, which enables us to increase the returns on our aircraft investments by minimizing any time that our aircraft are not generating revenue for us.

The following table provides details regarding the aircraft transactions we executed during the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017. The trends shown in the table reflect the execution of the various elements of our leasing strategy for our owned and managed portfolio, as described further below:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2019	2018	2017	Total
Owned portfolio
New leases on new aircraft	54	115	59	228
New leases on used aircraft	37	43	51	131
Extensions of lease contracts	92	85	105	282
Aircraft purchases	65	76	58	199
Aircraft sales and part-outs	88	91	99	278
Managed portfolio
New leases on used aircraft	5	5	4	14
Extensions of lease contracts	4	9	11	24
Aircraft sales and part-outs	8	12	15	35
Total aircraft transactions	353	436	402	1,191

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We perform a review of all of our prospective lessees, which generally includes reviewing financial statements, business plans, cash flow projections, maintenance capabilities, operational performance histories, hedging arrangements for fuel, foreign currency and interest rates and relevant regulatory approvals and documentation. We perform on-site credit reviews for new lessees, which typically include extensive discussions with the prospective lessee’s management before we enter into a new lease. We also evaluate the jurisdiction in which the lessee operates to ensure we are in compliance with any regulations and evaluate our ability to repossess our assets in the event of a lessee default. Depending on the credit quality and financial condition of the lessee, we may require the lessee to obtain guarantees or other financial support from an acceptable financial institution or other third parties.

We typically require our lessees to provide a security deposit for their performance under a lease, including the return of the aircraft in the specified maintenance condition at the expiration of the lease.

All of our lessees are responsible for the maintenance and repair of the leased aircraft as well as other operating costs during the lease term. Based on the credit quality of the lessee, we require some of our lessees to pay supplemental maintenance rents to cover major scheduled maintenance costs. If a lessee pays supplemental maintenance rents, we reimburse them for their maintenance events (as defined in the lease) up to the amount of their supplemental maintenance rent payments. Under the terms of our leases, at lease expiration, we retain excess maintenance rents to the extent that a lessee has paid us more supplemental maintenance rents than we have reimbursed them for their maintenance events. In most lease contracts that do not require the payment of supplemental maintenance rents, the lessee is generally required to redeliver the aircraft in a similar maintenance condition (normal wear and tear excepted) as when accepted under the lease. To the extent that the redelivery condition is different from the acceptance condition, we generally receive cash compensation for the value difference at the time of redelivery. As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, approximately 39% and 44%, respectively, of our owned aircraft leases provided for supplemental maintenance rental payments.

We require the lessee to compensate us if the aircraft is not in the required condition upon redelivery. All of our leases contain provisions regarding our remedies and rights in the event of default by the lessee, and also include specific provisions regarding the required condition of the aircraft upon its redelivery.

Our lessees are also responsible for compliance with all applicable laws and regulations governing the leased aircraft and all related costs. We require our lessees to comply with either the Federal Aviation Administration, European Aviation Safety Agency or their equivalent standards in other jurisdictions.

During the term of our leases, some of our lessees may experience financial difficulties resulting in the need to restructure their leases. Generally, our restructurings can involve a number of possible changes to the lease terms, including the voluntary termination of leases prior to their scheduled expiration, the arrangement of subleases from the primary lessee to a sublessee, the rescheduling of lease payments and the exchange of lease payments for other consideration. In some cases, we may repossess a leased aircraft and, in those cases, we usually export the aircraft from the lessee’s jurisdiction to prepare it for remarketing. In the majority of repossessions, we obtain the lessee’s cooperation and the return and export of the aircraft are completed without significant delay, generally within two months. In some repossessions, however, our lessees may not cooperate in returning aircraft and we may be required to take legal action. In connection with the repossession of an aircraft, we may be required to settle claims on the aircraft or to which the lessee is subject, including outstanding liens on the repossessed aircraft.

