Azorra celebrates first decade of growth

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA

Azorra is marking 10 years of delivering aircraft leasing, financing and fleet solutions to airline customers worldwide.

Founded in 2016 by aviation entrepreneur John Evans, Azorra has established a leading position in the small narrowbody market, with a focus on Airbus A220 and Embraer E-Jets. The company has since executed a diversified growth strategy through mergers, acquisitions and portfolio purchases, including significant transactions with Voyager Aviation Holdings, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), and JetBlue.

This opportunistic approach has seen Azorra expand into widebody and freighter aircraft and launch an Engine Program to help airlines facing spare engine shortages. Today, the company serves 45 customers across 39 countries, with offices in Florida, Dublin, and Singapore, and supported by team members in six other countries.

Its fleet comprises 331 assets and commitments, including 193 owned and managed aircraft and commitments, 91 engines, 10 airframes, and 37 aircraft on order. The company also holds 20 firm E190 passenger-to-freighter conversion positions.

John Evans, CEO and Founder of Azorra, says: "When I launched Azorra ten years ago, I saw an opportunity in business aviation and leveraged my longstanding relationship with Embraer to purchase our first two aircraft - Phenom 300s - which we leased to Gold Aviation. Remarkably, a decade later, we still own those same aircraft, and Gold remains our customer. From our lean early years through the challenges of a global pandemic, to welcoming Oaktree as our partner in 2021, we've built Azorra into a global aviation leasing platform with a portfolio exceeding $4 billion.

"What makes me most proud isn't the size of our portfolio, but the extraordinary people and relationships behind it. We've assembled an incredibly talented and diverse team, united by a shared entrepreneurial spirit, a commitment to our customers and partners, and a belief that there's always a better way to do things. That culture has been the foundation of our success, and it's what excites me most about our future."

Ken Hoffman, Chief Legal Officer of Azorra, adds: "Having been part of Azorra since the beginning, I've had the privilege of watching us grow from a small team with big dreams into a global platform trusted by airlines, investors, and financiers around the world. The same core values that have guided Azorra throughout the past ten years - including innovation, teamwork, and building strong, lasting customer relationships - have us poised for continued growth as we enter our second decade. Our focus remains on investing where we see long-term value and delivering the flexible fleet solutions our customers need."

Azorra's growth has been supported by the long-term backing of Oaktree Capital, which has invested more than US$840m in the business since 2021. The lessor's balance sheet has grown from US$200m in 2021 to US$4.8bn as of September 2026.

The company has significantly strengthened its capital structure since entering the institutional debt capital markets in 2024, most recently through a US$400m eight-year senior unsecured notes offering and the repricing and upsizing of its senior secured Term Loan B facility to $100m, announced in February 2026. Azorra also received its initial corporate credit ratings from Moody's, S&P Global Ratings, and Fitch Ratings in 2024, with recent upgrades from Moody's and S&P Global Ratings.

ABOUT AZORRA

Azorra is a relationship-driven aircraft lessor that provides leasing, financing, fleet transition and asset management solutions to aircraft investors, financiers and airline operators worldwide. Azorra's multi-cultural team reflects the global markets that we serve and includes core competencies in aviation law, aircraft finance, maintenance, marketing, sales and leasing.  

Our team is led by seasoned veterans having a shared history of success and is complemented by young professionals who bring fresh perspective, ideas and enthusiasm. As of September 30, 2026, Azorra's fleet comprises 331 aviation assets, including 193 owned and managed aircraft, 91 engines, 10 airframes, and a commitment pipeline of 37 aircraft. These commitments include orders for new Airbus A220-300 aircraft and Embraer E190/E195-E2 aircraft. Azorra is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and has offices in Dublin, Ireland and Singapore.