Bavaria International Aircraft Leasing
Bavaria International Aircraft Leasing ("BIAL") is one of the world’s leading independent aircraft leasing companies, offering professional services in the field of aircraft finance and trade. Headquartered in Grünwald (Munich), Germany, the company has a qualified team with an extensive knowledge of the aviation industry and provides two decades of dedicated expertise in aviation related lease and finance transactions. BIAL offers a wide range of financial services tailored to the individual needs of its airline customers worldwide.
Rochus Moenter was Managing Director & General Counsel for BIAL from 1995 to 2009. During that time, he retained Sullivan Hill’s Jeffrey Lewin to provide outside legal counsel assistance for the company. Today, Mr. Moenter is with EADS, a global leader in aerospace, defense and related services, as Vice President Finance Lease in the International Operations Department of the Strategy and Marketing Organization and is based in Paris, France. In his current role, he is responsible for strategic leasing projects at the holding level as well as compliance matters.
An interview with Rochus Moenter…
From your prospective, what do you see as the future of your industry sector from a global perspective?
Despite the current economic meltdown and enormous difficulties of the aviation industry, passenger travel will continue to grow by an average of 5% per year in the mid and long run. In particular, China and India will show above average growth. The potential for air passenger travel and the capacity requirement in these regions is high due to a lack of current infrastructure and the great potential of passengers who are not currently traveling on planes.
How did you become acquainted with Sullivan Hill and how has the firm been instrumental in assisting you?
I first became acquainted with Jeff Lewin back in 1993 when I worked as an intern for his firm in San Diego, CA. Since that time, Jeff and I have worked on a variety of legal matters ranging from bankruptcy – Western Pacific Airlines – to contract matters and lately the litigation on Líneas Aéreas Azteca S.A.
Can you provide a bit of background on the Azteca case and how Jeff Lewin assisted you?
In 2001 we were approached by a Mexican start-up airline, Líneas Aéreas Azteca, or ‘Azteca.’ At that time, the airline was majority owned by a wealthy Mexican business man with an excellent political network. He had recently acquired the remains of a bankrupted Mexican carrier which he planned to use to start a new airline. To obtain the necessary Air Operator Certificate from the Mexican Civil Aviation he needed two of our Boeing aircraft. The negotiations went well and soon we came to terms and conditions for the leasing of two Boeing 737-300 to the airline for an initial period of three years.
In early 2004, prior to the expiration of the two aircraft lease agreements, Azteca advised us of its interest in purchasing the two Boeing 737-300 following the expiration of the aircraft lease agreements. Azteca’s intentions did not come as a surprise since the company had plans to further expand its current fleet of aircraft and to increase its market share in the steadily growing Mexican aviation market.
In July 2004, the parties entered into two aircraft purchase agreements for the sale and purchase of two Boeing 737-300 aircraft for an agreed purchase price with a final closing of the transaction set to occur at the end of July 2004.
As one may anticipate, closing never happened since Azteca was never able to arrange for the necessary financing to pay the agreed purchase price of $18.5 million. Since 2004 Azteca literally took us around the world, involving numerous jurisdictions from Germany to France, from Mexico to the United States and Canada.
Jeff Lewin was the key person and focal point in his firm to manage the Azteca matter from the U.S. perspective. We discussed each strategic decision and legal step we were to make/take in the various jurisdictions involved. In this regard, it is essential to have the "right" attorney working on the matter, with good common sense and a global vision, creativity and a profound legal expertise, all of which characterizes Jeff.