Hail a black cab on a busy London street, and you can assume that the driver will follow the ‘rules of the road’ to your destination. However, what can a commuter expect when taxis begin to take flight? With Airbus, Boeing and even Uber, amongst others, developing and investing in electric take-off and landing (eVTOL) … Continue Reading
“Fly along with me,” sings Dave Grohl, “I can’t quite make it alone.” We can imagine eVTOL developers singing along to this as they work towards autonomous flight, as so many of the vehicle models will have to commence operations – however briefly – with a pilot onboard. But the ultimate viability of the eVTOL … Continue Reading
As a result of the COVID pandemic, with the resulting payment defaults amongst several airlines , the past few years have seen a surge in interest in distressed debt opportunities within the aviation sector. One particular area which has seen a lot of attention has been Japanese tax leasing – namely the Japanese operating lease … Continue Reading
Hop to it: Vertiports as an asset class The sums invested in the development of electric vertical take-off and landing (‘eVTOL’) aircraft have been well publicised. It seems that not a week goes by without a new partnership announcement, a new SPAC combination, or another large investment being reported in the press – such as … Continue Reading
As the global economy becomes more interconnected, aviation takes on an increasingly central role in our collective economic growth. The aviation industry supports 65 million jobs and enables the best part of $3 trillion in global GDP annually. If aviation were a country, it would rank among the world’s largest economies. With the loss of … Continue Reading
In an article a few weeks ago on ‘How tech went big on green energy’, the Financial Times referred to a report released in February by Lancaster University and Small World Consulting, which found that the information and communication technology sector (i.e. IT) ‘is estimated to form ca. 1.8-2.8% of global GHG emissions in 2020’[1]. … Continue Reading
Aviation was exceptionally – and often uncomfortably – visible to the public eye over the course of 2019. The powerful combination of the grounding of the 737 MAX fleet as a result of tragedies and the advancing ‘flygskam’ (‘flight shame’) movement had influenced the global conversation to a significant extent by the middle of the … Continue Reading
Speed read A party should not assume that the failure of its counterpart to provide or satisfy conditions precedent gives rise to an automatic right to terminate or not perform a contingent obligation, where it could have obtained or satisfied those conditions precedent itself. Summary The recent Odyssey Aviation Ltd v GFG 737 Limited[1] in … Continue Reading
The answer to this question is just one of the many fascinating things the Reed Smith aviation finance team discussed around St Stephen’s Green this January, as members of our London, Paris and Miami teams attended aviation’s largest annual industry gathering in Dublin. The presiding concern in discussions this year was where the industry is … Continue Reading
Our aviation finance team has made it to the end of its first complete year since its relaunch in summer 2017 – and it has been a big one! We have worked on transactions involving over 100 aircraft and 19 different jurisdictions, we have met with clients and friends in Dublin, New York, Hong Kong … Continue Reading
Summary In last week’s case of Triple 7 MSN 27251 Ltd v. Azman Air Services Ltd,[1] Azman Air Services argued that two aircraft lease agreements were void under the English law doctrine of common mistake. The High Court considered this question and found that common mistake is only sufficient to void a lease agreement (or … Continue Reading
The green button has been pressed – airlines are placing orders for turboprop aircraft at top speed. With high velocity, low thrust and the exciting potential of 3D printing, will turboprops make their return to the “hot spot”? In the constant search for efficiency and ways to generate revenue, there are many advantages to this … Continue Reading
We are very excited to welcome our new Paris team, as we have now been joined by partner Victoria Westcott and counsel Florent Rigaud, as well as senior associate Elaine Porter (joining shortly) and associate Abdullahi Mohammed. This new team brings significant diversification to Reed Smith’s global asset finance capability, adding particular expertise in working … Continue Reading
Australians are well known as keen travellers, and our geographical isolation has meant that air travel has long been a very important part of this aspect of our national identity. Perhaps unusually, this has grown into a strong local affinity for certain models of aircraft – especially the big ones. But is this set to … Continue Reading
The Invasion of Low-Cost Airlines The transatlantic market, typically the most lucrative aviation market in the world, is under attack. Research carried out by Telegraph Travel in conjunction with OAG, the air travel analysts, has revealed the pressure being put on traditional carriers by low-cost, long-haul disrupters. Telegraph Travel asked OAG to compare this winter’s … Continue Reading
The gender pay gap has been an issue of much public discussion in the last year. The latest figures show that the overall national average for the pay gap between male and female full-time employees stands at 9.1%. However, the aviation sector is one which has seen particularly negative results. With new rules regarding pay … Continue Reading
