黄振达律师应英国钱伯斯邀请，撰写了《航空金融业务的边界遐想——以民用航空器贸易合同和有关法律框架为主线》。中英文版本，全文约6500字。已经在钱伯斯官网发表。敬请关注！

Vision for Aviation Finance Practice - Based on Civil Aircraft Trade Contracts and Applicable Laws

航空金融业务的边界遐想——以民用航空器贸易合同和相关法律框架为主线

The concept of aviation finance is of great mystery to the public. It is not a legal concept per se, but more of a financial vehicle to drive aircraft trade and aviation services and facilitate the sustainable and sound development of the civil aviation industry. From this perspective, we believe that aviation finance practice predominantly refers to the commercial application concept of designing transaction structure based on financing arrangements between parties involved in the process of aircraft manufacturing and trade.

航空金融概念看上去非常的神秘。航空金融本身并不是法律概念，它只是撬动航空器贸易和航空服务，促进民用航空产业持续健康发展的金融工具而已。从这个角度我们认为，航空金融实际主要是指在航空器生产制造、贸易交易过程中，基于各方达成的融资安排而进行的交易结构性设计的商业应用。

I was assigned to work in the Audit and Legal Department of Hainan Airlines Holding Co., Ltd. by chance in 1999 following my graduation with a combined bachelor and master degree from Southwest University of Political Science & Law of China, and soon became the head of legal affairs of the company. My history with aircraft, air transportation, aviation investment, airline equity acquisition and aviation asset restructuring could be traced back from then. I resigned from Hainan Airlines at the end of 2013 and switched to be a practising lawyer, and I continued to work on aviation law in my career.

我本人1999年从中国的西南政法大学本硕连读毕业后，机缘巧合加入了海南航空股份有限公司的审计与法律事务部，并迅速成为该公司法律业务负责人。从那时起就和航空器、航北京德和衡律师事务所输、航空投资、航空企业股权并购、航空类资产重组等结下了不解之缘。在2013年年底离职海航公司之后，我重新回到了执业律师队伍，而航空法律业务仍然伴随着我的职业生涯。

My team have provided China’s Business Aviation Association with legal services regarding private jets in all respects, and a number of Chinese air transport companies with services including review of business contracts, drafting of legal opinions, and resolution of disputes arising from aircraft operating leases and financing leases, incorporating litigation cases and arbitration proceedings with international elements. We have provided dispute advice and participated in commercial negotiation in connection with aircraft manufacturing joint venture projects, and offered legal services concerning the overseas delivery of China’s national heavy machinery, such as civil aircraft with self-owned intellectual property rights. Our clientele also includes aviation flight schools and business jet management companies. In addition, I have  been involved in the drafting of legislation related to regulations of business jets from foreign countries.

我的团队先后为中国的商务航空协会提供私人飞机方面的全面法律咨询，为中国的若干航北京德和衡律师事务所输公司提供包括合同审核、出具法律意见书、飞机经营租赁、融资租赁纠纷争议解决，包括诉讼和涉外仲裁。我们曾为中外合资的飞机制造项目争议提供专项法律服务和参加商务谈判，也为中国国家重器，比如自有知识产权的国产民用飞机的海外交付提供法律服务。我们的客户还包括航空飞行学校和公务机管理公司。此外，我本人参与了国家监管机构关于外国来华公务飞机监管的有关立法草案撰写等。

With my background in this sector and the know-how acquired in the practice, the aviation finance features four key aspects as follows: 

基于我本人的执业背景和经验体会，航空金融的主要特点表现为以下四个方面：

Firstly, a degree of monopoly in aircraft trade

一，航空器贸易的相对垄断

Only very few countries/companies across the globe are capable of researching, developing, and manufacturing mid- and large-sized civil aircraft. The most representative players include Boeing (USA), Airbus (Europe), Embraer (Brazil) and Bombardier (Canada), with the latter two acquired respectively by the former two. Apart from that, there is Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), which develops domestic aircraft series in China. Due to the technological monopoly by minority countries, the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) does not govern aircraft trade contracts. Only independent aviation materials and computer reservation systems in aircraft sales are included in the scope of application of CISG, which means all whole aircraft trading including financing lease and operating lease will need to be settled through negotiation between contracting parties without applying CISG's standard contract text and concept. By virtue of manufacturers' monopoly in competition, they hold an advantageous and powerful position in aircraft trade contracts.

世界上能够研发、生产、制造中大型民用航空器的国家少之又少。主要是以美国波音、欧洲空客、巴西航空、加拿大庞巴迪四家公司为代表，后两者目前已经被前两者分别并购了。此外，就是中国商用飞机制造公司（COMAC）国产飞机系列。基于少数国家的技术垄断，飞机贸易合同没有成为联合国国际货物销售合同公约（CISG）中的适用范畴。只有独立航材和飞机销售计算机订座系统可以成为该公约的适用范围。这意味着，所有航空器的整机贸易，包括融资租赁和经营租赁，都需要合同双方谈判解决，不能直接适用联合国CISG标准合约文本和概念。基于飞机制造方在竞争中的垄断性地位，飞机贸易合同以飞机生产制造方的强势地位为主要特征。

Secondly, the triangular business model in aircraft trade

二，航空器贸易的“三三制”商业模式

Air transport enterprises usually adopt a hybrid approach of three models (dealing, financing lease and operating lease) in their aircraft trading procurement. Such practice is mainly driven by the internal need for fund transfer, asset consolidation, liability adjustment and capacity adjustment within organisations. Generally speaking, self-owned aircraft take up approximately one third of the fleet of an established airline. Among the rest of the fleet, aircraft for operating lease are slightly more than those for financing lease. This shows the leveraging value of financial institutions in aircraft trade. Self-owned civil aircraft, after the purchase by airlines, are usually mortgaged for conventional loans from banks to ease up the cash flow. Financial institutions play further roles in financing lease and operating lease. As a matter of fact, huge changes have taken place in the development of aviation lease business. Initially aircraft manufacturers and traditional banks were the ones who provided leasing or mortgage loan services in specific aircraft purchase contracts. Then special aviation-and-finance lease companies independent of commercial banks were formed who then took the initiative to purchase aircraft or order backlog for aircraft manufacture, and later looked for airlines as buyers and lessees. As a result, buyers in the aircraft market are no longer airlines alone, but financial institutions such as aviation-and-finance lease companies. Both type of purchasers with completely different qualifications and scopes of business have been involved in the aircraft trade and therefore have greatly promoted the development of the aviation industry.

