CJI London: The aircraft finance perspective
Aircraft finance is more than just interest rates. A panel of leading financers and legal experts gathered at the Corporate Jet Investor London 2026 to discuss the underpinnings of the aircraft finance beyond just interest rates.
The aircraft finance perspective, moderated by Eric Lewin of AIC Global Solutions, featured Mark Bisset of Clyde & Co, Johan Blitz of UBS Aviation & Yacht Finance, Marie-Laure Gassier of First Abu Dhabi Bank, and Christian Certa of Invicta Finance.
The conversation began with the role of aircraft registries in lending decisions. For non-bank lenders like Invicta, the situation leads to high stakes. “We really need to rely a lot on the registry,” said Christian Certa, head of sales and originations at Invicta Finance. “We need a solid registry where we know that, if we need to enforce, we don’t need to wait long to get the aircraft out and sell it.”
Johan Blitz, head of aviation and yacht finance at UBS, agreed with that view. Sharing his deal information, Blitz said that UBS has approved roughly 24-25 registries globally. He said the common feature amongst those was the ones that allow efficient mortgage registration and self-help remedies. Marie-Laure Gassier, managing director global corporate finance, said: “Choosing a good registry is the entry point for a chain of value – in terms of maintenance, operations, and registration of the mortgage. It is absolutely key for the client and for the bank.”
The sharpest debate during the session, however, was around the Cape Town Convention. Moderator Lewin opened the discussion on the convention by calling it “garbage”. Mark Bisset from law firm Clyde & Co pushed back.
Bisset cited the successful enforcement cases in Malta and Canada, while acknowledging real failures in India and Russia. “The problem areas have been local enforcement and local rules,” Bisset said, “not so much the structure itself.”
The panel, at the end of the session, agreed that Cape Town Convention offers valuable transparency and priority ranking, lenders cannot rely on it alone – domestic courts and registry quality remain the ultimate arbiters.
