Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) and Blackstone Credit and Insurance announced the formation of a joint aircraft leasing investment programme, branded Equator, that is intended to deploy about $1.6 billion each year into commercial aircraft leases to airlines worldwide.
Under the arrangement, DAE will be responsible for sourcing aircraft from third parties. Its Aircraft Investor Services unit will take on asset management responsibilities for the fleet assembled under Equator, according to the companies' statement. The programme is designed to build a portfolio of commercial aircraft leased to carriers globally.
Blackstone Credit and Insurance's Infrastructure and Asset Based Credit Group, which the statement says manages more than $100 billion, will be the other principal partner in the programme. The investor group backing Equator will include capital from funds managed by ITE Management, identified in the statement as a strategic partner of Blackstone Credit and Insurance.
The announcement highlights continued expansion by alternative asset managers into aviation finance, a space that has drawn growing institutional interest as constrained aircraft supply has pushed lease rates higher. The statement frames Equator as a vehicle to channel institutional capital into leasing structures that place aircraft on lease to airlines.
DAE itself operates a fleet of roughly 700 aircraft. The company noted that, as of end-2025, it will have more than 100 aircraft under third-party management with an aggregate value in excess of $4 billion. In addition to sourcing and managing aircraft, DAE serves as servicer under seventeen management agreements for institutional and financial investors, per the companies' statement.
For market participants and institutional investors, the structure combines DAE's aircraft sourcing and servicer capabilities with the capital and credit platform of Blackstone Credit and Insurance and partner funds. The statement does not provide further operational specifics, such as timing of initial deployments, breakdown of aircraft types, or the precise composition of investor commitments beyond the inclusion of ITE Management-managed funds.
Market context and structural notes
The programme is presented as a scaled, repeatable leasing vehicle focused on commercial aircraft placed with airline lessees worldwide. DAE's role as both a source of aircraft and a manager- servicer for third-party capital is central to the Equator structure as described. Blackstone Credit and Insurance contributes an institutional credit and insurance platform reported to include a large credit group with over $100 billion in assets under management.
The statement does not specify regulatory, financing or underwriting parameters for Equator, nor does it disclose detailed investor commitments beyond the reference to ITE Management as a strategic partner providing capital through its funds.