About LCI
LCI is a leading aviation company founded in 2004. Since its inception, LCI has undertaken more than US$10billion of transactions in the fixed-wing, helicopter and advanced air mobility markets and provided leasing services to airlines, freight carriers and helicopter operators. Past and present customers include leading airlines like British Airways, Singapore Airlines and Air France, and major helicopter operators such as Babcock, Bristow and Omni.
LCI currently operates a fleet of around 160 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, with up to an additional 173 on order. Its highly experienced and well-connected management team works closely with aircraft and engine manufacturers and major financial institutions.
LCI’s long-held fixed-wing strategy of undertaking aircraft investments timed with market cycles includes its US$1 billion fleet divestment in 2007, and its US$4.8 billion fleet investment and divestment cycles from 2008 to 2020.
In February 2012, LCI signed a $400 million contract for the purchase of a fleet of Leonardo helicopters on a five-year delivery schedule, signalling its breakthrough into the rotary wing aircraft sector whilst opening new markets to aviation leasing.
In September 2021, LCI re-entered the fixed wing market with the acquisition of an Airbus A330-300 commercial aircraft. In December, LCI acquired Nova Capital Aviation (Ireland) Limited, a division of the Nova Capital Group, resulting in a substantial expansion of LCI’s leasing platform.
LCI signed an agreement with BETA Technologies in April 2022 to acquire up to 125 of their electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, and committed to up to a further 40 VTOL aircraft in January 2023 with an order for Elroy Air’s Chaparral.
LCI is owned by Libra Group, a privately-owned international business group whose subsidiaries own and operate assets in nearly 60 countries, and Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Company, Limited (SMFL).