Best Aircraft Financing & Leasing Companies in United States
The 196 best Aircraft Financing & Leasing companies in United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Global Jet Capital.
The 196 Aircraft Financing & Leasing companies tracked here in the United States represent one of the most capital-dense corners of aviation finance, ranked by disclosed equity funding and recent funding momentum. Total disclosed funding across the directory hits $6.9B, and the distribution is anything but flat. Global Jet Capital alone has pulled in $2.5B. Willis Lease Finance follows at $1.2B, Azorra Aviation at $640M, VMO Air at $600M. That's the weight of real earned positioning, not seed-round optimism.
The global market sits at roughly $212.9B in 2024 and is forecast to reach $287.5B by 2028, a 7.8% CAGR driven by rising air passenger traffic, expanding cargo volumes, and growing wet-lease demand. So if you're sizing up where to place attention, the structural tailwinds are clear. Regulatory friction, specifically unfavorable government tax policies, remains a headwind worth pricing in. I'd also note that Akasa Air's new financing entity in GIFT City signals how aggressively non-U.S. carriers are building dedicated leasing infrastructure, which only tightens the competitive frame for U.S.-based players. The money's moving. This directory shows exactly where it's concentrated.
Ranked: Best Aircraft Financing & Leasing companies in United States
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Founder | Founded | Tech stack | Market signals (1y) | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Global Jet Capital Provider of leasing & lending services for aircrafts | $2.5B | 63 mo ago | Seed | Shawn Vick CEO | 2014 | HubSpot CMS HubSalesforceAmazon ALB+23 | — | — |
| 2 | air lease corporation Air Lease Corporation is an aircraft leasing company engaged in purchasing commercial aircraft and leasing… | $1.4B | 85 mo ago | Public | — | 2010 | Apple iCloud MailPHPLaravel+13 | 50 signals ▲163% M&A · Announcements · Earnings | — |
| 3 | Willis Lease Finance Provider of aircraft and engine services helping reduce aviation costs, expense, and risk | $1.2B | 84 mo ago | Public | Austin Willis CEO | 1985 | HubSpot CMS HubMaterial Design LiteIsotope+18 | 4 signals ▲100% Capital raise · Earnings · Buyback | 1 job opening |
| 4 | Azorra Aviation Provider of aircraft leasing, acquisitions, remarketing, and advisory services 50Funding top 19%Innovation top 20%Product top 21%Growth top 50% All 9 signals ▾Fundingtop 19% Innovationtop 20% Producttop 21% Growthtop 50% Techbottom 48% Newsbottom 42% Globalbottom 37% Partnersbottom 35% Marketbottom 25% Funding: Raised $640M across 3 rounds · 3 rounds over 5 yrs (0.6/yr) Innovation: 10 product lines rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 50/100 | $640M | 17 mo ago | Series D | — | 2001 | WordPressShowitMySQL+19 | 5 signals ▼62% Acquisition · Contracts | 1 internship · 1 partnership |
| 5 | VMO Air Provider of aircraft leasing services | $600M | 54 mo ago | Funding Raised | Sean Sullivan CEO | 2021 | — | — | — |
| 6 | Tenax Provider of aviation & spans aircraft procurement, modification, operations and financing services 22Funding top 17%Talent bottom 49%Tech bottom 32%Global bottom 29% All 5 signals ▾Fundingtop 17% Talentbottom 49% Techbottom 32% Globalbottom 29% Marketbottom 21% Funding: Raised $330M across 1 rounds · 1 rounds over 1 yrs (1.0/yr) Talent: 1 named leader on record · 1 C-suite/founder profile curated rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 22/100 | $330M | 7 mo ago | Acquired | Max Bowman CFO and Co Founder | 2001 | PleskApple iCloud MailMicrosoft 365+13 | — | 2 job openings |
| 7 | BBAM Aircraft leasing and financing | $165M | 104 mo ago | Late Stage | Steven Zissis CEO | 1989 | WordPress Block EditorWordPressApple iCloud Mail+14 | — | — |
| 8 | AELF Provider of aircraft and engine leasing and trading services 21Funding top 24%Talent bottom 49%Tech bottom 40%Global bottom 36% All 5 signals ▾Fundingtop 24% Talentbottom 49% Techbottom 40% Globalbottom 36% Marketbottom 16% Funding: Raised $126M across 3 rounds · 3 rounds over 2 yrs (1.5/yr) Talent: 1 named leader on record · 1 C-suite/founder profile curated rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 21/100 | $126M | 11 mo ago | Funding Raised | Haobo Ma Founder & CEO | 2015 | WebflowGSAPMicrosoft 365+7 | — | — |
| 9 | Crane Aircraft Partners Provider of passenger and freight aircraft leasing services | $2M | 81 mo ago | Early Stage | — | 1998 | — | — | — |
Top 12 Aircraft Financing & Leasing companies in United States
#1
Acquired · Ridgeland, Mississippi · founded 2001 · 32 employees$330Mraised▾
Provider of aviation & spans aircraft procurement, modification, operations and financing services
- Oct 2025Conventional Debt$330M
#2
Funding Raised · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2015$126Mraised▾
Provider of aircraft and engine leasing and trading services. This company specializes in mid-to-end-of-life assets, offering customized leasing solutions to meet diverse client needs. These solutions include operating leases, stub leases, power-by-the-hour agreements, sale and leasebacks, and finance leases. The company leverages extensive experience and creative approaches to build long-term relationships with its clients. They also facilitate the sale of surplus aircraft and engine parts.