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Scheduled lease expirations

The following table presents the scheduled lease expirations (for the minimum non-cancelable period) for our owned aircraft under operating leases by aircraft type as of December 31, 2019. The table does not give effect to contracted unexercised lease extension options, lease extensions or re-leases that are subject to a letter of intent, aircraft sales that have been contracted or are subject to a letter of intent, or designations of a certain aircraft for sale or part-out.

Aircraft type	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026	2027	2028	2029	Thereafter	Total
Airbus A320 Family	28	40	33	42	41	32	18	11	16	1	—	262
Airbus A320neo Family	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	2	9	27	98	138
Airbus A330	3	3	12	7	12	3	3	4	2	—	—	49
Airbus A350	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	6	7	12	27
Boeing 737NG	10	20	13	20	34	26	38	26	9	—	—	196
Boeing 737 MAX	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5	5
Boeing 767	7	7	3	1	4	—	—	—	—	—	—	22
Boeing 777-200ER	1	1	3	1	1	2	2	—	—	—	—	11
Boeing 777-300/300ER	1	—	2	3	3	4	2	6	—	—	—	21
Boeing 787	—	—	—	5	6	5	9	12	6	18	27	88
Embraer E190/195-E2	—	—	—	—	1	4	—	—	—	—	4	9
Other	5	8	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	13
Total (a) (b)	55	79	66	79	102	77	73	63	48	53	146	841

(a) Includes aircraft that have been re-leased or for which the lease has been extended as of December 31, 2019. As of March 3, 2020, 48 of the 55 aircraft with leases expiring in 2020 have been re-leased, have had leases extended, or have been designated for sale or part-out.

(b) Includes two aircraft that were off-lease and under commitment for re-lease as of December 31, 2019.

Principal markets and customers

The following table presents the percentage of lease revenue of our owned portfolio from our top five lessees for the year ended December 31, 2019:

Lessee	Percentage of 2019 lease revenue
China Southern Airlines	7.7	%
American Airlines	6.9	%
LATAM Airlines	4.5	%
Air France	4.1	%
Norwegian Airlines	3.4	%
Total	26.6	%

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We lease our aircraft to lessees located in numerous and diverse geographical regions. The following table presents the percentage of our lease revenue by region based on our lessee’s principal place of business for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Asia/Pacific/Russia	38	%	36	%	35	%
Europe	28	%	30	%	31	%
United States/Canada/Caribbean	13	%	13	%	14	%
Latin America	11	%	11	%	10	%
Africa/Middle East	10	%	10	%	10	%
Total	100	%	100	%	100	%

For further geographic information on our lease revenue and long-lived assets, refer to Note 19—Geographic information to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this annual report.

Aircraft services

We provide aircraft asset management and corporate services to securitization vehicles, joint ventures and other third parties. As of December 31, 2019, we had aircraft management and corporate administration and/or cash management service contracts with eight parties that owned 96 aircraft. We categorize our aircraft services into aircraft asset management, corporate administrative services and cash management services. Since we have an established operating system to manage our own aircraft, the incremental cost of providing aircraft management services to securitization vehicles, joint ventures and third parties is limited. Our primary aircraft asset management activities include:

• remarketing aircraft for lease or sale;

• collecting rental and supplemental maintenance rent payments, monitoring aircraft maintenance, monitoring and enforcing contract compliance and accepting delivery and redelivery of aircraft;

• conducting ongoing lessee financial performance reviews;

• periodically inspecting the leased aircraft;

• coordinating technical modifications to aircraft to meet new lessee requirements;

• conducting restructuring negotiations in connection with lease defaults;

• repossessing aircraft;

• arranging and monitoring insurance coverage;

• registering and de-registering aircraft;

• arranging for aircraft and aircraft engine valuations; and

• providing market research.

We charge fees for our aircraft management services based on a mixture of fixed and rental-based amounts, and we also receive performance-based fees related to the managed aircraft lease revenues or sale proceeds.

