22 January 2025
Team Acumen
Driving the Future of Aviation: Acumen Aviation Reflects on a Record-Breaking 2024
Dublin, 22 January 2025: Acumen Aviation, a leading Aircraft Asset Management Company, is delighted to announce the release of its comprehensive 2024 Operational Review. The review offers a detailed account of the year’s achievements and developments across its diverse business streams.
2024: A Year of Recovery and Growth for the Aviation Industry
2024 marked a significant recovery for the aviation industry, with businesses adapting positively to post-pandemic challenges. While some low-cost carriers faced headwinds, the majority of the airline community recorded robust performance, with traffic levels surpassing pre-COVID benchmarks and profit margins reaching substantial heights. Despite ongoing OEM and supply chain issues impacting aircraft deliveries, the global fleet in service exceeded 2019 levels.
Leasing continued to rise as the preferred model for airlines, with over 60% of the global fleet under leasing arrangements. Consolidation trends within both the airline and leasing sectors positively influenced Acumen’s performance. The company aligned its operations with market demands and experienced a surge in interest in its Digital Software and Services. Recent announcements regarding the phase-out of competing software solutions further position Acumen to capitalise on expanding opportunities in 2025.
Leasing and Advisory Services
The leasing and advisory divisions remained dynamic, benefiting from heightened demand in the secondary market driven by OEM supply constraints. Acumen managed ten special purpose vehicles in Ireland and a combined portfolio of 24 assets leased globally, with financial backing from U.S. and Japanese investors. The company secured mandates from operators and boutique lessors for sourcing, trading, and remarketing aircraft while actively co-investing in aircraft assets and acting as a servicer to asset-owning entities.
Acumen also expanded its footprint in aircraft financing through its IFSC platform in India. It engages with lessors to leverage this facility to meet the growing needs of the Indian aviation sector.
Technical Asset Management (TAM): A Cornerstone of Growth
Acumen’s TAM team built on its strong momentum from previous years, acquiring new clients and successfully managing a diverse range of projects. In 2024, the TAM team serviced over 455 assets and managed 204 projects, including new delivery inspections and repossessions. Their extensive local networks and expertise enabled successful repossessions and asset access, even under challenging circumstances.
The TAM team played a strategic role in supporting industry consolidation, fleet enhancements, and the adoption of new technologies. With its robust expertise and industry insights, the team is well-prepared to seize the opportunities 2025 presents.
Valuations and Advisory: Broadening Horizons
The advisory services division continued its upward trajectory, adding new clients and expanding its scope to include airline inventory and fleet valuations. In 2024, Acumen completed over 1,200 asset appraisals, including nearly 50 assets for ABS. The proprietary fin-S online valuation platform was upgraded to support nearly 50 aircraft types and associated engines, further solidifying its market presence.
CAMO Services: A Trusted Name
The CAMO team maintained its reputation for excellence, retaining multiple certifications, including the EASA Part CAMO (Approval No. IE. CAMO. 117), ISO 9001:2015, and approvals from Guernsey, Bermuda, and Cayman Islands authorities. These certifications enable Acumen to offer a geographically expansive service portfolio.
Through the development of its Maintenance Management System (MMS), including modules for compliance, personnel, and document management, the CAMO team enhanced efficiency and service delivery, ensuring smooth client transitions and regulatory compliance.
Digital Transformation: Strengthening Industry Leadership
The Digital team delivered exceptional growth, onboarding nine new customers to its SPARTA platform. Acumen’s digital solutions, encompassing DTS platforms and Digital Success Advisory (DSA), enabled clients to manage growing fleets and risks efficiently. Continuous enhancements to SPARTA’s six applications aligned with evolving customer needs reaffirming Acumen’s commitment to innovation.
Additionally, the Digital Transformation Services team developed groundbreaking greenfield products for a leading Aftermarket Spares Supply organisation, combining industry expertise with cutting-edge digital solutions.
Data Management: Setting New Benchmarks
The Data Management (DM) team scaled its operations significantly, managing over 1,800 assets and completing four major data migration projects. Supporting platforms including SPARTA, AMOS, and STREAM, the DM team provided services ranging from digitising and indexing records to forecasting end-of-lease adjustments, further strengthening its market position.
Expanding Training Horizons
Acumen’s Training team delivered courses to over 130 candidates, covering topics such as Aircraft Leasing, Engine Reserves Management, and Legal Frameworks in Aviation. The partnership with JAIN (Deemed-to-be-University) continued to flourish, with plans to expand training programs, including the Executive PGP in Aircraft Leasing & Financing.
Full details of our 2024 Operational Review are included in the attached graph.
About Acumen Aviation
Acumen is an aircraft asset lease manager with a global platform, established in 2009, headquartered in Ireland with offices in India, China, and the USA. Acumen’s management team has over 300 years of cumulative experience with a permanent staff of over 100 people. Acumen offers a full range of services throughout the lifecycle of the aircraft including aircraft sourcing, pre-purchase inspections (physical and records), project management, lease management, re-marketing, fleet audits, aircraft trading, powerplant management, aircraft valuations and CAMO services. Acumen embraces new technologies and has a dedicated digital transformation business arm providing market driven products and services to the sector. This includes Acumen’s state-of-the-art asset management platform, SPARTA, as well as its digital success advisory (DSA), offering specific software development and design solutions to help clients meet the challenges and requirements of the digital age. Its customers include aircraft lessors, airlines, banks, private equity, and investors.
For more information please contact:
Acumen Press Office: America
Location: Florida, USA
Phone: +1 954 999 8060
sean.oconnor@acumen.aero
Acumen Press Office: China
Location: Beijing, China
Phone: +861062434080
livia.liu@acumen.aero
Acumen Press Office: Europe
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Phone: +353 86 2424777
martin.corcoran@acumen.aero
Acumen Press Office: Central Asia
Location: GIFT City, India
Phone: +91 9004689225
ankit.harbhajanka@acumen.aero
Acumen Press Office: South Asia
Location: Bangalore, India
Phone : +91 8800701356
kumar.narayanaswami@acumen.aero
Disclaimer:
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements; The statements contained herein may include statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on management’s current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance, or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. In addition to statements, which are forward-looking by reason of context, the words "may", "will", "should", "expects", "plans", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "predicts", "potential", or "continue" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Actual results, performance or events may differ materially from those in such statements due to, without limitation, (i) general economic conditions, including in particular economic conditions in the Acumen Aviation Europe Ltd core business and core markets, (ii) performance of financial markets, including emerging markets, and including market volatility, liquidity and credit events (iii) the frequency and severity of insured loss events, including from natural catastrophes and including the development of loss expenses, (iv) mortality and morbidity levels and trends, (v) persistency levels, (vi) the extent of credit defaults, (vii) interest rate levels, (viii) currency exchange rates including the Euro/U.S. Dollar exchange rate, (ix) changing levels of competition, (x) changes in laws and regulations, including monetary convergence and the European Monetary Union, (xi) changes in the policies of central banks and/or foreign governments, (xii) the impact of acquisitions, including related integration issues, (xiii) reorganization measures, and (xiv) general competitive factors, in each case on a local, regional, national and/or global basis. Many of these factors may be more likely to occur, or more pronounced, as a result of terrorist activities and their consequences. The company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.