Aviation Industry

K&L Gates lawyers have extensive experience representing financial institutions and leasing companies around the globe in connection with aircraft finance and leasing (including operating and finance lease) transactions. We provide clients with guidance and assistance on structuring, documenting, and negotiating aircraft finance transactions, including cross-border aircraft finance transactions involving multiple jurisdictions. Our aviation lawyers also regularly assist financial institutions on restructuring, workouts, and repossession matters. Working closely with their colleagues in the tax, regulatory, and litigation support practice groups, our aviation lawyers are uniquely qualified to advise and assist financial institutions, leasing companies, and airlines with all of their aviation needs.

K&L Gates has extensive experience representing domestic and international airlines on nearly every kind of legal and legislative issue faced by airlines. Our clients have included international, national, regional, and commuter airlines; air taxi operators; and cargo air carriers. Our range of airline issues includes:

• Corporate, business, and finance, including corporate structure; securities; antitrust representation on behalf of air couriers, with a particular emphasis on joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions; federal and state taxation; real estate; commercial and insurance defense, litigation on behalf of insured air carriers; labor, collective bargaining, and employment discrimination; bankruptcy; antitrust; domestic and international aircraft and engine acquisitions, financing, and sales; complex leveraged and operating lease arrangements; leasing and financing transactions involving commercial passenger and cargo aircraft; export licensing and aircraft securitization transactions.
• Antitrust, including Department of Justice clearance of mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures; federal and state civil and criminal investigations; civil litigation; third party opposition to other parties’ proposed joint ventures and transactions
• Environmental, noise, and airport access, including access to federally slot-controlled and locally restricted airports; off- and on-airport real estate and facilities development and financing; environmental matters and noise litigation (including federal and state hazardous waste enforcement proceedings and preventative environmental audits).
• Outsourcing
• Slots and routes

Acting as counsel for aviation operations of major corporations and for private individuals, both foreign and domestic, our lawyers advise in connection with virtually every aspect of their aviation needs. In the United States we have significant experience in reviewing and structuring Part 91 operations and interacting with the FAA in connection with private aircraft operations, including RVSM issues and MMEL letters of authorization. Our aviation lawyers have assisted clients in connection with:

• Aircraft purchase
• Leasing and financing
• Fractional interests
• Aircraft interchange and timesharing agreements
• Aircraft management agreements
• Hangar development
• Aviation-related federal and state tax advice
• Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approvals and exemptions

K&L Gates’ global platform permits us to seamlessly handle complex multi-jurisdictional acquisitions and international aircraft operations using structures that accommodate the modern demands of international business and private aircraft use.

Our tax lawyers regularly assist clients in connection with numerous aviation tax issues. We have provided our clients with comprehensive guidance and assistance in connection with state sales and use tax issues, federal excise tax issues, tax-free (1031) exchanges, value-added taxes depreciation issues, leveraged leases, and passive activity loss limitations. We also have extensive experience resolving tax issues arising in cross-border transactions.

We represent airport operators and numerous cities, counties, states, and municipal authorities that own and operate airports. In the United States, we handle regulatory matters for these clients before the Department of Transportation and legislative matters before Congress and local authorities. Projects include federal funding programs for airport improvements, noise mitigation projects, and essential air service programs. In the United States, we have one of the nation’s premier municipal finance practices and have served as bond counsel on many airport facility revenue bond issues. We represent our airport operator clients on inverse condemnation and noise litigation matters, and on issues concerning tenant default and bankruptcy. Our lawyers have also negotiated domestic gate rights assignments, hangar leases, and acquisitions.

Manufacturers and suppliers form another important segment of our U.S. and European aviation practice. We represent a consortium of foreign industrial companies in cooperation with a major U.S. aircraft manufacturer. We also represent manufacturers in litigation and have provided representation to air traffic control equipment suppliers on indemnification issues. We advise our clients in connection with aircraft management agreements; maintenance, repair, and overhaul agreements; service level agreements; ULD management agreements; and other commercial aviation matters. Finally, we have been extensively involved in most aspects of the air-to-ground passenger communications industry.

The use of unmanned aircraft systems (also known as remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aerial vehicles), is a fast-growing, evolving and dynamic area of the aviation field. In the U.S., FAA regulation of UAS is in a state of flux, and as the regulatory environment becomes clarified, it is expected that these devices will be introduced in industries across the economy in everyday commercial pursuits. We represent clients involved in this area on regulatory and business operation matters, as well as on research and development activities. Given our firm’s capability and offices in major markets worldwide, our aviation practice group is well-positioned to support our clients in this emerging and exciting area of the aviation field on a global basis.