What is wet and dry lease of aircrafts?

Airlines prefer to lease aircraft to reduce purchase costs and ramp up capacity at the same time. In aviation, there are two types of leasing arrangements -- wet leasing and dry leasing.

Wet leasing

Wet leasing is an arrangement where the lessor provides an aircraft and the crew too. So here, the lessor is responsible for the operational maintenance of the flight.

Dry leasing

In contrast, dry leasing is an arrangement where the lessor offers only an aircraft, without crew and ground staff. Here the lessee will be responsible for the operations of aircraft. In dry leasing, the aircraft is also operated under the lessee’s air operator certificate.

Pros and cons

Both wet leasing and dry leasing have their pros and cons, depending on the requirements of the airlines. Wet leasing is slightly costlier and can increase operational costs for the airline as the lessor provides for maintenance and crew. In dry leasing, the lessee is responsible for training the crew, costs of maintenance, staffing etc. In this case, the airline will also be in full control of the flying  experience.

Airlines resort to wet and dry leasing of aircraft in peak seasons to run operations smoothly. According to reports, both IndiGo and SpiceJet are planning to wet lease aircraft to increase capacity during the winter. As the demand returned after the pandemic, airlines fear losing out market share without additional capacity.

According to regulator DGCA rules, wet lease is only permitted in emergency situations for up to three months and the contract is subject to an additional extension of three more months. Meanwhile, dry leasing is permitted for up to 12 months and the contract can be extended for 12 more months.