Aircraft lessors, insurers jostle in UK court over stranded jets in $ Russia

AerCap, the world's biggest aircraft lessor, said on Monday it was inconceivable that it would not recover some losses from insurers over jets stranded in Russia, as lessors took their battle for redress to London's High Court. More than 400 aircraft, worth almost $10bn, have been stuck in Russia after Western countries slapped sanctions on the country over the year-old war in Ukraine - and Russian aircraft lessees did not return the jets. Insurers are balking at payouts, alleging in part that there has not been a physical loss of the planes yet, that the jets and engines are no longer subject to a lease agreement and that Western sanctions prevent them from providing cover. Dublin-based AerCap said it was out of pocket to a "colossal" degree and, along with at least four peers, has lodged a lawsuit that hinges on whether the alleged loss of the aircraft has triggered war-risk insurance policies, which have payout limits, or uncapped all-risk policies. AerCap, the largest claimant, is suing insurers such as AIG and Lloyd's Insurance Company for $3.5b over the loss of 116 aircraft and 23 engines under its all-risks insurance policy. Alternatively, it is claiming $1.2b under its war-risks policy, court filings show. "... in the real world, it is inconceivable that we do not recover under one," Mark Howard, a lawyer for AerCap, told the first day of a preliminary High Court hearing.<br/>