Event

Webinar: An Airline Bankruptcy Case Study and Aircraft Lease Restructurings & Repossessions

Saturday, October 2, 2021 10:00to12:00
Zoom. Register for link.
Price: 
Free.

The Institute of Air and Space Law cordially invites you to attend its new webinar series. This inaugural 2021-2022 series will examine “Law in a Rapidly Evolving Aviation Industry.”

Abstract

With the backdrop of COVID-19, this episode will address practical issues from both airline and lessor perspectives on an airline bankruptcy case study and restructurings & aircraft repossessions.

Considering the effects of COVID-19 on the industry, airlines have faced an unprecedented situation, with lessors finding themselves largely unable to deploy their usual tools. Looking to the future, as the industry seeks to recover, what approaches should an airline take if it faces difficulty in meeting its contractual commitments? What can lessors expect in terms of repossession, whether on a voluntary or involuntary basis?

Our speakers have extensive and in-depth experience at a senior level from both sides of the table. The webinar will take the form of a discussion between our invited experts, Gautam Acharya and Donal Patrick Hanley, which will be followed by a Q&A session. Prof. Ram S Jakhu will open the session and Maria Manoli will moderate the discussion.

Attendance is free of charge, but registration is required. Please register before 28 September 2021. The zoom link to the webinar will be sent to registrants a few days prior to the event. This event is eligible for inclusion for 2 hours of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) as self-reported by members of the Quebec Bar.

Participants

Mr Gautam Acharya, Vice President - Aircraft Leasing, Human Resources, Legal & Regulatory Affairs, Jet Airways (India) 

Gautam Acharya is an aviation/airline maven having specialized in commercial aviation for most of his adult life. He is qualified to practice law in India and the UK, after obtaining a master of laws degree specialized in air & space laws (Institute of Air and Space Law, McGill, 2005). His work experience spans three continents, having worked in Canada, the UK, Sweden, Hong Kong and India. For the last 13 years he has been with Jet Airways (India) Limited and has managed multiple portfolios ranging from aircraft leasing & contracts to regulatory affairs to law. Over the last 2+ years he has worked closely with the court appointed Administrator and has been pivotal to help Jet Airways successfully emerge from a corporate insolvency resolution process. His assiduous efforts are now in the direction of getting Jet Airways off the ground like the metaphorical phoenix.

Dr Donal Patrick Hanley, FRAeS, Adjunct Professor, IASL

Dr Donal Patrick Hanley is an Adjunct Professor with the Institute of Air and Space Law at McGill University. He is also a non-executive director of several aircraft leasing and trading companies and an instructor in aircraft leasing and finance with the International Air Transport Association and others. He was previously managing director of the Irish operations of a large commercial aircraft leasing company and co-founded a commercial aircraft leasing company in Egypt. Qualified as a lawyer in Ireland, England and California, his career spans Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North America in both international law firms and aircraft leasing companies. A Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, he has over thirty years of experience as an aircraft leasing and finance lawyer and has restructured leases and repossessed aircraft in many countries around the world during the course of his career as a practicing lawyer. His book on Aircraft Operating Leasing is the standard work on the law of aircraft operating leasing.

Prof Ram Jakhu, Associate Professor and Acting Director, IASL (Introductory remarks)

Prof Ram Jakhu teaches and conducts research in international space law, law of space applications, law of space commercialization, space security, national regulation of space activities, and public international law. For over two decades, he has been providing consultation to several private and governmental entities and drafting national laws and regulations in various countries. Prof Ram Jakhu is the Project Director of the McGill Manual on International Law Applicable to Military Uses of Outer Space (MILAMOS). He is also the Editor-in-Chief & Project Director of McGill Encyclopedia of International Space Law. He served as the first director of the Master of Space Studies Program of International Space University.

Ms Maria Manoli, Executive Director and DCL Candidate, IASL (Moderator)

Maria Manoli is the Executive Director of the Institute of Air and Space Law McGill University, where she is also completing her DCL (PhD). Her research focuses on space law, with emphasis on the emergence of private actors in the governance of outer space. Prior to her doctoral studies, she obtained a LL.M. in Air and Space Law from McGill University. She also holds a LL.M. in Public International Law and a LL.M. in Civil Law from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, where she also completed her undergraduate degree in Law. Maria has published and presented extensively in the field of space law and she has worked for several governmental and intergovernmental organizations. She has often participated in international research projects in aviation and space law, and she has taught in the fields of public international law, aviation law, and space law. She is a lawyer with the Athens Bar Association of Greece.

About the IASL webinars series

The IASL webinars are intended for a wide audience, including aviation professionals, lawyers, insolvency professionals, airline and leasing executives, regulatory authorities, academics, students, and anyone interested in commercial aviation. We thank Alicanto, the International Association of Aviation and Aerospace Education, for its support of the series.

For more information on the series, please write to maria.manoli [at] mail.mcgill.ca (Maria Manoli).

 

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