Does aircraft leasing strategy increase airline performance?

Since aircraft are a long-lifetime asset requiring considerable investment, and impact the business continuity of airlines, deciding which method to employ in acquiring a fleet is most critical in airline management. One option for airlines to acquire their fleet is leasing through a leasing scheme or borrowing money to buy their aircraft. A company should examine the cost of leasing and borrowing to analyze the best method of financing to ensure the company's optimal performance from a market perspective and internal financial results perspective. This study aims to answer the question of whether an airline's leasing strategies, as well as its company structure and asset utilization performance, have an impact on the airline's performance. Quantitative research using Eviews on multiple regression analysis is employed and some qualitative data are used to analyze the effect of lease financing decisions on the performance of 42 publicly listed airlines from 28 countries between 2015 and 2017. The results of this study show that operating and financing lease strategy, firm's capital structure and assets utilization performance relates to airlines performance, both from internal perspective and market perspectives.