- Jul 2025Conventional Debt$31M
- Jun 2025Conventional Debt$55M
- May 2024Conventional Debt$40M
#3
Series D · Fort Lauderdale, Florida · founded 2001 · 19 employees$640Mraised▾
Provider of aircraft leasing, acquisitions, remarketing, and advisory services
- Jan 2025Convertible Debt$190M
- Jul 2024Conventional Debt$300M
- Dec 2023Conventional Debt$150M
- Mar 2021Series D—
#4
Seed · Danbury, Connecticut · founded 2014 · 53 employees$2.5Braised▾
Provider of leasing & lending services for aircrafts
- Mar 2021Conventional Debt$663M
- Oct 2020Conventional Debt—
- Jun 2019Conventional Debt$517M
- Jun 2018Conventional Debt$674M
#5
Funding Raised · San Francisco, California · founded 2021 · 34 employees$600Mraised▾
Provider of aircraft leasing services
- Dec 2021Conventional Debt$600M
#6
Public · Coconut Creek, Florida · founded 1985 · 288 employees$1.2Braised▾
Willis Lease Finance Corporation (WLFC) is a global aviation services provider that offers a broad range of aircraft and engine services to customers worldwide. They specialize in the acquisition, lease, and sale of commercial aircraft and aircraft engines. WLFC helps reduce aviation costs, expenses, and risks for their clients.
- Jun 2019Conventional Debt$1B
- Aug 2005Conventional Debt$228M
#7
Public · Los Angeles, California · founded 2010 · 151 employees$1.4Braised▾
Air Lease Corp is an aircraft leasing company based in the United States. However, it derives its revenue from the Asia region. Its business involves purchasing aircraft from renowned manufacturers such as The Boeing Company (Boeing) and Airbus S.A.S and leasing them to airline companies across the world. Its suite of aircraft entails single-aisle narrow-bodied jets and twin-aisle wide-bodied aircraft. The company's primary source of revenue originates from the leasing of aircraft and to a certain extent from the provision of fleet management services to investors and owners of aircraft portfolios.
#8
Late Stage · San Francisco, California · founded 1989 · 70 employees$165Mraised▾
Aircraft leasing and financing
- Sep 2017PE—
- Jan 2013PE$165M
#9
Early Stage · Southfield, Michigan · founded 1998$2.3Mraised▾
Provider of passenger and freight aircraft leasing services
#10
Seed · Seattle, Washington · founded 2019 · 3 employees$25Kraised▾
Provider of aircraft financing services
- Mar 2023Seed$25K
#11
Acquired · Chicago, Illinois · founded 1989 · 217 employees—raised▾
Provider of aircraft leasing, supply chain management, and financial advisory services
- Nov 2022PE—
#12
Seed · Allentown, Pennsylvania · founded 2016—raised▾
Provider of private jets
- May 2021Seed—
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Common questions
Riya reads income statements for fun. She covers the real money in a sector — revenue, growth, who actually earns — and never met a vague claim she didn't want a number for.