French Translation of an Aircraft Leasing Agreement for an Airline

We were recently entrusted with the translation from English into French of an aircraft leasing agreement relating to a passenger transport aircraft, concluded between two French airlines linked by capital ties.

A Complex Project with Both Contractual and Tax Dimensions

The specific feature of this case lay in the contractual structure:

• the aircraft purchase agreement between the manufacturer and the lessee,

• the financing of the acquisition by the lessor through two shareholder loans,

• and the implementation of an intragroup leasing scheme.

This sophisticated arrangement also involved an assignment of the purchase agreement to the lessor, who undertook to acquire the aircraft and immediately lease it back to the lessee, with the aim of achieving tax optimization through the tax consolidation of the two entities.

Terminology and Technical Precision

This type of contract requires extreme rigor in translation, both terminologically and legally, due to:

• the technicality of the equipment (airframe, engines, components),

• contractual early purchase options,

• ownership transfer clauses,

• and conditions precedent and subsequent tied to delivery and entry into force of the lease.

📌 Key Contextual Translations

• aircraft → appareil

• agreed value → valeur convenue

• airframe → fuselage

• assignment of lease → acte de cession du crédit-bail

• delivery certificate → certificat de livraison

• early purchase option → option d’achat anticipé

• engines → moteurs

• fleet → flotte

• conditions precedent and subsequent conditions → conditions suspensives et conditions résolutoires