Milestone orders 16 helicopters from Eurocopter, and leases 5 helicopters to Bristow Group.
February 13th: Milestone Aviation Group has ordered 16 EC225 aircraft, the latest-generation member of Eurocopter's Super Puma/Cougar family, valued at $480 million. The lessor also announced it has agreed to lease five helicopters, two Eurocopter EC-225s and three Sikorsky S-92s, to Bristow Group, making it the lessor's largest agreement since its launch in August 2010.

GECAS orders six Embraer 190s, with options for another six
October 6th: GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), the commercial aircraft leasing and financing arm of General Electric Company, has reached an agreement with Embraer for the acquisition of six Embraer 190s, and options for another six aircraft. Delivery of the first aircraft is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2012.

The colossal airplane order announced by American Airlines for 460 jets triggers two new factors in aviation finance
The colossal airplane order announced by American Airlines for 460 jets triggers two new factors in aviation finance: (1) the confirmation that Boeing is to re-engine its Boeing 737 family and: (2) the role of leasing is securing such a large order by AA.

DNA2 leases second A380 to Emirates
December 5th: The special purpose air finance company DNA2 has acquired a second Airbus A380 that is being leased to Emirates for a period of 12 years. This transaction, which is supported by loans from ANZ Bank and Sumitomo, is designed to create an extended sequence of dividend payments for equity investors in DNA2. This is the second of three Airbus A380-800 aircraft that DNA2 plans to purchase and lease to Emirates Airlines.

Overhaul of Lease Accounting to bring fundamental changes to reported Performance and Leverage
Sir David Tweedie, Chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board once remarked that one of his lifelong ambitions was to fl y on an airplane that appeared on an airline’s Balance Sheet. Recently announced proposals under both IFRS and US GAAP to significantly change the accounting for leases bring this ambition closer to reality.