We also provide cash management and administrative services to securitization vehicles and joint ventures. Cash management services consist primarily of treasury services such as the financing, refinancing, hedging and ongoing cash management of these vehicles. Our administrative services consist primarily of accounting and corporate secretarial services, including the preparation of budgets and financial statements.

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Our business strategy

We develop and grow our aircraft leasing business by executing on our focused business strategy, the key components of which are as follows:

Manage the profitability of our aircraft portfolio

Our ability to profitably manage aircraft throughout their lifecycle depends in part on our ability to successfully source acquisition opportunities of new and used aircraft at favorable terms, as well as secure long-term funding for such acquisitions, lease aircraft at profitable rates, minimize downtime between leases and associated maintenance expenses and opportunistically sell aircraft. We manage the long-term profitability of our aircraft portfolio by:

• purchasing aircraft directly from manufacturers;

• entering into purchase and leaseback transactions with airlines;

• using our global customer relationships to obtain favorable lease terms for aircraft and maximizing aircraft utilization;

• maintaining diverse sources of global funding;

• optimizing our portfolio by selling aircraft; and

• providing management services to securitization vehicles, our joint ventures and other aircraft owners at limited incremental cost to us.

Efficiently manage our liquidity

We analyze sources of financing based on pricing and other terms and conditions in order to optimize the return on our investments. We have the ability to access a broad range of liquidity sources globally. In 2019, we raised approximately $9.5 billion of financing, including bank debt, revolving credit facilities and note issuances in the capital markets.

We have access to liquidity in the form of our revolving credit facilities and our term loan facilities, which provide us with flexibility in raising capital and enable us to deploy capital rapidly to accretive aircraft purchase opportunities that may arise. As of December 31, 2019, we had approximately $6.6 billion of undrawn lines of credit available under our revolving credit and term loan facilities and $1.1 billion of unrestricted cash. We strive to maintain a diverse financing strategy, both in terms of capital providers and structure, through the use of bank debt, note issuance and export credit, including ECA-guaranteed loans, in order to maximize our financial flexibility. We also leverage our longstanding relationships with major aircraft financiers and lenders to secure access to capital. In addition, we attempt to maximize our operating cash flows and continue to pursue the sale of aircraft to generate additional cash flows. Please refer to Note 14—Debt to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this annual report for a detailed description of our outstanding indebtedness.

Manage our aircraft portfolio

We intend to maintain an attractive portfolio of in-demand aircraft by acquiring new aircraft directly from aircraft manufacturers, executing purchase and leasebacks with airlines, assisting airlines with refleetings and pursuing other opportunistic transactions. We rely on our experienced team of portfolio management professionals to identify and purchase assets we believe are being offered at attractive prices or that we believe will experience an increase in demand over a prolonged period of time. In addition, we intend to continue to rebalance our aircraft portfolio through sales to maintain the appropriate mix of aviation assets by customer concentration, age and aircraft type.

Maintain a diversified and satisfied customer base

We operate our business on a global basis, leasing aircraft to customers in every major geographical region. We have customer relationships with approximately 200 airlines in approximately 80 countries. We monitor our lessee exposure concentrations by both customer and country jurisdiction and intend to maintain a well-diversified customer base. We believe we offer a quality product, both in terms of assets and service, to all of our customers. We have successfully worked with many airline customers to find mutually beneficial solutions to operational and financial challenges. We believe we maintain excellent relations with our customers. We have been able to achieve a high utilization rate on our aircraft assets as a result of our customer reach, quality product offering and strong portfolio management capabilities.

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Joint ventures

We conduct some of our business through joint ventures. The joint venture arrangements allow us to obtain stable servicing revenues and diversify our exposure to the economic risks related to aircraft.

Please refer to Note 25—Variable interest entities to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this annual report for a detailed description of our joint ventures.

