Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) is expanding its asset management game, partnering with Blackstone Credit and Ins. (BXCI) to launch Equator — an aircraft leasing investment platform targeting around USD 1.6 bn of deployment a year.

DAE will source aircraft from third parties and manage the platform’s assets through its Aircraft Investor Services arm. BXCI — which manages more than USD 100 bn through its infrastructure and asset-based credit platform — will provide the institutional capital base for Equator. This will also include capital from funds managed by ITE Management, a strategic partner of Blackstone Credit and Ins.

Equator lands in the middle of a much bigger expansion cycle at DAE. The lessor agreed in February to acquire Macquarie AirFinance, lifting the combined fleet to 1k aircraft and adding 37 airline customers. This followed its USD 2 bn acquisition of Nordic Aviation Capital in May 2025, which added 252 aircraft to its fleet.

DAE already had scale before Equator: DAE’s portfolio spans roughly 700 owned, managed, and committed Airbus, ATR, and Boeing aircraft — valued at around USD 25 bn — alongside a Amman-based MRO arm that serves customers across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. This facility can accommodate up to 24 narrowbody and widebody aircraft simultaneously.

OEM delays keep lessors in play

Why now? The timing lines up with a market still choked by OEM constraints. Airbus ended 2025 with a record commercial backlog of 8.7k aircraft and delivered just 60 aircraft in March, down 16% y-o-y, bringing its total 2026 delivery so far to 114 — a long way from its 870 target. Boeing also ended 2025 with a commercial backlog of over 6.1k aircraft, valued at a record USD 567 bn.

The war effect

Is the pressure finally pointing to renewal? Airbus commercial chief Wouter van Wersch said last week that as rising fuel prices continue to rise, airlines would have more incentive to buy the newest aircraft — underlining how fuel economics are now pushing carriers harder toward more efficient jets even while delivery constraints keep the transition slow.

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