Aircraft Leasing and Financing is a service offering, given that the airline business is hugely capital intensive and a fledging airline company may not have sufficient funds to acquire aircraft on its own. Or an established carrier like Emirates for example may want to go for an expansion and approaches a Leasing company for aircraft leasing.
An aircraft operating lease places full operational and maintenance responsibility for the aircraft on the airline, together with legal liability and insurance responsibility during the lease term. The aircraft however remains the property of the Lessor (or owner) who will seek to maximize asset value and income-generating potential over the full useful life of the aircraft, which will usually span multiple lease periods and Lessees.