North America Aircraft Leasing Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Lease Type (Dry Lease, Wet Lease), By Aircraft Type (Narrow-body, Wide-body, Freighters), By Country (U.S., Canada) and Forecast, 2026-2034

North America Aircraft Leasing Market Trends

Fleet Modernization and New-Technology Aircraft Reshape Leasing

Fleet modernization is strengthening lessor relevance as airlines seek capacity without assuming the full capital burden of ownership. Airbus forecasts the global passenger fleet to increase from 23,310 aircraft in 2025 to 45,550 by 2045, requiring 42,060 new aircraft, including 33,920 single-aisle and 8,140 widebody units. Nearly 19,820 aircraft, or approximately 47%, are expected to address replacement requirements.

Technology migration is simultaneously changing portfolio economics. New-generation aircraft represented around 39% of the global fleet in 2026, with Airbus expecting the proportion to approach 100% by 2045. Avolon estimates approximately USD 120 billion of new aircraft will deliver during 2026, around 20% higher than the prior year, while lessors are expected to provide roughly half of global fleet financing requirements.

North America Aircraft Leasing Market Drivers

Passenger Traffic Expansion and Fleet Replacement Accelerate North America Aircraft Leasing Market Growth

Sustained passenger traffic and replacement requirements are increasing airline reliance on flexible fleet financing. Boeing projects the global commercial fleet will grow nearly 80% to more than 50,000 airplanes by 2045, requiring almost 44,000 new aircraft, with approximately 50% replacing previous-generation airplanes. Low-cost carrier fleets are expected to expand nearly 4% annually, compared with 2.6% for network carriers, supporting leasing activity across narrow-body fleets and high-frequency routes.

North America Aircraft Leasing Market Restraints

Aircraft Supply Constraints and Engine Availability Limit Fleet Deployment

Production bottlenecks, maintenance constraints and engine availability restrict the number of serviceable aircraft entering leasing portfolios. Industry estimates have placed the accumulated aircraft production shortfall at approximately 4,000 units, while some engine-related constraints have been expected to persist for 4–5 years. Airbus has targeted A320-family production of 75 aircraft per month, illustrating the scale of manufacturing expansion required to reduce supply pressure.

North America Aircraft Leasing Market Opportunities

Large Order Pipelines Expand Access to Fuel-Efficient Aircraft

Expanding lessor orderbooks create opportunities to place efficient aircraft with airlines seeking capacity and lower operating costs. Avolon ordered 90 Airbus aircraft in 2025, comprising 75 A321neo and 15 A330neo units, while ending 2025 with an owned, managed and committed fleet of 1,132 aircraft, including 500 orders and commitments. It also placed 59 new-technology aircraft during the year and generated USD 2.751 billion of lease revenue, up 7% year over year.

Challenges in North America Aircraft Leasing Market

Capital Intensity, Asset Values and Geopolitical Exposure Increase Risk

Lessors must manage high financing requirements, aircraft residual values and geopolitical exposure while maintaining fleet utilization. Avolon reported USD 34.42 billion of assets at year-end 2025 and USD 10.66 billion of available liquidity, down 14% year over year, while unsecured debt represented 77% of total debt. Separately, aircraft stranded in Russia generated litigation involving approximately EUR 2.5 billion of assets and around 400 aircraft, illustrating the magnitude of jurisdictional and insurance risk.

North America Aircraft Leasing Market Segmentation

The market is segmented by lease type, aircraft type, lease term and lessee type. Among categories for which mandatory numerical values were supplied, dry leasing dominates with approximately 61.2% of the 2026 lease-type value, while wet leasing represents approximately 38.8%. Dry leasing increases from USD 40.30 billion in 2025 to USD 43.69 billion in 2026 and USD 83.42 billion in 2034.

By Lease Type

Dry lease is the largest and fastest-growing supplied lease category, valued at USD 43.69 billion in 2026 and forecast to reach USD 83.42 billion by 2034, recording an 8.42% CAGR. Its 2026 contribution is approximately 61.2% of the USD 71.39 billion lease-type total, reflecting airline preference for operational control over crews, maintenance and scheduling.

Wet lease reaches USD 27.70 billion in 2026, up from USD 25.62 billion in 2025, and is projected at USD 51.69 billion in 2034, with an 8.11% CAGR. It accounts for approximately 38.8% of the 2026 lease-type total and remains important for seasonal capacity, short-notice fleet replacement and temporary network expansion.

By Aircraft Type

The aircraft-type segmentation comprises 3 categories: narrow-body, wide-body and freighters. Narrow-body aircraft are structurally important to high-frequency domestic and transborder operations; globally, Airbus projects 33,920 single-aisle aircraft versus 8,140 widebody aircraft among new requirements through 2045. Numerical North American subsegment values and CAGRs were not supplied for these three categories and therefore are not substituted with estimated market figures.

Wide-body leasing supports long-haul passenger networks, while freighters serve cargo operators and express logistics networks. Boeing reports international freighter capacity increased 5% year-to-date in 2026, while the global fleet is projected to exceed 50,000 airplanes by 2045. These operational indicators provide context but are not used as substitutes for missing North American segment values.

