Avolon says bruised jet lessors in no hurry to return to Russia

Russian airlines could be frozen out of the aircraft leasing market well beyond the Ukraine conflict, one of the industry's biggest players warned on Tuesday, blaming what executives have described as a default involving hundreds of Western jets. Global leasing companies had until Monday to sever ties with Russian carriers under Western sanctions imposed over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, but executives say only a fraction of the more than 400 jets directly involved have been returned. Domhnal Slattery, CE of Dublin-based Avolon, the world's second-largest leasing firm, told Reuters its own risk is limited, with a net exposure of below $200m on 10 jets still blocked in Russia after it recovered four aircraft. But the mainly Ireland-based leasing sector, which accounts for about half of the world's airline fleet, will be in no hurry to reset relations with Russian airlines even if sanctions against Moscow are lifted, he predicted. "From an Avolon perspective it is not material; from a sector perspective it is a problem, unquestionably," Slattery added. "In terms of future appetite in a post-war scenario for further business in Russia, I think all players in our sector will think long and hard about the risks of that jurisdiction and the appetite for going back in," he said.<br/>