Falko has entered the Japanese market with its inaugural Japanese Operating Lease (JOL) transaction, selling a CRJ900 aircraft to a Japanese investor. This transaction marks Falko’s entry into the Japanese market and represents one of the limited number of CRJ900 aircraft placements to date completed using a JOL structure.
Brian Foley, Falko’s Head of Portfolio Strategy, commented that Falko was proud to have completed its first transaction in the Japanese market. The deal was carried out in partnership with iStrings Aviation Capital Co., Ltd. (iStrings), establishing a new relationship for Falko. He commented: “While Japan is a highly recognised market in respect of investing in narrow- and wide-body aircraft, we are seeing a growing interest from Japanese investors for small commercial aircraft due to the current economic environment, which offer significantly lower capital requirements compared to the larger aircraft types. The ticket size for used E-Jet, CRJ and A220 aircraft types aligns well with the preferences of Japanese investors, and so we anticipate continued momentum and increased activity in the 50-150 seat aircraft segment, Falko’s area of focus. We extend our thanks to the iStrings team for their continued professionalism throughout the deal and look forward to working with them on future opportunities.”
Hirotoshi Takezoe, Director at iStrings, commented “The CRJ900 is an excellent fit for the expanding JOL market. While regional jets have had a limited presence in the JOL space, we are now seeing growing investor interest as the market expands and the investor base diversifies. Partnering with the leading regional jet asset manager allows us to deliver high-quality asset-management services to JOL investors, which we believe is essential for long-term success. We thank the Falko team for their professionalism throughout this process and look forward to collaborating on future opportunities.”