Relationship with Airbus and Boeing and other manufacturers

We are one of the largest customers of Airbus and Boeing measured by deliveries of aircraft through 2019 and our order backlog. We were also the launch customer of the Embraer E2 program. We are also among the largest purchasers of engines from each of CFM International, GE Aviation, International Aero Engines, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce. These extensive manufacturer relationships and the scale of our business enable us to place large orders with favorable pricing and delivery terms. In addition, these strategic relationships with manufacturers and market knowledge allow us to participate in new aircraft designs, which gives us increased confidence in our airframe and engine selections. AerCap cooperates broadly with manufacturers seeking mutually beneficial opportunities.

Competition

The aircraft leasing and sales business is highly competitive, and we face competition from aircraft manufacturers, financial institutions, other leasing companies, aircraft brokers and airlines. Competition for a leasing transaction is based on a number of factors, including delivery dates, lease rates, term of lease, other lease provisions, aircraft condition and the availability in the market place of the types of aircraft that can meet customer requirements. As a result of our geographical reach, diverse aircraft portfolio and success in remarketing our aircraft, we believe we are a strong competitor in all of these areas.

Insurance

Our lessees are required under our leases to bear responsibility, through an operational indemnity subject to customary exclusions, and to carry insurance for any liabilities arising out of the operation of our aircraft or engines, including any liabilities for death or injury to persons and damage to property that ordinarily would attach to the operator of the aircraft.

In addition, our lessees are required to carry other types of insurance that are customary in the air transportation industry, including hull all risks insurance for both the aircraft and each engine whether or not installed on our aircraft, hull war risks insurance covering risks such as hijacking and terrorism and, where permitted, including confiscation, expropriation, nationalization and seizure (in each case at a value stipulated in the relevant lease which typically exceeds the net book value by 10%, subject to adjustment or fleet aggregate limits in certain circumstances). Our lessees are also required to carry aircraft spares insurance and aircraft third party liability insurance, in each case subject to customary deductibles and exclusions. We are named as an additional insured on liability insurance policies carried by our lessees, and we or our lenders are designated as a loss payee in the event of a total loss of an aircraft. We monitor the compliance by our lessees with the insurance provisions of our leases by securing confirmation of coverage from the lessees’ insurance brokers.

We also purchase insurance which provides us with coverage when our aircraft or engines are not subject to a lease or where a lessee’s policy fails to indemnify us. In addition, we carry customary insurance for our property, which is subject to customary deductibles and exclusions. Insurance experts advise and make recommendations to us as to the appropriate amount of insurance coverage that we should obtain.

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Regulation

While the air transportation industry is highly regulated we generally are not directly subject to most of these regulations, as we do not operate our aircraft. Our lessees are subject, however, to extensive regulation under the laws of the jurisdictions in which they are registered and in which they operate. These regulations, among other things, govern the registration, operation and maintenance of our aircraft and engines. Most of our aircraft are registered in the jurisdiction in which the lessee of the aircraft is certified as an air operator. Both our aircraft and engines are subject to the airworthiness and other standards imposed by our lessees’ jurisdictions of operation. Laws affecting the airworthiness of aviation assets are generally designed to ensure that all aircraft, engines and related equipment are continuously maintained in proper condition to enable safe operation of the aircraft. Most countries’ aviation laws require aircraft and engines to be maintained under an approved maintenance program with defined procedures and intervals for inspection, maintenance and repair.

In addition, under our leases, we may be required in some instances to obtain specific licenses, consents or approvals for different aspects of the leases. These required items include consents from governmental or regulatory authorities for certain payments under the leases and for the import, re-export or deregistration of the aircraft and engines. Also, to perform some of our cash management services and insurance services from Ireland under our management arrangements with our joint ventures and securitization entities, we are required to have a license from the Irish regulatory authorities, which we have obtained.

Please refer to “Item 3. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks related to our business—We are subject to various risks and requirements associated with transacting business in many countries,” “Item 3. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks related to our business—Our ability to operate in some countries is restricted by foreign regulations and controls on investments,” and “Item 3. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks related to our business—Our aircraft are subject to various environmental regulations and concerns,” for a detailed discussion of government sanctions, export controls and other regulations that could affect our business.