By Lease Term

Lease-term segmentation comprises 3 structures: long-term, short-term and medium-term leases. Long-term contracts provide predictable aircraft access and cash flows, whereas short-term arrangements allow airlines to respond to seasonal or temporary capacity requirements. The supplied dataset covers a 2026–2034 forecast horizon of 8 years, but does not provide individual market values or CAGRs for these lease-term categories.

Medium-term arrangements provide an intermediate balance between fleet flexibility and contractual stability. Across the overall regional dataset, the value advances from USD 71.41 billion in 2026 to USD 135.45 billion in 2034, while lease-term-specific allocations are not provided and therefore are not inferred.

By Lessee Type

Lessee segmentation comprises 2 categories: commercial airlines and cargo operators. Commercial airlines use leased assets to manage network expansion, replacement cycles and capital expenditure, while cargo operators deploy freighters for logistics capacity. Boeing expects air travel demand to approximately double over 20 years and projects nearly 44,000 new commercial airplanes through 2045.

Cargo operators remain supported by resilient freight flows, with international freighter capacity increasing approximately 5% year-to-date in 2026. However, the mandatory dataset does not provide separate North American monetary values or CAGRs for commercial airlines and cargo operators, so no unsupported segment estimates are introduced.

North America Aircraft Leasing Market Counties Outlook

U.S.

The United States dominates the regional landscape with USD 50.52 billion in 2026, equivalent to approximately 70.7% of the USD 71.41 billion regional total. The country advances from USD 46.59 billion in 2025 to USD 96.52 billion by 2034, registering an 8.43% CAGR. Its contribution reflects the scale of commercial airline networks, aircraft replacement programs, narrow-body deployment and aviation financing infrastructure.

Canada

Canada accounts for approximately 29.3% of regional value in 2026, equivalent to USD 20.89 billion. The country increases from USD 19.33 billion in 2025 to USD 38.93 billion by 2034, representing an 8.09% CAGR. Canadian leasing activity is supported by commercial passenger operations, cargo networks and requirements for flexible fleet deployment across long-distance domestic and cross-border routes.

Top players in the North American aircraft leasing market

1. AerCap Holdings N.V.
2. Avolon
3. SMBC Aviation Capital
4. Air Lease Corporation
5. BOC Aviation
6. Dubai Aerospace Enterprise
7. Aviation Capital Group
8. Aircastle Limited
9. Macquarie AirFinance
10. ORIX Aviation
11. BBAM
12. Nordic Aviation Capital

Top Two Companies

• AerCap Holdings N.V.

AerCap remains one of the largest global aviation leasing platforms and strengthened its future fleet pipeline in 2026 through a firm Airbus order for 100 A320neo-family aircraft, comprising 23 A320neo and 77 A321neo aircraft. At the 2026 Farnborough International Airshow, it also ordered 15 Boeing 787-9s, increasing its Dreamliner portfolio to around 140 aircraft. Publicly verifiable North America-specific percentage share was not available, so an unsupported company market-share percentage is not assigned. Its positioning is instead supported by fleet scale, manufacturer relationships, aircraft diversity, and access to high-demand narrow-body and wide-body assets.

• Avolon

Avolon ended 2025 with 1,132 owned, managed, and committed aircraft, including 500 orders and commitments. During 2025 it acquired 168 aircraft, sold 95, placed 59 new-technology aircraft, and ordered 90 Airbus aircraft. Lease revenue reached USD 2.751 billion, increasing 7%, while net income increased 29% to USD 591 million. The North America-specific percentage share is not publicly established in the reviewed sources and is therefore not fabricated. Its competitive positioning is supported by portfolio scale, liquidity, new-technology placements, and a delivery pipeline extending into the next decade.

Recent Developments in the North American Aircraft Leasing Market

• 2026: AerCap ordered 100 additional A320neo-family aircraft, including 77 A321neo and 23 A320neo units, expanding its pipeline of fuel-efficient narrow-body aircraft.
• 2026: AerCap ordered 15 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners during the Farnborough International Airshow, taking its Dreamliner portfolio to approximately 140 aircraft.
• 2026: SMBC Aviation Capital reported delivery of 59 new aircraft valued at USD 3.4 billion, with 90% placed through Q1 2028, alongside USD 3.3 billion of new leasing agreements.
• 2026: Avolon reported USD 3.0 billion in 2025 revenue, USD 2.144 billion in operating cash flow, and USD 591 million in net income, with net income increasing 29% year over year.
• 2025: Avolon ordered 90 Airbus aircraft, consisting of 75 A321neo and 15 A330neo aircraft, with deliveries scheduled through 2033.

Research Methodology

The assessment uses 2025 as the base year, 2026 as the current year, 2022–2024 as the historical period and 2026–2034 as the forecast period. Mandatory supplied values were retained as the primary quantitative source: regional value of USD 65.92 billion in 2025, USD 71.41 billion in 2026 and USD 135.45 billion in 2034, alongside country and lease-type data. Percentage contributions were calculated directly from supplied values. External manufacturer and lessor disclosures were used only for industry context, fleet volumes, technology indicators, company positioning and recent developments; missing segment or company-share values were not fabricated.