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Aviation Finance and Transportation

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Expertise


"The lawyers are very strong and among the best international aviation lawyers.  The service levels and responsiveness are very good.  They know the industry and all the major parties very well, and know what is happening in the market.  They are very good at understanding the commercial needs of the client." 
Chambers and Partners Global 2023

Matheson has a dedicated market leading Aviation Finance and Transportation Group.  We advise both domestic and international asset financing banks, leasing companies and airlines in relation to financing and leasing of commercial and corporate aircraft, helicopters, rail rolling stock and ships.  We also regularly act as deal counsel or Irish counsel in complex cross-border financings, including on structured finance, ABS (asset-backed securitisation) and repackaging transactions relating to all such asset classes.

Being part of our Finance and Capital Markets Department, we regularly advise on structured finance, ABS (asset-backed securities) and repackaging transactions relating to all such asset classes including the establishment of special purpose companies funded by public and private issuances.

We also have a strong aviation regulatory practice and regularly advise Irish airlines and leasing companies on airline licensing and registration issues with the Irish Aviation Authority and Commission for Aviation Regulation in addition to all aspects of the Cape Town Convention and Aircraft Protocol.

Together with Matheson’s specialist aviation tax expertise, Matheson has assisted a number of the current top ten aircraft lessors in establishing their leasing platforms in Ireland.

Our Team

Experience Highlights

Representative transactions include:

  • A major private equity fund in relation to its acquisition of an aircraft portfolio comprising in excess of 150 aircraft.
  • An international investor in a 50 / 50 joint venture arrangement to acquire up to 70 Airbus A320 aircraft.
  • A domestic airline in its acquisition of up to 20 new aircraft.
  • The Export-Import Bank of China in respect of its financing of six Airbus A320 aircraft to a Chinese based lessor - the first aircraft delivered under this facility was the first non European assembled Airbus aircraft and the first A320 to be produced at Airbus' new assembly facility in Tianjin, China.
  • An international lessor and financier in its acquisition of 15 Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
  • An Irish aircraft lessor on its acquisition of 30 aircraft and an airline.
  • On the establishment of an Irish licensed airline.
  • On the acquisition of a portfolio of 37 aircraft.
  • On the acquisition of Irish and European airlines.

In addition to:

  • Regularly acting as Irish counsel on aircraft securitisation transactions.
  • Regularly acting as Irish counsel on US EX-IM supported financing of Boeing aircraft.
  • Regularly acting as Irish counsel on European Export Credit supported financing of Airbus and ATR aircraft.
  • Regularly acting as Irish counsel on BNDES Brazilian export credit supported financing of Embraer aircraft.
  • Regularly advising on the Cape Town Convention and Aircraft Protocol.
Accolades
“Stuart Kennedy and Rory McPhillips are proactive, calm and understand the asset finance business and are extremely efficient and knowledgeable.”
Asset Finance: The European Legal 500 2025

“Extremely responsive team that understand the market and are able to lead complex transactions as well as work seamlessly alongside other teams when advising on the Irish law aspects of international asset finance transactions.”
Asset Finance: The European Legal 500 2025

“Stuart Kennedy is one of the key partners in the asset finance practice, very personable and knowledgeable. Rory McPhillips is another key partner who has been involved in the space for many years.”
Asset Finance: The European Legal 500 2025

"The team is very flexible and approachable, very easy to get in touch with and the lawyers come back quickly with good advice and guidance."
Asset Finance Chambers Europe 2025

"Lawyers in the group have a great ability to simplify legal matters and clearly explain them to non-legal professionals."
Asset Finance Chambers Europe 2025

"The team has very strong expertise and a leading market position in Ireland in the area of asset finance and aviation, which when coupled with speed of response and service orientation makes them a pleasure to deal with."
Asset Finance: The European Legal 500 2024

"The Matheson team are extremely approachable and have strong knowledge of the aviation industry which makes them are great legal service provider to any client in the industry. Matheson has a large team so they have capacity to support a variety of transactions."
Asset Finance: The European Legal 500 2024

"Industry profile, knowledge and experience, combined with responsiveness and service orientation, makes the Matheson team stand out from their peers."
Transport: The European Legal 500 2024

"The experience of the team is unique and unrivalled. They have immense strength and depth in the transport sector. Their knowledge and training in the sector is excellent. They provide practical advice and solutions to difficult problems. They work with the Matheson tax team to get clients to where they need to be in an efficient and cost-effective manner."
Transport: The European Legal 500 2024

"The Matheson team have extensive experience, knowledge and strong commercial acumen. The team are friendly, proactive and are always available to provide advice. They focus on solutions rather than highlighting problems and provide guidance every step of the way. Matheson are our go-to firm for legal advice."
Transport: The European Legal 500 2024

"The Matheson team is approachable with strong aviation knowledge. I enjoy working with them on transactions – their client focus makes transaction run smoothly and efficiently."
Transport: The European Legal 500 2024

“The firm always delivers and are always an efficient team to work with.”
Banking and Finance: Asset Finance Chambers 2024

“They know how to guide clients through tricky issues, are very solution oriented and super responsive.”
Banking and Finance: Asset Finance Chambers 2024

“The lawyers have a sufficient breadth of knowledge to handling everything very well.”
Banking and Finance: Asset Finance Chambers 2024

"Always super responsive; pleasant to work with; high quality of work; flexible."
Asset Finance: The European Legal 500 2023

"Matheson are one of the best firms for aviation finance in Ireland. Real strength in depth. The fees are competitive and advice clear."
Asset Finance: The European Legal 500 2023

"Very responsive; very to-the-point and practical."
Asset Finance: IFLR1000 33rd edition 2023

"Extremely responsive and engaged."
Asset Finance: IFLR1000 33rd edition 2023

"A terrific team led by Yvonne McWeeney (supported by Kevin Mahony), very technical and extremely proactive. Her team has great strength in depth with the ability to react to drive forward transactions with short deadlines and cross-jurisdictional parties involved. Her team provides a first-class service on all aviation transactions and is a go-to firm for other areas that require legal input."
Transport: The European Legal 500 2023

"Both Yvonne McWeeney and Kevin Mahony have fantastic interpersonal skills, and nothing is ever too big a deal for them. They are technical but very commercial and can spot issues coming before they arrive."
Transport: The European Legal 500 2023