Avenue Capital's Lasry leases old planes while Boeing's 737 MAX sits grounded

Boeing’s struggle to return its 737 MAX planes to the skies after two fatal crashes has been a boon for Marc Lasry, the billionaire chief executive of Avenue Capital Group, who is buying inexpensive, older aircraft for his leasing business. Lasry said he is raising $1b to buy “mid- to end-of-life” planes, including the narrow-body Airbus 320 and wide-body Airbus 330, to lease to airline customers, often for three or five years. Lasry specialises in distressed and undervalued debt, as well as equity opportunities in the US, Europe and Asia at Avenue, which invests $10.4b of assets. Forbes magazine estimates Lasry’s net worth at $1.8b. He said older planes can be more profitable to lease than newer, more fuel-efficient planes because they cost far less to buy, at a time when fuel prices are low. “There’s just more and more people flying,” Lasry said. “You can either go out and buy a plane for $100m that’s more fuel-efficient, or buy a plane for $10m and lease it out. They’re paying more in fuel but they didn’t spend $100m.”<br/>