航北京德和衡律师事务所输企业对于飞机贸易采购，通常是自行买卖、融资租赁、经营租赁三种方式交叉使用。目的主要是资金调剂、资产并表、负债调整、运力调整等各种内在需求驱动力。通常来说，一家标准成熟的航北京德和衡律师事务所输企业，自有产权飞机数量大致在三分之一左右，经营租赁飞机数量可能比融资租赁飞机数量略多一点。那么我们就可以看出，金融机构在飞机贸易中的杠杆价值。对于自有产权买卖的民用航空器，航空公司买来飞机以后，依然选择了将飞机资产抵押，实现银行机构传统贷款，缓解航企现金流紧张状态。金融机构还在融资租赁模式和经营租赁中扮演更多角色。航空租赁业务发展历史实际上已经发生很大变化。最初阶段是飞机制造公司和传统银行，在具体飞机采购合同中提供租赁服务或者抵押贷款服务。后来，逐步衍生出独立于商业银行的专门航空金融租赁公司，这些金融租赁公司逐步发展为主动购买飞机或飞机制造订单储备，再转而寻找航空企业买家和承租方。因此，在这一个演变过程中，航空市场的买家不再是航企本身，还包括了航空金融租赁公司等金融机构。这两类购买主体完全不同，经营资质和业务范围迥异，但是都参与了航空器贸易服务之中，共同推动了航空产业的快速发展。

Thirdly, boundaries between illegality and legality in aviation finance services

三，航空金融服务中的非法与合法界限

Aviation finance is a mature market in jurisdictions such as the US, the UK, Ireland, Germany, France and the BVI, where there are established legal systems and a good faith in contracts. Apparently, China‘s aviation finance market is emerging thanks to its huge population of consumers and hence demographic dividends, enabling it to become a major growth pole in the international civil aviation market. The birth of China's project for home-made large passenger aircraft further heated up the already fierce competition in the regional market. We have noticed over the past few years that some aviation investors have switched to the “aircraft co-ownership” model and the “membership time-sharing” sale model, upgraded from traditional aviation finance models. The model of "aircraft co-ownership" is not a new concept in essence, but an innovative model derived from the development of the private jet market, where a certain number of investors contribute money to co-purchase an aircraft and use it in different time periods. This model is a cost-benefit one for the purpose of actual aircraft usage. However, it has been abused in the marketing and operation after it was introduced into the Chinese market, and is marketed as an investment product with financial investment attributes to attract more investors to raise funds for co-purchasing an aircraft. I highlighted the legal risk of such practice and provided solutions in another article of mine - the Study on Several Basic Concepts about Civil Aviation Management and A Few Views on Business Models including Co-ownership and Membership Time-sharing for Aircraft – Legislative Norms and Regulatory Suggestions under the Context of Civil Aviation Law Revision.  

航空金融在一些法域本身就是成熟的市场，比如美国、英国、爱尔兰、德国、法国、英属维京群岛，这些法域具备完备的法律体系和契约精神。中国显然是一个新兴市场，因为中国庞大的消费人群和巨大的人口红利让中国成为国际民用航空市场的主要增长极。中国国产大飞机项目的应运而生，更加激发了区域市场的激烈竞争。我们在最近几年留意到部分航空投资者选择了区别于传统航空金融服务模式，继承并更新了“飞机共有产权”模式和“会员制分时”销售模式。这个“飞机共有产权”模式，本身不是新概念。它是美国私人飞机市场发展过程中诞生的一种创新模式。一定数量的投资者，共同集资购买飞机，共同分时使用。这是以使用为目的的成本价值追求模式。而目前进入中国的共有产权飞机模式，在宣传和具体运营中，可能是突破了底线，将之作为具有金融投资属性的投资产品，吸引更多的投资者集资购买飞机。关于这样的风险，在我本人撰写的另外一篇专业文章《关于民用航空管理几个基本概念讨论和对共有产权飞机、会员制分时共享飞机等商业模式的一点看法——民用航空法修订背景下的立法规范和监管建议》。 

With the aviation finance market being an established and steady one, we believe it is inappropriate and impracticable for a new-comer to engage this fund-intensive, capital-intensive and technology-intensive industry through private fund raising. Due to the doubt on the motivation and the ethical risk of private fund raising and investment, this business model is of extremely high risk. Not long after the abovementioned article authored by me had been published, we saw reports in the news on actual controllers of some investment institutions of this kind facing legal risks of illegal fund raising.

航空金融市场是一个稳健发展的成熟市场，任何试图以民间集资方式进入这个资金密集型、资本密集型、技术密集型行业，应该是不合适的。基于投资和集资动机本身的不确定性和道德诚信风险，这样的商业模式具备极度高风险性。我本人的上述文章发布没有多久，我们已经看到新闻机构披露了部分类似投资机构实控人面临着违法集资的法律风险的报道。