You filled out applications for everything. 'Remember, at that time it was the 1980s, and there was very little employment. He studied engineering at college, but had no flightpath set for the aviation world. Like so many other of his peers, he slipped into the aircraft-leasing sector without any broad plan to do so. He's also the vice-chairman of industry body Aircraft Leasing Ireland. Kelly (55), who hails from Ahascragh outside Galway, lives in Shannon, where Gecas has its operational headquarters. 'But trade tensions, protective tariffs and Brexit are all uncertainties that overhang the industry,' said de Juniac. From talking to the industry leaders and looking at the OEMs, that's generally the consensus.' 'So you're going to see that tapering off a bit, probably to 4pc or 5pc. 'Traffic has been growing at 6pc or 7pc ,' says Kelly, who was appointed to his current role a year ago. It tussles with Aercap for the accolade of being the world's biggest lessor. Gecas, which has its roots in Tony Ryan's Guinness Peat Aviation, has a fleet of about 1,900 aircraft, including 1,550 fixed-wing and 350 helicopters. 'We've had seven to eight great years and we are prepared for this.' 'We do see a slowdown in growth happening at the moment, and it's more of a tapering than any shock to the system,' he says. But he's quick to acknowledge that there are headwinds. He insists it's in good health, despite challenges facing the global economy - to which airline capacity growth is closely linked.Ĭhatting at a Dublin Airport hotel before he heads to Seattle, Kelly says Gecas has just completed a review of all its global operations and that 'everyone is very positive'. Many of the world's largest lessors, such as Gecas, Aercap, SMBC Aviation, Avolon, Goshawk and Orix, all have either their headquarters or major offices in Ireland.Īs chief commercial officer of Gecas, Declan Kelly has a top-down view of the industry. The statistics are widely known now - about 60pc of the world's leased aircraft are managed from Ireland, equating to assets worth about $110bn (€96bn), and the leasing sector supports about 5,000 jobs here. The conferences also underscore Ireland's position as a leading centre for the global aircraft-leasing business. For lessors, banks, lawyers, aircraft and engine-makers, it's a chance to do deals and press the flesh.

They're in town for the 'Airfinance Journal' conference at the Convention Centre Dublin next week, and the Airline Economics event that takes place at the Shelbourne Hotel.įor restaurants and hotels, it's a boon in what could otherwise be a lean January. The annual migration of global aviation executives to Dublin begins in earnest this weekend, as hundreds of them descend on the capital.

Fake ireland aerial view