Aviation Law: One industry. One specialist firm.

We draft dry leases, wet leases, ACMI and operator agreements in line with EASA requirements and allocate duties, liability and limits of use expressly. Who counts as the operator determines certification, insurance and responsibility in the event of a loss.

• Dry leases with return conditions, maintenance reserves and insurance provisions
• Wet lease and ACMI arrangements, including the allocation of operational responsibility
• Operator models for owners, family offices and operators
• The line between commercial and non-commercial operation

We structure asset-backed loans, finance leases, operating leases and sale-and-lease-back arrangements. The finance documents must fit the purchase agreement and the security package, otherwise the funds are not available at closing.

• Loan and lease documentation, aligned with the purchase agreement
• Sale-and-lease-back to release tied-up capital
• Coordination with our practice area Banking Law
• Support through to drawdown at closing

We negotiate settlement directly with underwriters and loss adjusters and pursue claims for hull damage, liability and loss of use. The first step matters most: what is documented in the first few days determines the amount later paid.

• Hull claims including ground damage, on a hull all-risk basis
• Loss of use and diminution in value
• Recourse against maintenance organisations and third parties, by way of subrogation
• Coordination with our practice area Insurance Law

We create and register security over aircraft. In Germany the registered pledge under the Act on Rights in Aircraft is the usual route; internationally, mortgages, IDERAs and security under the Cape Town Convention are added.

• Registered pledge over the aircraft, entered at the Local Court of Braunschweig
• Mortgages under foreign law, for example New York law
• International interests under the Cape Town Convention, where the states involved are contracting states
• Deposit of an irrevocable de-registration and export request authorisation (IDERA)

We draft employment and assignment contracts for flight crew, from type ratings and the repayment of training costs to deployment across several operating certificates. The employment law review is carried out by our practice area Employment Law.

• Employment contracts for pilots and cabin crew
• Repayment clauses for type ratings and training bonds, and their limits
• Rostering, flight duty periods and crew sharing across several companies
• Cross-border employment and the question of the applicable law