Litigation

Please refer to Note 27—Commitments and contingencies to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this annual report for a detailed description of material litigation to which we are a party.

Trademarks

We have registered the “AerCap” name with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (“EUIPO”) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”), as well as filed the “AerCap” trademark with the World Intellectual Property Organization International (Madrid) Registry (“WIPO”) and various local trademark authorities.

Culture and values

We strive to conduct our business with integrity and in an honest and responsible manner and to build and maintain long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with our customers, suppliers, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders. These values are further specified in our code of conduct and our ethics-related compliance policies, procedures, trainings and programs. Ethical behavior is strongly promoted by the management team. The Company has an excellent track record in relation to ethics and compliance. These ethical values are reflected in the Company’s long-term strategy and our way of doing business.

Sustainability and community

During 2019, the Board discussed and reviewed our approach to environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) related topics and other values that contribute to a culture focused on long-term value creation. Renewing our aircraft portfolio through the acquisition of new, modern technology aircraft while disposing of older aircraft has a positive impact on the environment, as these new technology aircraft produce significantly lower emissions than older aircraft and engines, thus helping our airline customers to reduce their environmental footprint. AerCap is committed to the efficient use of resources and the reduction of unnecessary waste. Our head office in Dublin has been certified for sustainability pertaining to such matters as building materials, energy and water use and accessibility. Our office buildings in Los Angeles and Singapore hold similar green building certifications. The Company has invested resources to improve greenhouse gas emissions and corresponding mitigating initiatives.

We participate in a number of charitable events and industry-related educational programs. Through our social responsibility program, we encourage employees to support local and national organizations that strengthen the communities in which they live and operate. We have established an ESG Steering Committee to oversee the selection of charitable themes and charity partners and the implementation of charitable donations. A number of charitable donations involve the matching of funds raised through employee team efforts for the benefit of local community projects. We, along with other major aircraft leasing companies, are a founder and sponsor of a prestigious master’s degree in aviation finance program at a renowned university. In addition to the sponsorship, this program involves lectures by some of our key employees and internships provided by the Company to a number of international students from the program, in line with the global nature and identity of the Company and our business.

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Flight equipment

Aircraft portfolio

The following table presents our aircraft portfolio by type of aircraft as of December 31, 2019:

Aircraft type	Number of owned aircraft	Percentage of total net book value		Number of managed aircraft	Number of on order aircraft (a)	Total owned, managed and on order aircraft
Airbus A320 Family	286	14	%	39	—	325
Airbus A320neo Family	138	18	%	—	137	275
Airbus A330	60	7	%	11	—	71
Airbus A350	27	10	%	—	—	27
Boeing 737NG	238	16	%	39	—	277
Boeing 737 MAX	5	1	%	—	95	100
Boeing 767	27	—		—	—	27
Boeing 777-200ER	17	1	%	4	—	21
Boeing 777-300/300ER	22	4	%	2	—	24
Boeing 787	88	28	%	1	26	115
Embraer E190/195-E2	9	1	%	—	41	50
Other	22	—		—	—	22
Total	939	100	%	96	299	1,334

(a) Subsequent to December 31, 2019, we exercised an option to purchase an additional 50 Airbus A320neo Family aircraft.

The following table presents our owned aircraft portfolio by type of aircraft as a percentage of total net book value as of each of the five years ended December 31, 2019:

	As of December 31,
Aircraft type	2019		2018		2017		2016		2015
Airbus A320 Family	14	%	16	%	21	%	25	%	29	%
Airbus A320neo Family	18	%	14	%	7	%	2	%	—
Airbus A330	7	%	9	%	11	%	14	%	15	%
Airbus A350	10	%	10	%	7	%	5	%	1	%
Boeing 737NG	16	%	19	%	22	%	25	%	28	%
Boeing 737 MAX	1	%	1	%	—		—		—
Boeing 767	—		—		1	%	1	%	1	%
Boeing 777-200ER	1	%	1	%	2	%	3	%	5	%
Boeing 777-300/300ER	4	%	5	%